VERMONT TECH
CHEESE AND YOGURT TRAININGS
YOGURT PRODUCTION
APRIL 28-30, 2017 | 9 AM-4 PM
Norwich Farm, Norwich, VT | $500
This three-day training is a practical, comprehensive, and technical
guide to yogurt production and the principles governing the
fermentation of milk to make yogurt. Participants will learn the specific
skills to produce yogurt including food safety issues, fermentation
science, and hands-on methods of making yogurt. These include: milk
biochemistry, inoculants, sweetening, packaging, and the economics
of yogurt production. Participants will also learn about the regulations
applicable to yogurt production and business models for yogurt
production operations. Using common milk processing equipment to
make yogurt, participants will be able to explain and apply fermentation
science to the yogurt making process.
The three day course combines classroom learning, hands on
yogurt making, and visits to local yogurt production facilities, where
participants can interact with entrepreneurs.
Participants will learn about commercial processing equipment and
prepare yogurt in bench top incubators, which they can take home for
further experimentation.
SENSORY EVALUATION OF CHEESE
JUNE 16 or OCTOBER 14, 2017 | 9 AM-4 PM
Randolph Center Campus | $175
ESSENTIAL PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF
CHEESE MAKING
OCTOBER 9-13, 2017 | 9 AM-4 PM
Norwich Farm, Norwich, VT | $1,800
This five-day training is a practical and comprehensive technical
guide to cheese technology and the principles governing the
quality of cheese. During this intensive, participants will learn the
fundamentals of cheese making, quality control practices, and useful
considerations in starting a small-scale cheese making business.
The first section focuses on the chemistry of milk and the different
aspects defining the quality of cheese making milk. The second
part describes the principles of cheese making and the different
families of cheese and also includes comprehensive hands-on
demonstrations in making three different cheese styles: a fresh
acid-coagulated soft cheese, a bloomy rind variety, and a semi-hard
cheese. The last section of the training focuses on how to monitor
and control the fundamental factors driving the quality of the
product.
REGISTRATION
To register for the course please visit vtc.edu/trainings or contact
Molly Willard at [email protected] or 802.535.5315.
One of the main factors driving consumer choice is the sensory quality
of the final product. This one-day training will provide you with the
fundamental tools to control and define the sensory quality of cheese,
offering basic sensory training to describe and record the sensory
characteristics of your cheese, as well as resourceful information and
quality control systems to prevent defects in cheese.
This intensive training combines practical hands-on exercises with
technical lectures, making it very interesting and enjoyable but at the
same time offering very valuable information to prevent making, selling
or buying defective products. The training is also an unique opportunity
to improve your food sensory skills and the understanding of cheese
quality, from beginners and advanced cheese makers, marketing
and sales representatives, to quality managers, technicians, cheese
mongers, chefs, and everyone else that would like to explore the
fascinating world of cheese.
Cheese makers are welcome to bring samples of their products for
evaluation to get practical feedback from Dr. Almena-Aliste.
LEARN MORE
visit: www.vtc.edu/agricultureinstitute
call: 802.535.5315
LOCATION
Vermont Tech acquired Norwich Farm in Norwich,
VT in 2015. This historic 350-acre dairy farm was
completely renovated in the mid 1990’s and is
now undergoing a further transformation and
revitalization as a public-private partnership. The
location is home to the resident farmers and their
herd, two entrepreneurs whose private businesses
focus on producing value-added farmstead dairy
products under the Norwich Farm Creamery brand,
and the Upper Valley Land Trust’s Brookmead
Conservation area, which stewards the land for
research, education, conservation and recreation.
In 2016, work was completed on the Vermont Tech
Dairy Lab, a state-of-the-art micro-creamery, which
houses processing equipment able to produce
a complete range of fresh and fermented dairy
products. Here students in Vermont Tech’s Dairy
Farm Management program spend a semester living
on the property, where they do their coursework and
engage in hands-on learning with the partner farmer
and cheese maker. Vermont Tech’s Institute for
Applied Agriculture and Food Systems holds ongoing
trainings at the Teaching Farm and Dairy Lab focusing
on value-added agricultural practices. This unique public-private
partnership is realizing the potential of this valuable agricultural
location, preserving the working landscape, and training the farmers
of the future.
REGISTRATION
To register for the course please visit vtc.edu/trainings or contact
Molly Willard at [email protected] or 802.535.5315.
FACILITATORS
MONTSERRAT ALMENA-ALISTE
Cheese Technologist and
Sensory Specialist
Dr. Montserrat Almena-Aliste (Montse) has over 20 years of
experience working with cheese makers and professionals
worldwide to improve the quality of artisan cheeses. Her
areas of expertise include multiple aspects involved in the
quality of cheese: from milk and cheese making technology, to
composition of the green cheese, ripening and sensory profile
of the finished product.
After 10 years at the University of Vermont, teaching over 150
cheesemaking courses and sharing her technical expertise
with hundreds of cheesemakers, Dr. Almena currently works
as a cheese technologist and sensory consultant providing
a broad range of services and technical expertise including
educational and practical programs, custom training, sensory
evaluation, QC and R&D support in cheese and dairy products.
Dr. Almena is author of over twenty peer-reviewed papers
and several cheese books. Her more recent work involves a
chapter in the book Cheese and Microbes and being the area
editor of The Oxford Companion to Cheese.
LEARN MORE
CHRIS GRAY
Master Cheese Maker; Part-time Faculty
Chris Gray is a Vermont based cheese maker who, beyond his
technical knowledge, also has a varied and extensive background
in marketing, sales, and business development. Working as a
cheesemonger in high school, Chris went on to earn a double
degree from Hamilton College in Cultural Anthropology and Craft
Production. He then applied his interests as a Marketing Director
in the music business, where he worked for a decade with an
extensive and eclectic roster of international artists and record
labels. Chris came back to cheese in 2006, becoming a Partner in
Consider Bardwell Farm, the nationally and internationally award
winning cheese producer, known for its sustainable, raw milk, and
pasture-based cheese production.
In 2016, Chris founded Norwich Farm Creamery at the Vermont
Tech Norwich farm campus. At this new state of the art farmstead
micro-creamery, Chris is producing fresh pasteurized products,
including bottled milk, kefir, yogurt, cheese, butter, and ice cream.
visit: www.vtc.edu/agricultureinstitute
call: 802.535.5315