Preserving

Even with all the rain, produce is coming in fast and furiously. I am spending time each day preserving things so I don't lose it.

This week it was canning tomatoes, sweet pickle relish, and a gouda. Now that the bucklings are separate and weaned, I'm getting about 2.5 gal milk a day! I am trying to get that processed into some hard cheeses for the winter. Here's a 2 gallon gouda I did the other day. It's almost ready to wax.

I'd considered selling some hard cheeses if they turn out well, but I don't think I could sell them for enough to cover my costs. This gouda took 2 gal of milk. At $10/gallon, that's $20 right there. Then there was the cultures, salt, and approximately 2 hours labor. It weighs 1.75 lbs. I'd really have to sell it for $18/lb to make it worth my time and materials. I'll have to do some more research on what farm fresh cheeses sell for.