87 cheesemaker licenses were confirmed and a whopping 23 were still pending in a report provided by the Maine Department of Agriculture in February 2017. According to Linda Stahlnecker, M.S., Director. Milk Quality Lab / LEO, that would b a record number for Maine. You can read the list of those holding licenses as of February 2017 here. The Guild also maintains a map showing the location of licensed Maine cheesemakers here, including Guild and non-Guild members.
The Lincoln County News recently published an article about the
expansion of Lakin’s Gorges Cheese, a Maine Cheese Guild member. You can read it here.
Dave Potter from Dairy Connection will be teaching a cultures workshop
on Sunday, February 19th, from 9am-4pm at the Governors Restaurant
conference room in Waterville, Maine.
Have you ever wondered how does rennet work or what do cultures do in
the cheese process? To produce any variety of cheese, there are basic
functional properties of milk that need to be manipulated and
controlled by the cheesemaker. This program is designed to help
understand these processes. Understanding the functional role cultures
and enzymes play in your cheese make will allow you as a cheesemaker
to create a new style of cheese or improve on an existing recipe.
Dave Potter has been involved in the food and dairy industry for the past
36 years. Dave grew up on a dairy farm in NE Iowa. He attended South
Dakota State University and earned a BS degree in Dairy Science,
majoring in Dairy Product Manufacturing. He spent his first 22 years
employed with Nordica/Rhodia with primary responsibilities in the
technical application of cultures and other ingredients used in the
making of fermented milks and cheeses. The past 14 years he has worked
with his wife, Cathy, owner of Dairy Connection, Inc., Madison, WI, to
provide cultures and enzymes as well as application support to
farmstead and specialty cheesemakers.
The workshop fee is $50 for members and $75 for non-members (this
includes a guild membership at the cheese enthusiast level). We can
probably fit as many people as would want to attend, but please sign
up soon so we know how many lunches to order.
To sign up please mail your workshop payment to:
Maine Cheese Guild
c/o Mary Belding, Treasurer
250 Walker Mills Road,
Harrison ME 04040