Cheese Making

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  • How does the use of Sheep milk change economic feasibility and break even prices for the artisan cheesemaker? - 2018 - Examines how costs of purchased milk and processing equipment (particularly the scale of processing facility and size of creamery equipment) and the type of cheese produced, impact the breakeven price of cheese production.

  • Garden Variety Cheese - 2018 - King talked about how her farm, Monkey Flower Ranch, makes money. They have an "adopt a lamb" program where each the consumer purchases a lamb and receives a certain amount of sheep products including wool, cheese and milk.

  • Veldhuizen Cheese - 2018 - Talks about cheese sales and how they make the cheese. They also talk about how much yield they get per kind of cheese. They also talk about their online sales. 

  • Beginning Cheesemaking – 2014 – Gianaclis Caldwell.  A presentation on the basic process of making cheese, with an example of how to make Fromage Blanc.

  • Challenges to Launching a Cheese Business - Insights from a Small Business two years in - 2015. Anna Landmark. One producer's, Landmark Creamery, look at the challenges of opening and operating a cheesemaking facility.

  • Creating Artisanal Cheeses: A Mix of Art & Science - 2012 - Brenda Jensen, Hidden Springs Creamery. An overview of the cheeses made at Hidden Springs and the farm operations that fuel their creamery.

  • The Art in the Science of Sheep Cheese Making - 2012 - Dan Huebner, Grafton Village Cheese. A look at the compositional differences in Sheep, Cow & Goat milks and how the unique make-up of Sheep milk affects the cheese making process.

  • Creating Artisanal Cheeses: A Mix of Art & Science - 2012 - Sidney M. Cook, Carr Valley Cheese Co. A look at what cheesemakers desire in sheep milk and how to create quality milk for cheese making.

  • Properties of Sheep Milk for the Manufacture of Cheese and Yogurt, 2011, Nana Y. Farkye, Ph.D. A small study of the composition of sheep milk and why it is ideal for cheese and yogurt making, as well as freezing.

  • Food Safety and Farmstead Cheesemaking, 2011, Dennis D’Amico. Information on cheese as a source of foodborne disease, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, nd how to implement Risk Management Programs in cheesemaking.

  • UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS OF SHEEP MILK - 2010 - Ivan Larcher. Overview on why sheep milk is unique for cheesemaking

  • CHEESE MAKERS FACE THE CHALLENGE OF SYNCHRONIZED LACTATION - 2010 - Robert L. Wills, Cedar Grove Cheese. Overview of the challenges faced by cheesemakers with seasonal milk and how sheep milk changes during lactation

  • MILK QUALITY FOR CHEESEMAKING - 2010 - Bill Wendorff, Department of Food Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Covers some of the research on various aspects regarding the quality of sheep milk that have a direct impact on the cheesemaking potential of sheep milk.

  • PLANT DESIGN AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS - 2009 - Nancy Clark, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company. Detailed description of how Old Chatham's creamery was built; includes advice on what they would change going forward

  • HIDDEN SPRINGS EXPERIeNCE WITH PLANT DESIGN - 2009 - Brenda Jensen, Hidden Springs Farm and Creamery. Detailed description of the trials and tribulations of building a cheese plant.  

  • GREEN DIRT FARM CREAMERY BUILDING EXPERIENCE - 2009 - Sarah Hoffmann, Green Dirt Farm. Detailed description of building a creamery including floor plans, suppliers and materials used

  • CHEESEMAKING WITH SHEEP MILK - 2009 - Stephanie Clark, Ph.D., Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Iowa State University. Provides some information on the chemistry and microbiology of cheesemaking, explains the general steps in cheesemaking, and focuses on sheep milk and cheesemaking with sheep milk

  • IMPACT OF HANDLING AND THAWING ON CHEESEMAKING PROPERTIES OF FROZEN SHEEP MILK - 2008 - W. L. Wendorff, M.A. Dufek, J. J. Jaeggi,, Y. Peng,Y. M. Berger, and J.A. Lucey Department of Food Science, Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research, and Spooner Agricultural Research Station, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Influence of thawing procedures on the cheesemaking qualities of frozen sheep milk.

  • CREATING MARKETABLE SHEEP MILK CHEESES AN AFFINAGE PRIMER - 2008 - Rob Kaufelt, Proprietor and Zoe Brickley, Affineur Murray’s Cheese Shop - Explains the role of Affinage within the global marketplace.

  • Starting a new milk processing facility: considerations and costs - 2005 - Dixon. Peter Dixon reviews several factors to consider when starting a new milk processing facility, including facilities, equipment, regulations, and start-up costs.

  • An integrated approach to the safety of raw milk cheese - 2005 -Kindstedt. Paul Kindstedt, a cheese technologist, shares his observations from working with raw milk cheesemakers for 19 years, focusing on the importance and value of raw milk cheesemaking, that the safety of raw milk cheese needs to improve, and how to do that.

  • Managing your own retail shop: marketeing and self-distribution of farmstead cheese - 2005 - MacKenzie. Alastair MacKenzie shares the process he went through to decide the best way to expand his cheesemaking business. He covers the opportunity, objectives, reality, using strengths, weekly management, products made, pricing, marketing, costs, investments, results and rewards.

  • Farmer panel on labor - 2005 - Fischer. Mark Fischer of Woodcock farm discusses farm labor from a cheesemaking perspective.

  • Specialty cheese culture selection - 2004 - Eckerman. This article covers culture selection and propagation, the effect of cultures on the cheese making process and ripening, and causes of slow starters.

  • Marketing of sheep milk - problems faced by processors - 2004 - Cook. Sid Cook of the Carr Valley Cheese Company covers several problems and solutions, including milk delivery, milk volume, cheese yield, milk quality, and aging and inventory of cheese.

  • Overview of the dairy sheep sector in Canada and the United States - 2004 - Thomas. This is a summary of the state of play for the dairy sheep industry in Canada and the USA, including breeds, numbers, management systems, milk quality, marketing and transportation, farmstead cheese production, genetic improvement, and support organizations.

  • Milk composition and cheese yield from hard and soft cheese manufactured from sheep milk - 2004 - Jaeggi. Milk composition has a big impact on cheese yield. The authors studies how composition changes with season so yield can be better calculated and predicted.

  • Our first big cheese sale - 2004 - Falk. Mary Falk relates her experience leading up to her first big cheese sale, including how they started, some challenges, marketing, and the emotional rollercoaster.

  • A training course to support cheese development in Quebec - 2003 - Hébert. In 1998, a group of cheesemakers designed a course on cheesemaking to help small farmstead and small commercial cheesemakers develop their skills and meet increasing regulation. This presentation summarises the course (in French).

  • Sheep dairy products in the UK food market - 2003 - Holbrook. The UK cheese industry is briefly summarised, emphasising sheep milk cheese, and then the UK market and the challenges for sheep dairy products are described, finishing with some thoughts on the future.

  • Control of Listeria monocytogenes in sheep farming and dairy processing - 2003 - Boor. L. monocytogenes can cause serious human and animal disease and human cases have linked to soft cheeses. It is often present in farm and milk and cheese-processing environments, so it is important to have stepsin place to manage it. The authors review listeriosis in humans and animals and the presence of L. monocytogenes in foods and processing environments.

  • To produce milk that the transformers want - 2003 - Lemelin. This article (in French with summary in English) covers what producers can do to ensure they produce milk that cheesemakers desire. As well as making decisions about breed, nutrition, and other important farm management aspects, producers ideally find out what the people who buy their milk want. It covers milk quality, hygiene, cheese yield, cheesemaker preferences, and other factors.

  • Making cheese to please the buyer - 2003 - Batailler. Carole Batailler summarises (in French with summary in English) what the AGECO group in Quebec did to learn more about the tastes and preferences of cheese consumers and therefore how to package, market, and sell cheese better.

  • Associated costs of installing a micro-cheese plant in Quebec - 2003 - Trudel. This paper reports a survey of established farmstead cheese plants in Quebec in 2003. In French with English summary.

  • Marketing farmstead cheeses - the Vermont Shepherd experience - 2002 -Major. David Major shares his experience in marketing farmhouse cheese: how they do it, the journey they took, lessons, and some tools and tricks.

  • Milk composition and cheese yield - 2002 - Wendorff. Milk comprises approximately 85% of the cost of making cheese, so its composition is important. This is a summary of milk composition in relation to making cheese, covering breed, season/lactation stage, management system, milk quality, milk storage, ewe nutrition, genetics, and the effect of milk composition on cheese yield.

  • Evaluation of sensory and chemical properties of Manchego cheese manufactured from ovine milk of different somatic cell levels - 2001 - Jaeggi. Bulk milk was mixed into low, medium, and high somatic cell count (SCC) categories and made into Manchego cheese. Higher SCC caused lower yields, slower flocculation, and higher rancidity when aged.

  • Farmstead cheese and marketing - 2001 - Ohlsen Read. Steven and Jodi Ohlsen Read at Shepherd's Way Farms describe the history of their business, their market analysis and strategy, success factors, products, processes, and the future.

  • Latest development in the use of raw milk for cheesemaking - 2001 - Wendorff. At the time this paper was written, the FDA was reviewing the safety of making cheese from raw milk, with the potential for introducing more regulations and restrictions for cheese makers. This is a summary of a review by Dr Catherine Donnelly (University of Vermont) on the safety of raw milk cheeses.

  • Influence of somatic cell count on ewe's milk composition, cheese yield and cheese quality - 2000 - Pirisi This study reports the impact of three different bulk milk somatic cell counts (SCC) on milk composition, cheese chemical composition, and cheese physical composition. High-SCC milk had higher pH, so some of the effectsof high SCC can be mitigated with pH standardisation. Low-SCC milk was more efficient for cheese making from a protein recovery perspective, but the quality of the final product did not appear to be affected by SCC.

  • Sheep cheese-making and marketing - 2000 - Gasser. Hani Gasser relates the journey he and his wife took from learning how to make cheese in Switzerland to their current system, the learnings, and the changes.