Autumn is the Season for Cheese and Sausage Making

As the day light dwindles and the weather turns cooler, I will begin to put aside the bounty of the season by curing meats and making cheeses.

This centuries old practice is no longer driven by necessity, but has remained popular simply because it yields delicious results. We still cherish the old world flavors associated with salumi making yet there are very few true artisans left who practice the craft.

Autumn is conducive to cheese and salumi making, which both require strict temperature and humidity control. I have a couple of refrigerators which have been converted in to a cheese cave for aging cheeses and a curing room where I can hang sausages and cured meats. My first salumi (cured sausage) of the season will be a Finnochiona Salami. I will then move on to make home cured pastrami, pork loin (Canadian Bacon), American Bacon, Coppa and others which I have not decided on yet.

On the cheese front, I'll begin work on my first Fall cheese by procuring four gallons of raw, organic cow's milk from Organic Pastures which will yield two, two pound wheels of Teleme cheese. I'm also smitten on several types of fresh goat's milk cheeses. The choices are endless but my rule of thumb is to start off by making the sausages and cheese which take the longest to age and or cure.