Cheese making
So I've decided to try my hand at making cheese. So far I've made some ricotta, some cottage cheese and now I've got a block of farmhouse cheddar in a rigged up press. This cheese making page contains most of the info that you need to get started. I highly recommend it. One thing that isn't mentioned on that site is how to make a homemade mesophilic starter. It's pretty simple. Just get a small container of real buttermilk. Let it sit out overnight. Once it reaches the consistency of yogurt pour it into an ice tray and toss the tray in the freezer.
After the cubes freeze you can dump them into a freezer bag. They'll last for at least a month or so.
The only other special ingredients you need for most cheese recipes are milk and rennet. I picked up a small bottle of liquid rennet from a local homebrew store for $6.50. Junket Rennet tablets
are available from Amazon. They're cheaper up front but you don't get as much as you get from a bottle and I've heard that they don't work as well as liquid. It probably doesn't matter.
Anyway, here's my press. I ripped off the idea from the link that I posted above. He describes the whole basic cheese making process so well that it would be a waste of time for me to repost everything. So far so good. I made this first batch out of 1 gallon of store bought vitamin D milk. I should end up with a 1 lb block or so. It's firming up nicely.
This is my second attempt at a hard cheese. The first try was a mess. Don't start with cheesecloth when you start pressing. Until the cheese gets relatively dry and firm you'll want to use a handkerchief or an old cotton tshirt. They hold everything together better and they absorb the excess way quite nicely. Switch to cheesecloth when it's a solid block. Once it's finished I'll be sure to post a pic.
After the cubes freeze you can dump them into a freezer bag. They'll last for at least a month or so.
The only other special ingredients you need for most cheese recipes are milk and rennet. I picked up a small bottle of liquid rennet from a local homebrew store for $6.50. Junket Rennet tablets
are available from Amazon. They're cheaper up front but you don't get as much as you get from a bottle and I've heard that they don't work as well as liquid. It probably doesn't matter.
Anyway, here's my press. I ripped off the idea from the link that I posted above. He describes the whole basic cheese making process so well that it would be a waste of time for me to repost everything. So far so good. I made this first batch out of 1 gallon of store bought vitamin D milk. I should end up with a 1 lb block or so. It's firming up nicely.
This is my second attempt at a hard cheese. The first try was a mess. Don't start with cheesecloth when you start pressing. Until the cheese gets relatively dry and firm you'll want to use a handkerchief or an old cotton tshirt. They hold everything together better and they absorb the excess way quite nicely. Switch to cheesecloth when it's a solid block. Once it's finished I'll be sure to post a pic.
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