No Official Gloucester Cheese Rolling in 2013

The Annual Cheese rolling competition from http://www.boston.com

I read a couple of days ago, via the BBC website that three policemen from Gloucestershire constabulary visited 86 year old cheese maker, Diana Smart who makes a 12″ Gloucester cheese for the annual rolling down the hill event and gave her a bit of a rollicking, warning her that she should not make nor supply any cheeses for the event in case anyone gets hurt.  The event is due to take place on the Bank Holiday, Monday 27th May 2013.

Taken from the BBC website:

She said: “It made me feel pretty angry… there’s not a lot we can do,”

Mrs Smart, 86, who has made cheese for the event for 25 years, said police had warned her she could be regarded as responsible if anybody was injured.

Taken from the Citizen Online:

‘Since the early 1800s a cheese has been chased down the 200 yard, one in three, hill. But after an estimated 15,000 people tried to watch in 2009, organisers of the 2010 event were forced to cancel on the advice of police and councils.

An attempt to organise a commercial event failed and since 2010 it’s gone back to an ad-hoc event of ‘rebel rollers’ unofficially chasing the cheese. There will be no official medical cover.  A Gloucestershire police spokesman said: “Advice has been given to all those who have participated in any planning of an unofficial cheese rolling event this coming bank holiday.  This included the individuals who provide the cheese.’

The Last Two Weeks in the Life of Ribblesdale Cheese

Week Before Last

Cutting into cubes in our cheese making class

On Monday, we made a small vat of Wensleydale with our new cow milk supplier’s milk and at the same time took a cheese making course with Tina.

Tuesday was a mad waxing day with Stu and I waxing like crazy, having put the smoker on twice.  We smoke our own cheese, using oak chippings from Theakston’s brewery.

On Wednesday, we made a 1,900 litre vat of Superior Goat Gouda and on Thursday a 1,900 litre vat of Original Goat.

Thursday was a catch up day for me doing paperwork, except that I went to Blackburn and got our scales calibrated with Auto Scales and then on to Brytec, our equipment suppliers for a coffee, gossip and forage.  And on Friday, we both took a half day after vac packing and cleaning down the dairy after a Superior Goat Gouda make.

This Week

One table laden with 210kgs of newly made Original Goat

On Monday, first we knocked out 100 pots of Original Goat and vac packed and washed up.  Stu sanitised every single pot that we have in the dairy and cleaned the IBCs to within an inch of their life.  After this, as we were not making cheese, we digressed and spent the rest of the day doing a jolly good clean and tidy; miscreant cobwebs were swept in the eaves, walls cleaned down.  As we are both getting on a bit, we just can’t remember what else we did on Monday and that was this week!

On Tuesday, I made an emergency dash home to meet the oil boiler man whom I had hoped would fix the boiler as I have had no hot water or heating at home for about a month now, only he couldn’t fix it.  Stu cleaned the drains in the dairy as we had no cheese in the press and had a big dairy day which culminated in spraying hypo around so that our dairy smelled like a municipal swimming pool.  When I came back after my abortive trip home we finished off cleaning and tidying in the wholesale side.

Wednesday there was a rash of small orders which took me all morning whilst Stu and Andrew made a vat of Superior Goat Gouda and Thursday they made a vat of Original Goat whilst I put together some more orders.

Friday, today, Stu has been cleaning up the small wax bath that we use to wax our Yorkshire Bowlers.  I liaised about our next whey pick up, spoke to a couple of customers, did some debt collection and tried to sort out a delivery for a customer in Somerset whose courier has let him down.

Good Things

• We had an enquiry from a potential new customer to whom I sent a few samples and they did a cheese tasting with the top bods and manager on Thursday; here’s hoping for some positive feedback
• 

  Our newly serviced little pasteuriser

  We had our pasteuriser calibrated by Harry Travis who also did their annual service

• Our new fridge/freezer arrived, with its shiny whiteness making the office look almost smart
• I commissioned a new piece of kit to make our new mystery cheese in from Brytec and received a call to say that it is almost completed which is great!
• We made another batch of our new mystery cheese, just to ensure that we can be consistent about it – it is still yummy
• Stu’s new steel toe capped white dairy wellies arrived as his old ones had a hole in them and he thought he was putting the hose pipe down his wellies (again)
• Stu greased the pegmill with newly acquired food grade grease as it was making slight graunching noises so that is another thing off the list

Bad Things

• The forks turned a little temperamental but have recovered now
• It snowed the week before last and Stu had to use de-icer on his car at 5.30am before he came to work which we both think is utterly disgraceful
• Rain, rain and more rain and it is wretchedly cold
• Went to the dentist and had copious amounts of blood taken by Miriam the nurse aka The Brute who calls me a wimp when I say that the Vitamin B12 injection hurts, (I admit it and it does hurt) actually, I like Miriam, but she is will always be The Brute when she takes blood and gives me jabs, apart from that, she is lovely!
• Iona still has no heating or hot water at home, this is a VERY BAD thing

Whey Collection

Pitching the big vat, moments before whey off – this yellow/green liquid is whey

People sometimes ask me about how to arrange for whey disposal.

I have come across two firms that dispose of whey, certainly around our area:

Whey Feeds’ contact information is as follows:

Wheyfeed Ltd	Hill Farm Melton Road Stanton-on-the-Wolds Nottingham NG12 5PJ
Phone:	(0115) 937 7374
Fax:	(0115) 937 7375
Email:	info@wheyfeed.co.uk
Web:	www.wheyfeed.co.uk

A second whey pick up company is

J.S & K.M Wilson

Address: Valley View, High House Farm
Postcode: LA8 8AG
City/Town: Helsington, Kendal (Cumbria)
Main phone: 01539 720119

Cheese Making Class Availability June and July 2013

Tuesday 28th May - Wensleydale Cow Make Debra and David

Wednesday 5th June – Goat milk make Richard

Monday 10th June - Wensleydale Cow Make  Catherine

Thursday 13th June - Goat milk make Martin

Thursday 20th June - Goat milk make Elaine

Monday 24th June - Wensleydale Cow Make Amanda and father-in-law Alan

Wednesday 26th June - Goat milk make Jennifer

Thursday 4th July – Goat Milk make – Tracie 2 day course

Monday 8th July - Wensleydale Cow Make

Monday 22nd July - Wensleydale Cow Make

If you are interested, please e-mail Iona at ionahill@gmail.com or call 01969 66 77 88.

Cheese Making Class Feedback from Tina

All the equipment you need to make hard cheese: a two crate system, a sharp knife, colander and jug – that really is it

Here is some feedback from camera-shy Tina from our last cheese making class:

‘I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the cheese making course. It was a perfect mix of information, practical skills, guidance tailored to my needs and good company. Add to this the fact that I have a great cheese ( a few crumbs fell off when I was binding the cheese – it would have been a shame to waste it). It was also good value especially as I received 121 tuition. 

 

I am really looking forward to three things (1) tasting the cheese when it has matured (2) trying to make a cheese at home from supermarket milk (3) returning for the goat’s cheese course.

 

All the best with everything including your “new cheese”. Feel free to use my feedback ( per Tina of Oldham)’

Thank you Tina, you were great to have here, and we enjoyed your company too!  Good luck with your experiments at home with shop bought milk and we both look forward to seeing you very soon.

First Cheese Making Class of May 2013 with Tina

All the equipment you need to make hard cheese: a two crate system, a spoon, sharp knife, colander and jug – that really is it

Tina, an insurance specialist came to make a Wensleydale cheese with us today.  We have changed starter and changed our cow milk supplier.  The day started inauspiciously with the forks refusing to move up and down so it was er…challenging to remove the milk from the trailer on which it was placed.  But with a little ingenuity, Stu managed it.  A little later, Ron our best mechanic friend took a look and narrowed the problem down to the motor.  A call to Linde, the maker, elicited little help and no return call as promised.

But back to Tina, an interesting lady who bakes and is married to an Italian.  She was an absolute pleasure to spend the day with, showing her the various steps involved in making a Wensleydale cheese.  We explained the science behind cheese making, that milk is a liquid comprising fat and protein.  When milk is acidifies, it allows the protein to be denatured i.e. come out

Checking the set

of the solution, forming a sponge, trapping the fat within it.  It is this fat and protein that we cheese makers want.  Acidification happens by adding starter culture which helps to convert lactose, the naturally occurring sugar in milk into lactic acid.

It was a very quick make today: we ripened at 30 oC for one and a quarter hours, then we rennetted, achieving an excellent set which was lovely to cut.  We let the curd settle for five minutes or so before stirring it gently with our hands.  The acidity ramped up very quickly and we could tell this by the colour of the whey which changed from transparent green to milky green.

Cutting into cubes

We quickly drained the curd off, formed a block, though our curd today was quite crumbly.  We then cut it and as no more whey appeared, we quickly salted and potted up.

Tina does not like having her photo taken, which is fine by us, as

Salted curd, prior to potting up

we always ask our cheese making friends, so I have included pictures but not of Tina herself.

Tina, it was lovely to have you with us today and I hope that we imparted some knowledge and confidence for you to practice hard cheese making at home.

A Week in the Life of Ribblesdale Cheese

Stirring Superior Goat Gouda

Back to work after the Bank Holiday, Tuesday elicited a fair few orders.  I had taken in delivery of 3,800 litres of goat milk on the Monday and Stu and Andrew made a vat of Superior Goat Gouda.  I spent a good part of the day preparing orders and organising the lab samples and then our journalist friend, Andrew arrived.

On Wednesday, Stu and Andrew made a vat of Original Goat and on Thursday, Stu and I did some waxing, vac packed the gouda and I completed the rest of the orders.  I took Friday off and have been decorating whilst Stu and Andrew made 66 new Yorkshire Bowlers, took the Original Goat out of the pres, vac packed it and cleaned the dairy down.

It was a busy week and we all took a look at our new mystery cheese and made some more on Wednesday.  I tried some: very tasty and the same TA and yield as the first batch, so consistent at least.  We are still giving samples to customers, one of which is very interested and will get back to us in a couple of days.  No-one has said they do not like it; even Andrew likes it – praise indeed!

Pet hate of the week: junk faxes.  We are getting way too many of these and despite entering the appropriate number in faxremovals.com, we are still getting them.  So, after discussing this with a customer, I found this which so far seems to have worked.

Good Things

• Our second trial of our new mystery cheese turned out really well
  

  The other two sides of the room, now in green

• Good Superior Goat Gouda and Original Goat makes
• We have finally changed ratty contracts
• The pasteuriser was serviced on Friday with no probs
• Busy with a lot of orders
• I now have a green room with all four walls painted green

Bad Things

• Half my tooth fell out with filling and still haven’t got around to phoning the dentist and I forgot to go the doctors for my B12 injection.  Tut tut.