I thought it would be a fun project to learn how to make cheese. Simple as that.  Aside from knowing that I enjoy different types of cheeses, I'm a bona fide beginner in the world of cheese and certainly in cheese making.  Researching online, I was instantly fascinated by the history, the process, and the product.  After looking around a bit I purchased "Artisan Cheese Making At Home" by Mary Kaplin. 

I was really attracted to the timeline of difficulty in cheese making.  You could start with recipes requiring items you most likely already have in your kitchen and a trip to the grocery... but the recipes soon included all these things I had never heard of like rennet, cultures with fancy names, and things like Penicilliun candidum mold powder (lots of words my spell check doesn't recognize).  I immediately liked how the book I purchased was structured to mirror this curve.  It's how my brain works... kind of captures the healthy sentiment of the intimidation inherent in a new challenge.

Scrolling through the recipes in the book I was full-on fascinated by the simplicity of the ingredients... that you take just a few core items and turn them into something completely different.  That the success and quality of the product is in the science and discipline of the process.

Peter Reinhart writes in the forward of Karlin's book "... each of these foodstuffs represented a type of transformation of one thing into something totally new and different.  And the artisans who new who to perform those transformations attained a vital, honored, and almost shamanistic role in their communities."  How awesome is that!

First Order

The list of necessary equipment is a bit overwhelming, but the piecemeal approach, recipe by recipe, makes it significantly less daunting.  I found a regional Cheese making supplier, New England Cheese Making Supply Store, that was also referenced in the book and placed my first order.  Three days later the package arrived!  Mascarpone Looms!