Most Queso Diego meetings feature an educational presentation on topics related to cheese and cheesemaking. This page contains an archive of meeting minutes, notes, and handouts provided by the presenters from previous meetings.
Note: Depending on the topics, not all meetings will have digital content available.
July 2024 – Feta Cheese – Chris Banker and Susan Schimka
- Queso Diego Feta Cheese 2024 Presentation (PDF, 488KB)
March 2024 – Grilled Cheese Intro
- QD Grilled Cheese Extravaganza (PDF, 500KB)
January 2024 – Chevre – Larry Stein
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 614KB)
November 2022 – How Cultures Affect Flavor and Texture – Curt Wittenberg
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 1170KB)
October 2021 – Cheese Celebration Cakes – Curt Wittenberg
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 700KB)
April 2020 – Cheese Aging Chemistry – Pat Polowsky
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 1623KB)
August 2019 – Intro to Fondue – Carol Rutherford
- Presentation Notes (PDF, 155KB)
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 613KB)
March 2019 – Hard Cheeses – Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 758KB)
- Intro to Grilled Cheese Presentation Slides (PDF, 758KB)
February 2019 – History of Cheese – Marci Richards
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 903KB)
November 2018 – Smoked Cheeses – Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 668KB)
Maker Faire SD (October 2018) – Hard Cheeses – Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 954KB)
August 2018 – Yogurt, Yogurt Cheeses, and Kefir – Sabine Friedrich-Walter
- Presentation Slides (513KB)
May 2018 – Cheese Caves – Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 623KB)
November 2017 – Alpine Cheeses – Marci Richards
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.13MB)
July 2017 – American Cheeses – Jenny Eastwood
- Meeting Notes (PDF, 637KB)
June 2017 – Cheese Forms and Presses – Larry Stein
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 891KB)
March 2017 – Irish Cheeses – Jeffree Itrich
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 617KB)
June 2017 – Cheese Styles – Larry Stein
- Presentation Slides – Cheese Classification (PDF, 1MB)
- Handout: Cheese Characteristic Check List (PDF, 327KB)
October 2016 – Microbes Make Cheese – Curt Wittenberg
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 5.3MB)
May 2016 – Entering Cheeses in the SD Fair – Alyssa Humbert
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 186KB)
February 2016 – Mediterranean Cheeses – Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 1.3MB)
November 2015 – Blue Cheeses – Colleen Garrett and Chris Banker
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 387KB)
October 2015 – Flavored Cheeses – Alyssa Humbert
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 842KB)
August 2015 – Cheeses of France – Curt Wittenberg
- Cheeses of France Presentation Slides (PDF, 842KB)
- Fondue Intro Presentation Slides (PDF, 515KB)
June 2015 – Cheeses of Spain – Jeffree Itrich
- Presentation Slides (PDF, 373KB)
April 2015 – Grilled Cheese Celebration
- Grilled Cheese Recipes (link)
February 2015 – Non-Cheese Fermentations – Larry Stein
- Presentation Slides – Larry Stein (PDF, 1.9MB)
September 2014 – The Art of the Cheese Plate – Ringo Firefly
- Presentation Slides – Ringo Firefly (PDF, 898KB)
July 2014 – Cheesemaking Basics – Larry Stein
- What is Cheese? Presentation Slides – Larry Stein (PDF, 743KB)
- Cheese Styles Spreadsheet (PDF) (PDF, 54KB)
- Cheese Styles Spreadsheet (Excel) (XLSX, 22KB)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF, 34KB)
- Intro to Mac n Cheese Presentation Slides – Yvonne Cooper (PDF, 371KB)
May 2014 – Smoked Cheeses – Chris Banker
- Smoked Cheeses Presentation Slides (PDF, 58KB)
- Intro to Desserts Made with Cheese Presentation Slides (PDF, 435KB)
February 2014 – Mexican Cheeses – Omar Acosta
- Meeting Minutes (PDF, 656KB)
November 2013 – Italian Cheeses – Brian Trout
- Italian Cheeses – Presentation Slides (PDF, 1489KB)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF, 182KB)
August 2013 – Brazilian Cheeses – Livia Paz
- Brazilian Cheeses – Presentation Slides (PDF, 1071KB)
- Fondue Tips and Recipes – Don and Carol Rutherford (DOC, 28KB)
- Fondue Primer – Larry Stein (PDF, 673KB)
June 2013 – Cheesemaking Gadgets – Horace Bixby
- Cheesemaking Gadgets – Presentation Handout (PDF, 33KB)
May 2013 – English Cheeses – Jeffree Itrich
- English Cheeses – Presentation Notes (PDF, 84KB)
- Cheddar Beer Soup Recipe (External Link)
- English Country Cheddar Cheese Soup (External Link)
February 2013 – Scandinavian Cheeses – Malcolm Jarvis
- Scandinavian Cheeses – Presentation Notes (PDF, 146KB)
January 2013 – Cheese and Sparkling Wine Pairing – Ringo Firefly
- Cheese and Champagne – Pairing Menu (DOC, 36KB)
October 2012 – Soft-Ripened Cheeses – Laurie Gerber and Horace Bixby
- Soft-Ripened Cheeses – Presentation Slides (PPTX, 3391KB)
- Soft-Ripened Cheeses – Presentation Handout (DOCX, 24KB)
- Bix’s Notes on Camembert and Brie (ZIP, 1.9MB)
- Bix’s Notes on Camembert and Brie (individual JPG images): [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
May 2012 – Cheesemaking Gadgets and Cheese School Recap – Larry Stein and Chris Banker
- Cal Poly Short Course Overview – Presentation Slides (PDF, 270KB)
March 2012 – Irish-Themed Beer and Cheese Pairing – Ringo Firefly and Chris Banker
- Queso Diego Beer and Cheese Pairings (PDF, 198KB)
- Tips for Pairing Cheese and Beer (PDF, 76KB)
- More Beer and Cheese Pairings from Beer Experts (PDF, 70KB)
February 2012 – Whey Cheese and Cooking with Whey – Anna Kearns
- Whey Presentation Notes (PDF, 37KB)
- Drop Biscuit Recipe (PDF, 18KB)
- Polish Whey Soup (PDF, 23KB)
- Paneer Whey Soup (PDF, 20KB)
January 2012 – Cheese and Champagne Pairing Celebration – Ringo Firefly
- Meeting Minutes (PDF, 22KB)
- Cheese and Champagne Handout (PDF, 109KB)
- Cheese and Champagne Pairing List (PDF, 58KB)
- Champagne Q&A Handout (PDF, 64KB)
November 2011 – Queso Fresco – Gisela Claassen
- Meeting Minutes (PDF, 22KB)
- Queso Fresco Presentation Handout (PDF, 5.4MB)
- Basic Pressed Cheese Steps Handout (PDF, 113KB)
October 2011 – Blue Cheeses – John McKay
- Meeting Minutes (RTF, 2KB)
- Blue Cheese Presentation Notes (DOC, 26KB)
- Blue Cheese Trivia Questions (DOC, 26KB)
- Blue Cheese List (DOC, 25KB)
- Recipe: Blue Cheese in the Style of English Stilton (DOC, 431KB)