A day in the dairy
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| Now here begins the story of my cheese |
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| This is Diliskus, two months mature |
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| 09:30 Fresh morning milk, which still warm, has just received the culture |
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| The ultra modern water heater |
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| 10:00 Adding the rennet |
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| 10:30 Giving it a good stir |
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| Yesterday's cheese has just been removed from the moulds. The moulds are cleaned and ready to be filled. |
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| Cleaning the equipment. Clean production is half the battle. |
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| 10:30 The milk has coagulated and is ready for cutting |
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| Cutting the curd with my Swiss harp |
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| Job done |
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| 10:40 Further cutting with cheese ladels |
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| Job done. |
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| 11:00 Stirring machine is attached as the curd needs constant agitation |
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| A little manual assistance... |
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| Touch, taste and smell are important tools in quality cheesemaking. During the stirring, the curd is heated to 37 degrees. It is during the heated stirring that the correct consistency is achieved. |
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| 12:00 The curd is moulded. |
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| Hard at work |
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| In this Swiss style mould, the curd is wrapped in hempen cloth, which leaves a wonderful surface texture on the rind |
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| Black pepper corns are added to the remainder of the curd. The peppered curd is moulded into small moulds to differentiate flavours. |
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| The black pepper corns and curd in the vat. |
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| There are wonderful contrasts in the colours of curd and pepper |
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| The cheese must be turned three times in twelve hours to prepare for its salt bath |
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| Curd is now cheese but is not quite ready yet. |
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| This is the cheese after turning |
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| The cheese is left to mature for at least three months. It achieves its optimal flavour at six months |
