This is one of the first cheeses I made, a Jack, almost eight months ago. I used yogurt, not necessarily a bad thing . . . I’ve made some good cheeses with yogurt.

I didn’t use make sheets back then, so I’ll never know why things went so horribly wrong.

It was ready to be cracked.

The paste was soft but crumbly and looked appetizing:

But, you ask, how did it taste?

Nasty, sour and bitter, foul. So terrible that I involuntarily spat it out into my hand.

A couple of hours later, I kept thinking, “It can’t really have been that bad, can it?” and tried again. I didn’t want to spit into my hand again, so brought along a small plate.

I used the plate.

By far my worst cheese ever, and only the third one that went into the garbage.

They can’t all be successes!

-R