Making Cheese Easy
(Page 3 of 5)
November/December 2007
S. Schade-Brewer
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Having a dairy thermometer is a good idea, but not absolutely essential. Many home cheese makers have learned to gauge temperature by touch – i.e., lukewarm is about 86 degrees; 102 degrees is very hot but still tolerable. Some thermometers float on the top of the milk, some hook over the side of your pot, while others simply have a rod that sits down in the milk. This latter type can often be held submerged in the milk by poking it through a slotted spoon laid across the rim of the pan.
Additional equipment you’ll need:
-
- Colander, ladle, large slotted spoon and a long stainless steel knife for cutting the curd.
- Cheesecloth for draining off the liquid once the curds and whey have separated. Supermarket cheesecloth tends to be flimsy and often ineffective unless it is double- or triple-layered. A better option is the thicker 100 percent cotton muslin-type cloth, which is available from cheese-making supply houses. Not only is it stronger (you don’t want a mess of curds and whey all over your kitchen because your cheesecloth burst), but also it can be washed in hot soapy water with bleach and re-used.
- A good heavy string to tie up the corners of the cheesecloth and hang the cheese. If you don’t have good heavy string, you can use sterilized shoelaces or sturdy rubber bands.
- For some types of harder cheese, you will also need:
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- A rack for draining.
- Cheese molds (purchased or homemade from plastic containers with holes punched in them).
- A cheese press (or make your own using a coffee can with the top and bottom cut out and something heavy such as a brick or books wrapped in butcher paper to press the cheese down).
- A cheese board and a cheese mat.
- Kosher or pickling salt (no iodine).
- Cheese wax, used in the last phase of cheese making before storage.
I recommend that a beginner start with cottage cheese or cream cheese. Both require only a few ingredients, and the process is relatively simple. It will give you practice, and more importantly, enough confidence to graduate up to the harder cheeses.
Handcrafted curds
COTTAGE CHEESE
(so named because it could easily be made at home or cottage)
1 gallon fresh milk (raw or pasteurized)
1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
1/4 cup cool water
1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
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