Spinning Spider Creamery Cheesemaking Workshops!

Spinning Spider Creamery is an artisan dairy known regionally and nationally for its award winning artisan goat cheeses. They offer this series of classes to be taken individually or in progression. All levels of cheesemakers and cheese lovers are welcome in our classes. No prior experience is necessary. However, if you have made cheese in the past and want to fine tune your skills, these classes would also be appropriate and teaching will be scaled up or down to meet your needs.

Classes will be held in their creamery kitchen in equipment scaled to home use. They'll provide you with notes, recipes, and a deeper understanding of the complexities of cheese making and the lifestyle of a small family dairy. Our creamery is conveniently located a short 30 minutes north of Asheville, NC, just outside the town of Mars Hill, in the scenic mountain beauty of Madison County.

Class Descriptions:

Raw Milk Aged Cheese (7/26 & 8/23)
In this class, you'll look at the intricacies of raw milk cheeses and make a simple pressed cheese.

Class on 7/26 will be on Stirred Curd Cheddar.

Class on 8/23 will be on Washed Curd Gouda - You'll look at affinage (aging cheese) and discuss conditions in their aging cave with ideas on how to work on aging your cheeses at home. You'll also discuss and sample a variety of the raw milk cheeses produced at the dairy.

Bloomy Rind Cheeses (8/9) - This class offers a peek into the world of soft ripened French cheese making. You'll make a batch of Camembert and another mold ripened lactic bloomy as well. You'll look at options that can make mold ripened cheeses so unique and flavorful as well as addressing how to age and care for bloomy rind cheeses. Best, you will sample, sample, sample from the cheese cave at Spinning Spider.

The Schedule:

Classes are on Sundays and will start at 10:00 am with a brief orientation on cheese kitchen etiquette. Once you get your hairnets and aprons on (provided), you'll step into serious cheese making. Please bring clean shoes that can handle a light bleach foot bath and be worn in the cheese kitchen. A separate set of shoes will be needed if you want to visit the goats or walk around the farm.

Depending on the cheeses being taught, you'll take a break for lunch and refreshments mid day. Class fee includes light refreshments and cheese sampling. Please bring your own lunch which you'll eat outside under the dairy awning.

Class should be over between 2:00 and 3:00 pm, depending on the progress of the cheese make and if the God that watches over cheese makers is smiling down on us.

Cost is $75.00 per person per class and is limited to 10 people. Registration must be prepaid.

Email for more information and for our registration brochure. Chris Owen, 4717 East Fork Rd Marshall, NC 29753 (828)689-5508 cowen@madison.main.nc.us



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