Cheese making and hippie childhood

7 years ago

Forty (plus plus) years ago in my idyllic childhood my parents experimented with the back to the lander ethos. They are/were artists primarily. We had cows and therefore milk. And therefore my mom made cheese. And so my dad made her a cheese cabinet - a Japanese inspired cheese cabinet. I remember him making a cheese press as well. At some point she stopped making cheese. Their lives eventually went in separate directions. It became a place where one might find string, shells or the odd screw.

Two days ago it came to my house. After a good scrubbing with Murphy’s oil soap and a temporary location found this wall cheese cabinet is on the floor filled with sewing stuff.

I need to find wall space for this cabinet - it doesn’t sit properly on the floor. It is screened in the back as well and meant to hang away from the wall. For air circulation I suppose. I would like to try making cheese although I am not sure I can justify a cheese only

cabinet.

Feeling sentimental.

Featured Answer

agmss15
Original Author

7 years ago

Well at some point I was planning a small island with some screened adjustable shelves for baking - for rising and cooling bread. I was clearly inspired by this piece if unaware. Still somewhere on my project wish list but it is a long list.

But these shelves are pretty short and shallow for bread. Each ‘shelf’ is actually 4 little removable squares of wood that fit onto a front and back rail. So I could make a dozen cheeses if I so chose.

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Comments (11)

plllog
7 years ago
That is gorgeous! I bet it would be good for cooling baked goods, or if in a cool spot away from sun and heat, for storing produce of the countertop mien.

For cheesemaking, you'd want it in a cool constant temperature, like for wine. Most people use a corner of their fridge with a special container to keep it warmer and drier, or a spare fridge which has been adapted, or an actual cave (or similar basement). Your cabinet would be awesome in such a space, too.
sushipup1
7 years ago
That really is a beautiful piece. Plus the lovely history.

My neighbor's son decided to make cheese one year, and I bought enough from him to last me forever. ;-)
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lindac92
7 years ago
Yarn....better learn to knit....or spin.
agmss15
Original Author
7 years ago
Lindac - I have friends who own a fabulous yarn shop. I go in to it infrequently and come out muttering to myself ‘you will not acquire a new hobby!!!’. I garden, I bake, I bead, I woodwork, I sew. Last winter I attempted felting to use up a stash of rovings I had to make gifts and somehow made gifts and ended up with more rovings than I started with originally. All of these require tools and materials that take up space in my little house.
l pinkmountain
7 years ago
Gorgeous piece and wonderful story. Thanks for sharing it. I'd only bother making cheese if I had cows or milk goats or a neighbor that did. Raw milk isn't available just any old place. I found that out when I had to find goats milk for a cheese making demo once.

.
CA Kate z9
7 years ago
I too think that is a beautiful piece with lots of good history. Lucky you... however you decide to use it.
lindac92
7 years ago
You can knit with roving....and you can spin it into yarn to knit....just sayin'...:-)
John Liu
7 years ago
That is a good looking piece. I don't know how deep it is, but depending on dimensions it could be a good stereo or audiovisual equipment cabinet. Screening allows cooling airflow and remotes should work through the screening.
ci_lantro
7 years ago
That is a great piece! I love it.

Don't know how deep the shelves are. Could use it for storing staples like rice, dried beans, etc.

Or meds/ pet supplies/ first aid supplies, etc. I have that sort of stuff scattered over three bathrooms, a couple of cabinets in the kitchen and in a console in the family room so I need that cabinet! Gets really frustrating trying to find stuff around here, items that I know I have. Ashamed to admit that, not infrequently, it ends up being easier to order more from Amazon than finding the X item that is hiding away from me. :-(
lovemrmewey
7 years ago
It's lovely and a piece of your childhood!

Cheese making and hippie childhood

agmss15
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Cheese making and hippie childhood

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