Cheese making is really not that hard to do. Don't be intimidated. It's actually kind of fun. I get asked often how I make my cheese, so this is a rough sketch of the process. *Anyone that wants to come to Mississippi to Cheese Making 101 in person is welcome anytime.*
Please do not plan on making cheese following these instructions. This is only meant to just give anyone interested the confidence that it can easily be done. Here is where I bought my first kit.
_________________________________________________________________
I like making cheese. I don't know if this is because it falls in-line with a self-sufficient mindset or simply because I hate to spend $$$ on something I can easily do myself - without all the preservatives, not to mention a fresher version...
Two of my favorites are Ricotta & Mozzarella. They are very versatile cheeses and can be kept in the fridge for awhile -- or even frozen. It's nice when I luck up on bookoodles of cheap clearance milk and I can make what I will need for awhile and simply store it. Plus, I feel super spendthrifty when I do this, which is a double bonus. Compare prices and see which would be most cost effective.
So, here goes:
Please do not plan on making cheese following these instructions. This is only meant to just give anyone interested the confidence that it can easily be done. Here is where I bought my first kit.
_________________________________________________________________
I like making cheese. I don't know if this is because it falls in-line with a self-sufficient mindset or simply because I hate to spend $$$ on something I can easily do myself - without all the preservatives, not to mention a fresher version...
Two of my favorites are Ricotta & Mozzarella. They are very versatile cheeses and can be kept in the fridge for awhile -- or even frozen. It's nice when I luck up on bookoodles of cheap clearance milk and I can make what I will need for awhile and simply store it. Plus, I feel super spendthrifty when I do this, which is a double bonus. Compare prices and see which would be most cost effective.
So, here goes:
SJ's Latest Ricotta Cheese Making Session
Start out with time and milk.
Start out with time and milk.
Mozzarella & Ricotta are by far the easiest to make, which makes them great starter cheeses. (Ricotta being the simplest of the two.) They are essentially the same with a little tweaking. This is the process for Ricotta...Start off with a stainless steel pan, clean utensils and a warm stove.
After the milk is poured into the pot, the very next step is to add the 'goods' to make it curdle. You more than likely will be following a cheese recipe when you make yours, so roughly -- rennet, citric acid and cheese salt are what you 
add, in varying amounts, to make different types of cheese.
add, in varying amounts, to make different types of cheese. Milk burns super quick so warming the milk should be done very slowly. Roughly around 200 degrees F is the goal. (every recipe will be different) Stir constantly. One word on the milk: It MUST NOT be ultra-pasteurized milk.
Once the cheese has reached the right temperature (you'll know b/c you'll be standing a the pot constantly stirring and watching the thermometer), you remove it from the heat and let it stand for about 10 minutes.
At this point is when you can begin to see the whey separate from the cheese curds. Do not touch it during this time...just let it do its magic.
I usually go ahead and get my cheese cloth ready over another pot while the curdling is taking place.
No comments:
Post a Comment