Victoria Barnes says she and her husband were “city slickers” when they bought their property in the South Florida’s Redland in 2011. But then she fell in love with a couple of goats on the property – and before long, she was milking her and using that milk to make goat cheese, butter and yogurt for her family. “I really got into cheesemaking,” she says, buying the cultures from a cheesemaker in Wisconsin and turning her fresh goat milk into gouda, hard cheeses and even creations like Drunken Goat chese, soaked in petite sirah wine.
Barnes can’t sell her goat milk products to consumers since in Florida it’s illegal to sell raw milk, which is unpasteurized, for human consumption. Raw milk products are only for pet consumption.
But she does want to share the joys of cheesemaking to South Floridians at a cheese workshop at her ranch. On Jan. 3, expert cheesemaker Dave Potter and his wife, Cathy, owners of Dairy Connection in Madison, Wisconsin, will cover cheesemaking techniques, the use of lactic acids, and the different types of rennet available on the market today.
The workshop is $50 per person and includes lunch. Contact Victoria Barnes at [email protected] to reserve space.
