Like Miss Muffett I'll soon be eating my own curds, hopefully transformed into delicious brie, now I'm a graduate of a Kingaroy Cheese Workshop. I spent Saturday in the relaxing rural setting of Kingaroy waiting for and watching milk transform into cheese.
Christopher and Tracy-Ann Ganzer host the workshop which starts at 10am and finishes around 4pm with a delightful lunch part of the deal. My fellow class members were as keen as I to discover the mysteries behind one of our favourite products.
The morning started with heating the milk to 37 degrees, the same temperature that it comes out of the cow, then Chris added a cocktail that started the process. We tried three different types of milk and agreed the best tasting was the least processed. Then it was back to waiting and cutting, waiting and cutting, waiting and cutting, drinking and eating, talking and laughing, waiting and cutting.
At the end of the day I had two cheeses with the potential to be brie and the feeling that I'd had a great time. It will just take a few more weeks of daily turning and some judicious tasting before we can enjoy the wares. Unlike Miss Muffet I didn't sample the whey and the seat next to me is taken so no spiders need apply.
I'll report on the progress of my brie in a future blog and if you'd like to read the full workshop experience story, watch for it in the Sunday Mail's Escape section.
Find out when the next workshop is scheduled www.kingaroycheese.com.au
Kingaroy Cheese
Old Butter Factory
67 William Street, Kingaroy. +61 7 4162 5990