What: Cheesemaker Education Day is the west coast’s premier educational conference for the artisan cheese industry.

When: Saturday, January 27, 2024 from 8am to 6pm.

Where: Oregon State University, LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St, Corvallis, OR 97331.

Who: Creamery owners and cheesemakers from Oregon, the NW, California, further afield; people interested in starting a creamery business, others related to the artisan cheese industry, and students. In addition to the seminars, there will be a small trade show for cheese industry vendors.

Tickets: $40 for cheesemakers and owners/employees of cheesemaking businesses; $20 for OSU Food Science students; $95 all others. Ticket includes all seminars, light breakfast, lunch, and cheese reception.

Hands-On Workshop: Friday, January 26 from 9:30am to 4pm at Don Froylan Creamery in Salem. Tickets are $40 and include lunch.

Hotel: Hilton Garden Inn Corvallis, $165 + occupancy tax, book by Jan. 10 for group rate.

Register here!

Some of the exciting sessions happening at Cheesemaker Education Day 2024:

8:35 Pacific Coast Coalition

Susan Pheasant, Fresno State; Carmen Licon, Cal Poly; Aiyah Geier, Crushpad Creamery

Dairy Business Innovation Initiative is a $24+ million collaborative initiative and you are right in the heart of it. What is the PCC? What kinds of projects are being funded by its grant dollars? And how do you get in on the action?

9:35 Regulatory Update

Karel Smit, Oregon Department of Agriculture

• ODA Dairy Program Update (staffing, inspections, etc)
• Statewide Lab Summit
• Lab Evaluation Office Update
• ODA Lab at the North Valley Complex
• FDA Drug Monitoring Program (Year 2 of 2)
• FDA Dual Grade Inspections
• New Milk and or Milk Products Sampling Frequency

10:15 OSU Grad Student Research Quick Fire

OSU Food Science Graduate Students

Quick updates on the exciting research projects related to cheesemaking that OSU’s talented grad students have in progress.

Joanna Haas, Heat Treatment and Whey Proteins
Alyssa Thibodeau
Madeleine Enriquez
Paige Benson

11:00 Beating the Competition

Jill Allen, Tillamook; Rachel Perez, UNFI and ACS Board

All about cheese competitions: deciding which to enter; choosing your categories; selecting, prepping and shipping cheese; touting your wins; and using feedback to make better cheese.

12:45 SALT

Peter Dixon

Salt is a vital ingredient in cheesemaking. This presentation provides an opportunity to take a look at the role that salt plays in cheesemaking. What techniques are used to incorporate salt into cheese? What is the effect of on cheese flavor? Participants will learn about direct salting and brining methods, appropriate salt levels for different types of cheese, and the use of salt in creating cheese rinds during the aging process. For this session, we would make three batches of the same cheese with three different salts to examine the differences.

2:30 Co-Pack, Co-Man, Collab, Co-Op!

Meghan Moran, Davis Wright Tremaine; Hannah Kullberg, Community CoPack; Erick Garman, Oregon Department of Agriculture; Susan Pheasant, Fresno State/PCC-DBII; Todd Koch, TMK Creamery

Co-manufacturing is a hot topic in artisan food production, and an option to consider for larger producers with excess capacity and smaller producers looking to scale up with limited resources. What co-packing models exist? Who is doing it? What are the logistical and legal implications? How do I know if it’s right for me?

4:30 And to celebrate the day, our famous Cheese Reception!

Hands-On Workshop:

It’s in the Wash: Washed Curd Cheesemaking with Peter Dixon, Friday, Jan. 26 from 9:30-4

This session will explore the development and historical significance of washed-curd cheese, and explaining the importance of this technique. Peter will delve into the variety of cheeses produced by curd washing, and lead a discussion on how to achieve the tastes and textures washed curd can produce. The session starts with a 1.5 hour presentation then moves into a hands-on experience making two different washed curd cheeses such as raclette and Morbier. This session takes place at the Don Froylan cheesemaking facility in Salem.

Sponsors

Contact Katie Bray at katiembray(at)gmail(dot)com for more information on Cheesemaker Education Day.

Trade Show/Sponsorship Information:

Cheesemaker Education Day Sponsorship – $850

8’ table in conference center lobby
2 tickets to Cheesemaker Education Day seminars, lunch, and reception
Logo on CED website
Ad and listing in CED program
Mentions in event promotion emails
Access to attendee list
Support the Oregon Cheese Guild and its members

Register

Display Table – $500

8’ table
1 ticket to Cheesemaker Education Day seminars, lunch, and reception
Listing in CED program

Register