OSU Extension to hold a cheese-making workshop

Ohio State University Extension’s popular cheese-making workshop has once again returned to educate dairy, sheep and goat milk producers on the fine art of making farmstead and artisan cheeses.

The three-day workshop, “Hands-On Basic Cheese-Making – Enhancing Dairy Profitability with Cheese,” will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Grindstone Creek Lodge at 4-H Camp Whitewood in Windsor, Ohio. The workshop will run from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day. Registration, due Oct. 30, is $425 per person and includes course tuition, handouts, all workshop supplies, lunches and refreshments.

Participants will learn about milk quality, the ingredients used in cheese making, the processes for making a variety of cheeses, techniques for aging cheese, and tips for establishing a farmstead cheese business. The heart of this workshop is the hands-on opportunity for participants to make a number of cheeses including paneer, Gouda, havarti, lactic, Tomme, ricotta, and fresh mozzarella.

“I hope that some of our local farmers will take this opportunity to examine this value-added opportunity,” said David Marrison, an OSU Extension agriculture and natural resources educator. “This course could increase profitability as the market demand for local cheese continues to increase. Farmstead and artisan cheese operations can allow farm families to become price-makers instead of price-takers for their milk.”

Peter Dixon, one of the nation’s premiere cheese-making instructors, will teach the workshop. Dixon's experience includes training with fourth-generation French cheese makers; working as a cheese maker and quality control manager at Shelburne Farms and Vermont Butter and Cheese; consulting on international development projects to create farmstead cheese cooperatives, improve product quality, and develop brand recognition for local sheep cheeses; and developing and operating food safety programs for Vermont Butter and Cheese Company and the Vermont shepherd cheese producers.

For more information or to register, contact the OSU Extension office in Ashtabula County at 440-576-9008, or Abbey Averill at averill.10@osu.edu .

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