I need four arms.

I'm bummed to report that thanks to excessive humidity in the cheese fridge, my little humidifier has corroded and died. I guess the puddles of water coming out of the bottom whenever I opened the door should have been a sign that something wasn't right. Whoops. Back to the drawing board.

On to the next, though. I've got a lot of cheese to make in preparation for guests in March, so a feta is brining and a gouda is soaking. I've got a parmesan and a manchego to put together, and I want to have some softer cheeses ready when they come, so I'll make those the week before their arrivals.

Now, pressing gouda involves about 50 pounds of weight. Since I've already cleaned up too many messes and gouged the kitchen floor too many times, Eric has given me my own "cheese ratchets" for pressure. These work well...when I can get them to stay put. I get one on and start the other, then get that one on and the other falls off. By the time I'm finished I'm pissed off and my cheese is slightly tilted and I'm ready to throw it away.

Yesterday this happenned and the mold flipped...fitting perfectly into the ratchets. And staying. Eureka!

Ta dah!

So my new raw milk cheese has been aging for a little over two weeks now, and I'm thrilled to report it's working! A small humidifier placed inside the cheese fridge keeps it nice and moist in there and the white mold is turning the cheese into the real thing. I tasted a sample over the weekend and I'm so excited! The possibilities are endless.