Making Cheese Easy

(Page 5 of 5)

November/December 2007
S. Schade-Brewer 
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QUESO FRESCO
(fresh cheese)

 

2 gallons whole milk
1 packet direct-set mesophilic starter or 4 ounces prepared mesophilic starter
1/4  teaspoon calf lipase powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet
(or 1/4 rennet tablet)
1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water
2 tablespoons salt

 

In double boiler, heat milk over low heat to 90°F. Add mesophilic (moderate temperature) starter (and lipase, a fat-cleaving enzyme, if you’d like a stronger flavor); stir well. Mix rennet with water. Add rennet mixture to milk and stir briskly for 1 minute. Let milk set (keeping at constant 90°F) 30-45 minutes, or until curd gives clean break.

 

Cut curd into 1/4-inch cubes. Heat curds gradually to 95°F over 20 minutes, stirring gently every few minutes to keep curds from sticking together. Let curds set, without stirring, for 5 minutes.

 

Drain off whey (and save it for other uses). Add salt and keep curds at 95°F for 30 more minutes (stirring if necessary to keep curds from sticking together).

 

Line cheese mold with cheesecloth and add curds. Press cheese with weight of 35 pounds for 6 hours. Remove cheese from mold and place in covered container in refrigerator.

 

Once you have taken up the challenge of making your own cheeses and have gained some confidence, you’ll be hooked. I recommend buying a book that deals with home cheese making, such as Home Cheese Making: Recipes for 75 Homemade Cheeses by Ricki Carrol (Storey Books, 2002), or American Farmstead Cheese: The Complete Guide to Making and Selling Artisan Cheeses by Paul Kindstedt (Chelsea Green, 2005). Plenty of recipes can also be found on the Internet. Better yet, ask your grandmother or mother for her special recipe and tweak it to your liking, perhaps adding herbs or spices. Another exciting family tradition may be born.

 


Susie Schade-Brewer lives in Adrian, Missouri, with her family and pugs.

 
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