It was a busy night, discussing making cheese, preserving seasonal foods, and trying to catch up on everything left over from our charcuterie. I learned quite a bit and am really looking forward to putting it all into use in my career and at home.

                        The first part of last night dealt with the discussion of making cheese. This was my responsibility. I gave a short PowerPoint presentation on the history of cheese, the history of rennet – a  crucial ingredient in making cheese – and briefly covered the production process. I would have discussed that more, but I had arranged with a professional cheese maker to come in and discuss the actual methods they use in production. According to Chef, their company – Swissland Cheese – is one of the largest privately owned cheese makers in Indiana. I was very impressed with their operation, and also with the level of interest shown by most of my classmates. (I have to admit I was also very impressed with their “chedda feta blue” cheese!It was funny to me, when I walked them out afterwards, how impressed they were with my presentation. They were also very impressed with the other presenter, and her presentation on preserving seasonal foods.

            The other person's presentation covered the different methods used in preservation, such as canning, pickling, drying and jellying to name a few. It was very interesting to learn just how easy it was to do many of these. I knew about jellying, as I make jams and jellies at home nearly every year, but I learned a lot about canning other foods, like the use of a pressure cooker being necessary for the canning of low acid foods. Now, I know what to ask for at Christmas!

            I would love to say the most important lesson I learned was related to any of these subjects, but unfortunately that was not the case. The most important lesson I learned had to do with people. I learned that one negative attitude can ruin the pleasure of learning.  As a leader, it is a true challenge to harness peoples positive energy.  However, on a more positive note, I also learned that most of my classmates are supportive, encouraging, truly friendly, and that they honestly enjoyed our discussions yesterday.