The Kickstarter project ends in 44 hours, and then I will get all the funds ($1450 so far!) to put into the cheese making.
I've already ordered and received all the cultures I need, a 10 gallon NSF stainless stock pot, a hot plate for warming the milk and curds, extra probes for the digital thermometer, and a pH meter.
I still need a salometer, the arduino microprocessor and sensors (for the fridge), and a few more molds for different shapes of cheese.
Next week I'm going to pay a visit to the CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture Milk & Dairy Food Safety office in downtown Oakland to start the certification process so everything is legal and above-board with the regulating agencies. Also, a few friends are coming over to get a hands-on lesson in making a wheel of hard cheese. Not sure what we're making yet, but I'll post photos of the process.
Everything is coming together nicely so far. Very exciting!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Fridge is cleaned and working!
Just got back from cleaning out the fridge and getting it set up.
Twice over with simple green and then a bleach solution, and it was sparkling like new. I plugged it in, hoping for the best, and it got cold fast - down to 35°F in about 5 minutes! Of course that's way too cold for cheese - 55°F is the target temp - so I set it to the lowest setting and left it. I'm going back later to see what temperature it holds, then adjust it as necessary.
The old fluorescent tubes in the fridge are dead and will be removed, then replaced with some LEDs to cut down on energy use. It's not really necessary, but i think it will look cool. I also need to figure out where to put the electronics for the wireless/arduino temperature and humidity monitoring.
Twice over with simple green and then a bleach solution, and it was sparkling like new. I plugged it in, hoping for the best, and it got cold fast - down to 35°F in about 5 minutes! Of course that's way too cold for cheese - 55°F is the target temp - so I set it to the lowest setting and left it. I'm going back later to see what temperature it holds, then adjust it as necessary.
The old fluorescent tubes in the fridge are dead and will be removed, then replaced with some LEDs to cut down on energy use. It's not really necessary, but i think it will look cool. I also need to figure out where to put the electronics for the wireless/arduino temperature and humidity monitoring.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Kickstarter project launch!
Just launched my Kickstarter.com fundraising drive last night.
Kickstarter is a "crowdsourcing" site, where you can create a project and solicit backing from anywhere in the world. It's a great idea, and one that's sure to grow in popularity. There are tons of great projects there that deserve funding. Go have a look.
I set my funding goal at a modest $1,200 which is enough to cover a cow share, a couple large stock pots, electric hot plates, and to round out my selection of starter cultures and supplies. Well, it's been only 24 hours, and I'm already at $920 of backing! Amazing.
I can't wait to see where this goes.
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