Janet Hurst enjoys country living. “I fondly remember my great-grandmother’s farm, collecting eggs, playing with kittens in the hay loft, and fetching jars from the old fruit cellar. I thought it was heaven on Earth! This is the type of life I knew I wanted for my own family. I had a dream of a few acres and a goat. That dream came true, and goats have been a part of things around my farm ever since! Because I had goats, I began to experiment with cheesemaking, and eventually I went on to study cheesemaking at the Vermont Institute of Artisan Cheese and the University of Guelph, Canada, as well as at small farms in Israel. I made cheese commercially for several years.”
In addition to making cheese, Janet enjoys writing. “I first started writing about goats, then cheese. This took me down the path of writing for many well-known periodicals, including MaryJanesFarm magazine. What a thrill to see my name in print!” Janet recently completed her first book, Homemade Cheese (Voyageur Press, 2011). She says, “The best parts about writing the book were the interviews with cheesemakers. I love to talk to small farmers, to learn about their operations and their lifestyles. Each one has a story to tell.” Janet continues to spread the art of cheesemaking across the country, through her writing efforts and her cheesemaking workshops. She says, “Teaching cheesemaking is as much fun as making it. People are amazed to discover that they can actually make cheese in their own kitchens with a minimum amount of specialized equipment. To watch someone learn a new skill, then apply it to their own life, is a gift for me. I think it’s vitally important to preserve the art of cheesemaking in this country.”
