Staunton News Leader - 05/02/2016 Page : A01

Copyright © 2016 Staunton News Leader 05/02/2016May 2, 2016 8:51 am (GMT +4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

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WAYNESBORO - Six women gathered in the smallkitchen of the Rosenwald Community Center Sunday af-ternoon.

It was filled with laughter, smiles and of course,cheese.

Part of Sharon Munyak’s Hobby Hill Farm Freshcooking classes, the cheese making course was open tothe public and focused on three simple ingredients —milk, citric acid and cheese salt. The key is to use wholemilk.

The concept of Sunday’s class was to make quickcheese — mozzarella and ricotta — in 30 minutes or less.It’s something that Munyak calls instant gratification.

“That’s the best part,” she said. That and eating it, she

WAYNESBORO

LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADERFrom left to right: Students Cinda Malouin and Sayoko MacDougall with instructor Sharon Munyak pull mozzarella during a cheesemaking class at Rosenwald Community Center in Waynesboro on Sunday.

THE F INE ART OFCHEESE MAK I NG

LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADERFreshly made mozzarella and ricotta cheese with fresh tomatoand basil.

LAURA PETERS LPETERS@NEWSLEADER.COM

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Staunton News Leader - 05/02/2016 Page : A02

Copyright © 2016 Staunton News Leader 05/02/2016May 2, 2016 8:51 am (GMT +4:00) Powered by TECNAVIA

LOTTERY

said.Munyak has been teaching these

classes for five years and this is the thirdclass she’s offered in Waynesboro. Shealso offers pasta and bread classes, yo-gurt making and cream cheese making,among other things.

She first started making cheeses andother milk-based products after she gotmultiple gallons of milk from a friend’sfarm. The only problem was she’s notmuch of a dairy drinker. So, she came upwith ways to use the excess milk.

“I think I like using milk because I canuse the entire amount of the milk, fromthe curd to the whey,” Munyak said.

In her classes she gives her studentsthe building blocks of cooking a specificitem. In Sunday’s cheese class, the stu-dents were guided to make the cheeseentirely on their own, with Munyak of-fering help when needed. Munyak saidthose who participate in the class cantake the knowledge they gather andadapt it and use it in their own lives.

Some may want more salt in theircheese, others may not, she said.

Cinda Malouin of Waynesboro saidshe came to the class to get some differ-ent takes on cheese making. She ownsand operates a goat farm — My PeepsFarm — and she’s getting ready to milkthe goats. With the class, she is hoping tolearn new ways to create deliciouscheese from her animals.

Sayoko MacDougall of Nellysfordwanted to try something new.

MacDougall is retired, so she tries tofill her time with new activities. “It’s eas-ier than I anticipated,” she said.

“This looked interesting and fun,” shesaid. The best part about the class is try-ing what you’ve made.

“I like some fresh mozzarella withsome basil and balsamic ... that’s heav-en,” said Sara Doherty of Waynesboro.

Michelle Mead of Waynesboro comesfrom French heritage, so she grew upwith good cheese.

“I love cooking and I love cooking forpeople,” she said.

Being a widow, she said many whohave lost a loved one stop cooking forothers and sometimes themselves.

“I think there is something really re-warding cooking for other people,” shesaid. “I like making people happy withfood.”

Munyak will be offering a bread andpasta cooking class at the RosenwaldCommunity Center Sept. 24. To find outmore information go toWaynesboro.va.us/230/Activities.

Reporters note: I got to try some of thisfreshly made cheese and it was prettyawesome!

CheeseContinued from Page 1A

LAURA PETERS/THE NEWS LEADERMichelle Mead scraps off some mozzarellacheese from a cheese cloth on Sunday.