Cheese-making course for St Stephen's College

STUDENTS from St Stephen's College in Princes Town got to do a white-cheese production course on January 23 as part of their food, nutrition and health programme.

The course was taught by representatives of the Lacteos La Estrella dairy factory.

Liberty Villafana, food nutrition and health teacher, said a total of 21 students from forms three, four and five participated. OJT teaching assistant Tishara Charles also took part.

Villafana said: "Cheese-making is one of the many topics covered in the food, nutrition and health syllabus, and so the reason for doing the cheese-making course was to give students a practical and fun approach to learning and understanding the cheese-making process."

She said cheese is a common food found in many households as it is relatively cheap, contains protein and is used in a variety of dishes.

"Many people like and eat cheese, and so it was exciting to make and eat our own cheese."

During the course, which took three hours, students learned about the diversity of white cheeses that can be made. They also learned about the raw materials, costs and procedures for making each type of cheese.

Javier Inestroza, Alexis Hernández and Cristian Trejo, representing Lácteos La Estrella, taught them the process step by step so they could try it at home.

“Our goal is for the local community to learn how to make their own white cheeses. They take advantage of the tools Trinidad and Tobago gives them to produce their own food and they can do dairy and cheese production. We want to give Trinidad and Tobago a little of what they give us with work and training of what we as Venezuelans know how to do,” said Inestroza.

They led several courses in November 2023 at UTT and have now started giving them in secondary schools for free.

“We are open to continuing to bring our cheese production courses to all educational institutions in Trinidad and Tobago.”

They can be contacted through their social media such as Lácteos La Estrella dairy factory.