Making cheese.

[terri9630]

I was watching some you tube videos while waiting on the canner and decided to look up cheese. All they were doing was heating up some milk and adding vinegar. Is it really that simple? The videos said they were making different types of cheese but seemed to be doing the same thing. Anyone have a good book or website that gives directions and recipes for different types of cheese?

 

[Wannabefree]

That's pretty much it until you get into more complicated cheeses. There are lots of good books and sites for cheesemaking. Here's a few I ran across when I first started making cheese.

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Recipes/Make-Colby-and-Cheddar-Cheese-944/Cheddar-Cheese-1215.aspx

http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/index.htm

 

[k15n1]

There are acid-curdled and rennet-curdled cheeses. Most cheeses are made with a combination of acidifying bacteria (like yogurt type cultures) and careful application of heat.

Paneer is probably the easiest cheese to make and is a good starting point.

Recently I've made some cheeses, with varying degrees of success. I make a batch whenever there's milk left at the end of the week.

BTW, the cost of hard cheeses is so high that you can actually get ahead even if you're paying retail for milk. Seems like hard cheeses cost 4x or more per lb than the fresh curd you can get out of milk. Powdered milk is about 0.50 $/gal cheaper here, so sometimes I use it.

 

[mrscoyote]

Here is my favorite site for cheese making stuff. http://www.cheesemaking.com/
Nancy

 

[k15n1]

That site puts some emphasis on buying a lot of stuff from their company. That's fine, but it isn't my style. Here's my favorite site:

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese.html

 

[Rebbetzin]

I find cheese making really easy. I use fresh goat milk, and vinegar and salt. I use this method.

http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Recipes/Goat-Cheese-604/Beginners-Goat-Cheese-907.aspx

all you need is a good thermometer, a couple of big pans you can fit together as a double boiler (that way you won't scorch the bottom of the milk by being directly on heat.

I use the goat milk torte recipe near the bottom of the instructons on that site. It turns out great! I use my Vitamix, and it is much like a cream cheese, that hardens up in the fridge. I use small loaf pans or other molds for the cheeses. Everyone loves them.

As a fund raiser for the trip to Prince Edward Island, I sold some of the tortes. I was getting $15.00 per loaf. Not too bad.

Here are some photos of the Cheese Tortes. They are layered with different fillings

Basil Pesto and Sundried Tomatoes

Apricot Almond

Date Walmut

sorry I didn't get photos of those once they were cut.

I love making this type of cheese, it is soooooo easy. I add a bit of powdered sugar to the sweet filling types. And the sweetened cheese, on a graham cracker with any kind of jelly tastes just like a piece of cheesecake!

 

[terri9630]

Thanks y'all. I don't have a source for fresh milk so I'll have to try with store bought. Off to read the links.

 

[Emerald]

Thanks y'all. I don't have a source for fresh milk so I'll have to try with store bought. Off to read the links.

I don't know how common it is but when I use store bought milk I add something called Calcium Chloride. I've read not to add it to milk for mozzarella but if I don't then it won't stretch for me. Tastes like a good Mozz but no nice stringy bits to burn your face when eating pizza. But read up on it before just running out to use it..
I do not use it if I get raw milk. It just doesn't seem to need it.

 

[k15n1]

Thanks y'all. I don't have a source for fresh milk so I'll have to try with store bought. Off to read the links.

I don't know how common it is but when I use store bought milk I add something called Calcium Chloride. I've read not to add it to milk for mozzarella but if I don't then it won't stretch for me. Tastes like a good Mozz but no nice stringy bits to burn your face when eating pizza. But read up on it before just running out to use it..
I do not use it if I get raw milk. It just doesn't seem to need it.

I have read that there are some differences from using homogonized store-bought milk. If you're worried about it, a good substitute is to use skim powdered milk and heavy whipping cream. I haven't noticed any problems, but I haven't made any hard cheeses yet.

 

[terri9630]

I haven't had a chance to try out any of these yet. School has kept me very busy.