MELBOURNE | Have you ever wanted to take a course may that be in dancing, cooking, business or sport and not known where to find one that works for you? WeTeachMe came up with a solution to this problem by creating an online platform that makes a range of courses available to you at the click of a button. The City Lane was invited to take WeTeachMe’s system for a whirl. We made our way through the extensive list of courses and settled on a cheese making class at Bee Sustainable in Brunswick East.
Bee Sustainable focuses on helping people lead a sustainable life by providing speciality supplies and workshops in the areas of bee-keeping, cheese making, baking and food-preservation. The classes are run by Jacqueline Bender, an advocate of sustainable living and keen home cheese maker. Jacqueline runs small classes of 8-10 students which allows you to get hands on experience and ask as many questions as you like. It is a great setting to learn a new skill such as how to make Mozzarella and Ricotta in our case.
Throughout the class we were taught how to coagulate milk, dehydrate curds and techniques for safe production of creamy ricotta and stringy Mozzarella. Don’t worry if you think it will be too much to remember or to hard, all participants are given notes and recipes so that you can try making the cheeses at home. Addtionally, the classes are targeted at beginner cheese makers with no knowledge of the cheese making process. I have to admit I was so inspired by the workshop that I made goat cheese ricotta a few weeks later.
The classes are taught in a really fun manner and as you measure things out, check temperatures and stir away, the 2.5-3hr workshop will flies by. By the end of it you will know how easy it is to actually make cheese on purpose (curdling milk doesn’t count). If you are still not convinced at the easy of making cheese check out Jacqueline’s ricotta at home recipe.
I have to say the best part of the class is learning how to stretch your Mozzarella and try to shape it. There was something joyous about making curds and whey going everywhere as you pull and shape the cheese it in part reminded me of being a kid and the sensation of playing with play dough. After you have finished making cheese (and a mess) you are then able to take the cheese you made and a range of other styles of cheeses Jacqueline has made at home. At the end of the class you are able to take home some of the cheeses you made.
Over all it’s a really enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning and a good option if you are looking for something to do with a parent, partner or friends. If you want to give cheese making a go (or learn about bee keeping for that matter) check out Bee Sustainable’s range of courses on WeTeachMe.
Thanks To Jacqueline at Bee Sustainable, we’ve got a double pass to an upcoming cheese Mozzarella and Ricotta making class (held once a month) to give away. To enter, simply subscribe to The City Lane’s weekly newsletter in the SUBSCRIBE section at the bottom of this post and let us know about your favourite cheese in the comments section.
Winners will be notified by e-mail on Sunday 20 September 2015.
Bee Sustainable
500 Lygon Street
Brunswick East
Victoria 3057