Soft & Lactic Cheesemaking ADVANCED

A deep dive into soft renneted and lactic cheesemaking in its many forms, covering the science, art and practice, taught by master cheesemaker and teacher, Ivan Larcher.

Soft cheeses – from smaller bloomy rind Camembert-styles, and washed rind Epoisses or Munster styles, to the larger spectacular Brie-styles – are a commercial artisan cheesemaker’s best friend: popular with cheeselovers, great yield, relatively short ageing time but with good shelf life. Too often, though, these cheeses in Australia are made to bland industrial recipes, lacking the character and artisan appeal that cheeselovers are seeking and willing to pay for. In this course, you will learn the ins and outs of successful artisan soft cheesemaking.

Lactic cheeses – from classic French-style lactic goat’s and cow’s milk cheeses (the list is endless) to Australian equivalents (like Holy Goat’s La Luna and Skyla, The Peaks Artisan Cheesemakers’ Cloudlet and Bon Accord, L’Artisan Cheese’s Marcel, and Long Paddock Cheese’s Silver Wattle). Once the techniques and tweaks of these cheeses – with their long fermentation, minimal rennet and delicate handling – are mastered, there are endless varieties of these delicious cheeses that can be made. They require relatively inexpensive equipment, have excellent yield and short ageing periods – and they’ll all be different from each other.

Perfect for smaller-scale artisan cheesemakers with access to good quality milk, these cheeses cannot be produced successfully by the big cheesemakers, as they do not lend themselves to machine-based making and care. Nor, with increasing air and other freight charges, are the French and other versions realistic for import. So these should be the types of cheeses we make and sell locally, and consumers love them.

Ivan has extensive expertise in both soft and lactic cheesemaking, initially running lactic goat’s cheese operations in France, then consulting throughout the world to design cheeses that we now see on the world stage – eg Tunworth, Winslade and Baron Bigod in the UK, and Harbison and Winnimere in the US – as well as creating his own versions, first on his farm in France and now at Long Paddock Cheese in Castlemaine.

There are no pre-requisites for this course, but it is an advanced cheesemaking course. Previous commercial cheesemaking experience and study is recommended, including having undertaken our Artisan Cheesemaking Fundamentals course.

• artisan/traditional vs stabilised bloomy rind cheeses, all the ins and outs of techniques, ingredients, equipment
• the world of lactic cheeses and the techniques, ingredients and equipment for making and ageing them successfully
• various cheese makes, using both cow’s and goat’s milk in our purpose-built cheese training facility, under Ivan’s supervision
• working at commercial scale in our fromagerie with our Long Paddock Cheese soft and lactic cheeses in our fromagerie, under Ivan’s supervision
• focus on how to control the key mechanisms underlying soft and lactic cheesemaking, including management of acidification and syneresis in the vat and then in the moulds
• choosing cultures for acidification and ripening
• understanding how to cultivate the yeasts, moulds and bacteria for optimal soft and lactic cheese unctousness and complex flavour
• rind development and care, and how to achieve the type of rind aspect, texture and flavour you are seeking
• affinage for soft and lactic cheeses, including in our fromagerie ageing rooms
• packaging for soft and lactic cheeses
• a tour run by Ivan of our Long Paddock Cheese facility, during which you can ask questions about facility design, equipment etc
• vertical tastings of different Long Paddock Cheese soft and lactic cheeses at different ages
• wine and cheese tasting one evening
• opportunities throughout the course to ask questions of and seek guidance from Ivan about cheesemaking and the business of cheese.