open mind, empty stomach

I recently had the opportunity to take part in a cheese making workshop with my local Slow Food chapter at Naked Cow Dairy in Waianae on Oahu’s leeward side. Two sisters, Monique and Sabrina, own and operate Oahu’s only dairy, where they produce buttermilk, yogurt, butter, and cheese. The only cheese the ladies have been taking to market has been (cow milk) feta. This workshop was meant to test a variety of other cheeses and see how they fare with Naked Cow’s milk and our climate. We made camembert style, gouda style, ricotta, crescenza, and yogurt cheese.
I had never made cheese before and jumped at the opportunity to take part in the workshop. Making the cheese itself was a lot of fun, but involved quite a bit of waiting. The ricotta and yogurt cheese were ready for immediate consumption and came out very well. We are a couple months away from sampling the gouda and camembert style and I’m really looking forward to tasting the fruits of our labor. For now, the cheese is being aged in a modified wine fridge, but the ladies are working on making a commercial scale aging chamber in the near future. Producing added value products like cheese, will help Naked Cow become profitable and grow.
We had a delicious lunch that included great local produce as well as some treats that our Slow Food leader, Gida brought back from France. The dairy is set in a beautiful part of the island and we were there for another spectacular Hawaiian sunset. I could not have asked for a nicer location, more welcoming hosts, better company, or a more perfect first experience cheesing it up. Naked Cow is now taking part in agritourism and it is definitely worth a visit to come and experience Oahu’s only dairy.

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