Transforming milk into cheese requires the freshest ingredients, a good food thermometer and above all patience! Our good friend, Chris Flaherty recently gave us a private cheese making lesson.  Many websites give directions on how to make cheese, but it is so much easier to watch someone if you are a beginner. The basic process involves heating fresh milk and adding a culture of warm milk and yogurt, letting the mixture rest, adding rennet – a very important enzyme, allowing more rest time, cutting the resultant curds, pouring off the whey, seasoning with salt and then pressing the curds so they compress into a  small round.  The steps are not difficult but they do require exact measuring of temperature, patient stirring and attention to detail.  Of course, delicious domestic and imported cheeses  are easily available to us. But there is something fascinating and affirming when conquering a task that seems a little daunting.  The cheese round is now wrapped in cheese cloth and ripening in the refrigerator.  It can be eaten right away but is best after 30 days. So we will report back on its progress.  Cook, Eat, Laugh…Claudia