A giveaway from Urban Cheesecraft: Make your own cheese!

If you have been around here long enough, it should be no big shocker to you when I say that I LOVE cheese.  Duh.  But, guess what else I love?  Etsy.  
Um... You are probably wondering what those two things could possibly have in common, and I don't blame you.  Although Etsy sellers have always shared plently of homemade goods including jams, cookies, and salts, I have been noticing an increasing number of specialty goods that look simply scrumptious.  Case in point: In one of my recent Etsy newsletters (naturally I subscribe to get cool Etsy Finds delivered to my inbox) I discovered Claudia of Urban Cheesecraft through one of Etsy's amazing videos.  Claudia founded Urban Cheesecraft as a way to share an easy and accessible way to make your own cheese at home - she basically takes all the guesswork out by providing kits that have everything you need to make cheese, and all you have to do is add the milk!
Check out a video about Urban Cheesecraft here, and don't miss the baby goats.  Is anything more adorable?

I think what I love the most about these kits from Urban Cheesecraft are the fact that for first-time cheesemakers, the process is so simple.  In my opinion, lots of people would prefer to eat 'handcrafted' food that they make themselves, whether it is bread, preserves, tomato sauce, or cheese, but often taking the initial step seems like a lot of work and it can be daunting.  Here Urban Cheesecraft provides all the equipment, all the instructions, and all the ingredients in one simple, inexpensive kit so you can have homemade cheese in just an hour.  (And isn't this kit cute?  Even better, it is made from post-consumer materials.  Love that.)  You just choose your milk, and you are ready to go!  Each kit makes 10 batches of cheese, so it is actually a really stellar deal.

Urban Cheesecraft has a variety of cheese-making kits, including the easiest kit to make paneer or queso blanco, more kits to make mozzarella or ricotta, and also kits to make goat cheese/chevre.  

I love all of Claudia's philosophies about eating locally, getting involved with your community, and getting in touch with your food.  She sources her milk from local farms in Portland, and offers tips for where to find your milk, whether you want to go local in your city or whether you just want to pick up your milk from the grocery store.  I would encourage you to keep things as close to home as possible, but do what works for you!

And lastly, I think these kits are a fantastic idea for a fun project to do with your kids or with a group of friends.  For kids, I think it teaches them a little bit of the 'science' behind food and it is really neat to see the formation of the cheese curds.  But surely, it can bring out the inner nerd in any adult as well.  I am thrilled that Urban Cheesecraft has offered to giveaway one of these awesome cheesemaking kits to one of my readers so you can share this cheese-making experience with your family and friends!   

To enter the giveaway for your choice of a basic cheesemaking kit from Urban Cheesecraft do all or any of the following for a total of four entries:

1. Become a fan of Urban Cheesecraft on Facebook.

2. Visit Urban Cheesecraft's Etsy page and 'favorite' the shop or any of the products.

3. Visit Urban Cheesecraft's Etsy page and tell me which cheese kit you would like to get.  (I got the goat cheese/chevre kit!)

4. Have you tried making your own cheese before?  Leave a comment and tell us about it!  Or, tell me what is your favorite DIY or homemade food project? 

For an additional three entries do any of the following:

1. Subscribe to The Cilantropist by email (add email in the sidebar). 

2. Be a new fan of The Cilantropist on Facebook.

3. Share this giveaway on twitter by retweeting the following: Easy to make your own cheese! Enter to win a #DIY Cheesemaking Kit from Urban Cheesecraft on @TheCilantropist! http://bit.ly/opudhT #goaterie

Giveaway is open to US residents only, and you can enter anytime until Saturday, August 6th at 9pm PST.  Be sure to leave separate comments for each entry, and don't forget to come back and tell me if you 'liked' Urban Cheesecraft or The Cilantropist on Facebook, or 'favorited' on Etsy!

And, to find out more about Claudia and Urban Cheesecraft, including her cheese-making classes, visit her website or her shop on Etsy.

And lastly, although this isn't technically a post about a recipe involving goat products I am sending in this post as part of the Goaterie event set up by Creative Culinary and La Fuji Mama.  They wanted to celebrate all things goat, so they dreamed up Goaterie.  Rachael says: 

We’re calling the festivities “Goaterie”—a name dreamed up by a group of goat enthusiasts on Twitter that is a play on the word “coterie.”  

Well, we all know I can't resist plays on words or goat cheese (my favorite cheeses are from Cypress Grove!) so of course I had to spread a little goat love here on The Cilantropist.  Since I am pressed for time these days, I was thrilled that Claudia of Urban Cheesecraft was willing to help me out and giveaway these DIY kits - can I recommend the Goat Cheese/Chevre kit? 

Have lots of fun enjoying goat products, and definitely stop by at Creative Culinary and La Fuji Mama to check out more recipes using goat milk, cheese, and meat!   

*I was not compensated for this giveaway, and of course, all opinions are my own.  All images here are used courtesy of Urban Cheesecraft.*