Pharmaggio

12/07/2026

Basque cheesecake

11/02/2026

It’s official! I am now a fromager, aka casaro, aka formaggiaio, or as I will now call myself, the Pharmaggiaio. 😎🧀

24/09/2025

Although the cheddar should age for a few months, we couldn’t resist giving it a try. I did something unusual when making this cheddar… I added in some lipase. It’s often added to Italian cheeses to produce a more aromatic and spicy flavour. So even though it’s not even been two weeks, the cheese tastes like an older cheddar.

21/09/2025

After pressing and letting the cheddar dry for several days, I was finally able to put the cheese coating on. Normally I would wax the cheese, but it’s very time consuming and not worth it for just 4 small cheeses. So after applying 2 coats, the cheddar is ready to be aged, for a minimum of 1 month. Can’t wait to try it!

14/09/2025

Finally getting back into it. This is the first batch of cheddar-making from Portugal. Every ingredient (milk, cultures, rennet, etc.) is different as it is sourced from Europe rather than Canada, and I have noticed some very minor differences in the process so far. But hopefully the end result will be similar. More to come soon.

13/09/2025

Although this page is (mostly) about cheesemaking, I’ve decided to post about a different fermentation process / experiment: winemaking - the traditional way.

The pharmacist/chemist in me would never go for this, but the hopefully-soonish-to-be-Portuguese in me is embracing rural Portuguese traditions.

This winemaking journey began with picking grapes from our yard. These are Morangueiro (aka “Americano” in this region, and similar to Concord in North America). They’re not wine grapes, although they are sometimes added to wine to sweeten it. And people do use them to make homemade wine.

After washing the grapes, we took turns stomping on them. The crushed grapes, which included the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems, and the released juice were then left to ferment for several days. The pulp and the fermented juice, AKA wine, was then strained several times to remove as much of the pulp as possible. The end result is a slightly thicker-than-usual sweet wine.

16/07/2025

Crossover photo… home-churned butter with Apothebaker apothebaker home-baked sourdough bread. Delicious combination!

14/07/2025

Home-churned butter two ways: regular butter with Himalayan pink salt (left); cultured butter with the same salt (right). Wasn’t sure what to expect with the cultured butter as it was the first time making it. It came out light (in colour and texture) and very tasty!

11/06/2025

Wow! Flashback to four years ago… Tasting the first cheddar I ever made. And so began my journey.

29/01/2025