Category Archives: Learning

2011 Sanitation Workshop at UM-O

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Scrub BrushBeth Calder writes:

For raw milk processors, cheesemakers, dairy producers and anyone thinking of producing dairy value-added food products

8:00am-4:30pm
Buchanan Alumni Hall, McIntire Room, University of Maine, Orono campus
Please contact Melissa Potts to register: 1-800-287-7170 or [email protected]
The maximum number will be 40 people so register early.
Cost: $20 per person (lunch provided)
$10 per person for Cheese Guild Members
Make checks payable to University of Maine Cooperative Extension

Instructors: Beth Calder- Cooperative Extension, Food Science Specialist; Gary Anderson- Cooperative Extension, Animal and Bio-Sciences Specialist; Jason Bolton- Cooperative Extension, Food Safety Statewide Educator; Barbara Brooks, Owner/Operator of Seal Cove Farm; John Belding, Cheese Producer, Little Falls Farm; Mike Travers, Ecolab.

8:00am – Registration
8:15am – Introduction to Microorganisms
8:50am – Sanitation 101
9:50am – Break
10:10am – Cleaners and Sanitizers
11:10am – Farm and Milk Room Sanitation

12:10am – Lunch- provided

1:00 – 1:30 – Barbara Brooks, Seal Cove Farm.
1:30 – 2:00 – Facility Sanitation
2:00 – 2:15 – Break
2:15 – 2:45 – HACCP Made Easy
3:00 – 3:30 – Designing a Sanitary Cheese Cave
3:30 – 4:00 – Micro-Testing and How to Read a Bacteria Lab Report
4:00 – Evaluations

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. UM Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. If you require special accommodations or financial assistance to participate in this program, please contact Melissa Potts at (207)581-2788 by April 15 so we may assist you.

Rennet Workshop Planned

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The Maine Cheese Guild will be sponsoring a one-day workshop on cheese Rennet to be held at Little Falls Farm in Harrison, Maine on Monday, April 19th from 9am to 5pm.

At the beginning there will be a short lecture on the nature of rennet — how it works, why it is used in cheesemaking, and the different ways it can affect finished cheeses. This will include a report written by Oregon cheesemaker David Peterson on his experiences using plant derived renneting materials to make traditional cheeses.

After lunch John and Mary Belding of Little Falls Farm will demonstrate step-by-step the methods for harvesting a goat-kid vel, preserving it, and then using it in cheese production.

Fees will be $125 for the general public, $100 for Maine Cheese Guild members (lunch included). For more information email [email protected]/MCG-build. To reserve a spot (there will be a limited class size) send a check to

The Maine Cheese Guild
c/o Mark Whitney, Treasurer
Pineland Farms
32 Farm View Drive
New Gloucester, Maine 04260

Cheese Culture Workshop

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Dave Potter Evaluates Cheeses for Workshop Participants

Dave Potter Evaluates Cheeses for Workshop Participants

The Maine Cheese Guild sponsored a one-day workshop on Cheese Cultures held at Pineland Farms in New Gloucester, Maine on Friday, January 22nd from 9am to 5pm.

David Potter, from Dairy Connection, Inc., lectured on the basics of picking the right cheese cultures (thermophilic, mesophilic, yeasts, and molds) for your cheeses, as well as delved into the exciting new realm of using adjunct cultures in traditional cheese recipes to broaden the flavor landscape.

In addition, Dave critiqued a number of cheeses, from experimental batches using different adjunct culture mixes, to commercial versions exhibiting specific culture techniques, as well as cheese brought by workshop attendees. The enthusiastic reception, high attendance rate, and the continued expression of interest in this subject means that the Guild will work to bring Dave (or another culture expert) back soon.

[Deb Hahn has received copies of specific slides that were too small to read on the hand-outs, such as the comparisons of different P. candidum, and Corynebacteria. If you would like to get copies of these, email here at [email protected]]