Gourmet Travel in Oregon
Ten culinary experiences that will take you from FARM to TABLE to FOOD CART to the SUBLIME
October 1 2011
By Sarah MaxExecutive Editor
A Cheesy Experience
What
Cheese-making classes
Where
Kookoolan Farms in Yamhill
When
Most Saturdays February through November
Price
$50 to $95, depending on the class
Bonus
Handmade truffles, homemade soaps, chicken butchering
Info
Between tending to their chickens, milking their cows, weeding their gardens and selling their many wares at farmers markets and specialty foods stores, Chrissie and Koorosh Zaerpoor have plenty to keep them busy. So when Chrissie began teaching cheese-making in 2008, it wasn't for want of another project. The market demanded it. "People were interested in making their own cheese but were intimidated," says Chrissie, who, with a resume that includes everything from process engineering at Intel to historic home restorations and mead-making, wasn't daunted by the science of curdling and coagulation. "Soft cheeses are incredibly easy to make," she says. Harder cheeses are, well harder to make. But that hasn't stopped students from trying. Kookoolan Farms now hosts about forty classes a year with students ranging from aspirants who want to impress their friends to serious chefs in search of a signature mozzarella.
