How to Make Raw Milk Cheese at Home, According to an Expert Farmer

Beth Dougherty, co-author of ‘The Independent Farmstead,’ shares beginner-friendly tips and a recipe—plus why your cheese won’t taste like anyone else’s.

Homemade farm gouda produced by The Sow's Ear farm. Beth Dougherty

Beth Dougherty likes to joke that she started making cheese about five minutes after she and her husband, Shawn, started getting milk from their first Jersey heifer in 2001. With 5 gallons a day coming into their kitchen, storage space was at a premium.

“By day three, there was no room in the refrigerator,” Mrs. Dougherty said.