Well, our first cheese is a success. That’s a bit of a turn-up. I was rather dubious as it slowly matured in the out house, but despite the fluctuating temperature, the slightly irregular oiling and the mould we’ve been scraping off, it seems it’s actually rather nice.

Very nice, in fact.

It absolutely reeks. We’ve put it in a plastic box and still had to wrap it in a plastic bag with a clip on the top to keep it from stinking out the fridge, but that’s just the rind. Once you slice it off and get inside it’s mild and very creamy.

And so it should be.

Our round is about 5in in diameter and a couple of inches deep, and it took five litres of milk to make. That means that an eighth, which is a pretty small portion, is 625ml of milk compressed into something about the size of a matchbox.

Cheese is quite shockingly bad for you when you think about it – particularly when you know what goes into it, but it is nice to be eating your own.

We’ll certainly be making some more.

Related posts:

1. Our homemade cheese is ready to eat
2. The cheese is out of the press!
3. How to make cheese starter