Learn To Make Cheese » Tools For Making Cheese

Cheesecloth For Homemade Cheesemaking Recipes: What To Do

sarita — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:50:21 +0000

Why cheesecloth? Many cheesemaking recipes call for cheesecloth, a cotton or nylon lint-free cloth that can help in draining curd cheeses to remove whey or line cheese molds. (Some cheese molds actually come with cheesecloth but others don’t). Cheesecloth comes in different sizes of weave. If you’re making a smaller curd cheese, fabric with a fine weave will keep the curds from passing through, and can be less messy. Sometimes a type of muslin will be used, which resembles a tea towel in thickness. For medium and larger size curd cheeses, a bigger waffle weave cheesecloth is sufficient.

Depending on the type of cheesecloth you use, you can sometimes wash and reuse it. A package of cheesecloth typically costs about three to six dollars for two square yards. If you plan on using a lot, buying cheesecloth on a roll in bulk is the way to go. The nice thing about cheesecloth is that you can use it for other things in the kitchen such as making a bouquet garni, a sachet of herbs and spices that helps to flavor soups. It’s also useful in craft projects.

Cheesecloth can be found at kitchen supply stores, fabric stores and even discount stores. If you’re shopping for cheesecloth online, you may want to check it out at Organize.com.
Cheesecloth – 2 Square Yards.

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Waxing Cheese: Yes, You Too Can Wax Your Homemade Cheeses

sarita — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:35:12 +0000

The purpose of waxing cheese is to kill any existing bacteria or mold on the cheese, remove air to help cut down on mold growth, and minimize moisture loss so that the cheese doesn’t dry out.

I Make Cheese has lots of great information on cheese waxing techniques and tips based on his own experiences.

A few of his pointers (more after the jump)

“Set up some wax paper on your counters — as you’re working, it’ll make a mess (see above pic!), and you can safely set the cheese down for a moment without worrying about it becoming glued to your workspace.

- Chill the cheese first! This will help the wax cool quickly on the cheese, making it much easier and faster to complete this process.

- Label your cheese! I take a small piece of paper, write the name of the cheese and the current date, and then my very last step is to put the label on the top. (Brush a bit of wax on the top, and while it’s still wet, slap that label right on there. Then give it a light coat or two on top of the label, and it’ll stay put but you’ll still be able to read it through the wax.)”

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Make Cheese Press At Home: DIY How-To Cheesemaking Equipment

sarita — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:25:14 +0000

When you get serious about making cheese at home, you may want to consider investing in a cheese press. While you can find a cheese press at most cheese supply stores, you can also make one fairly inexpensively. We would opt to purchase one, but if you have carpentry skills like this author from Mother Earth News, making a press from pieces you already have is a great idea. Check out this detailed description of how to make your own cheese press.

An excerpt:

“I love homemade cheese and find the majority of store-bought varieties lacking in many respects. However, mass-manufactured cheese presses that remove the supermarket middleman can run you up to $100, taking much of the fun (and all of the cost savings) out of it. I happened upon a very simple design a few years ago, which I put together for nothing. (If you have to buy the parts I had on hand, they will run you about $15.) Our source of pure milk is Daisy Mae, a holstein-jersey mix I received six years ago as partial payment for some carpentry work.”

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Leeners Cheesemaking Guides and Supplies

sarita — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:22:54 +0000

Leeners, based in Ohio sells kits and supplies for making everything from beer to bubble gum. That includes cheese. Their site also provides reliable, straightforward cheesemaking information from start to finish. You’ll learn about the types of milk, kitchen equipment, recipes, and more.

Here’s an excerpt:

Starter Cultures

The acidification of milk in cheese making by means of bacteria is called ripening. A variety of bacteria cultures are available for making specific cheese types. These bacteria, commonly called starters, are added to the milk after pasteurization and at specific temperatures. They are allowed to work for specific time periods depending on the type of cheese. During this period the bacteria consumes the lactose which is milk sugar. The biological process is the same as the fermentation of beer or wine. As the bacteria eat, they produce lactic acid which in turn causes the milk protein to develop into curd. Other byproducts of this ripening stage provide flavor compounds which enhance the character of the finished cheese.

These cheese starter cultures are available in two forms. They are defined as culturable and direct-to-vat. culturable starters are similar to sourdough starters in that they are prepared in advanced and preserved for future use. Direct-to-vat cultures are much more convenient for the home cheese maker. No preparation of the culture is required. These freeze dried cultures are added directly to the milk in the same way you would use bread yeast.

Information and instructions for ingredients used in cheese making.

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Cheesemaking For Kids: Making Cheese In the Classroom

sarita — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 23:19:55 +0000

Hubbard Scientific R-el1 Cheesemaking Kit 60 Students

This popular kit introduces students to the scientific principles of cheesemaking. Students can actually eat the cheese they make from whole or powdered milk which they supply. Kit contains enough rennilase enzyme for 60 students to make their own cheese plus two packages of cheesecloth.

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Cheese Knife Sets: What To Look For

sarita — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 15:57:13 +0000

There are many cute, decorative cheese knife sets out there, but many aren’t terribly functional. If you’re looking for a useful cheese knife set for yourself or as a gift, keep the following points in mind.

1. Set should contain a hard cheese knife, cheese plane or shaver, a fork-tipped knife and a spreader. (or some similar combination).
2. Cutting boards and additional tools are optional, but may come in handy.
3. High-quality stainless steel blades (ideally with a lifetime warranty).
4. Knives feel balanced in the hand
5. Comfortable, non-slip grip
6. Not all sets are dishwasher safe, so if that’s important to you, read the accompanying materials carefully.

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Cheese Press: Vital Equipment in Home Cheese Making

sarita — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:20:54 +0000

The recent growth and popularity of chess making at the household level has lead to an explosion in the industry, which has resulted to the development of techniques, rise in sales of all equipments needed for making cheese, and a renewed interest on the product itself. This food, which has been with mankind since the era of the ancient civilizations, has probably never been more popular than the fame it enjoys in recent history. With huge demand in cheese and its derivatives both for household consumption or as ingredient in food items and in beverages, cheese and the equipments used in making it are sure to enjoy a continuous rise in sales in the foreseeable future.

The Cheese Press

A cheese press works on essentially the same principle as other mills do. It exerts pressure on the material to give it a finer texture and prepare it for the production stage itself. In the case of cheese making, the material needed is milk.

Replace Old Processes and Equipments

One of the equipments vital in cheese making that is enjoying rise in sales at the present is the cheese press. A cheese press is vital in the production of the food because it is used to properly measure the ingredients to be mixed as well as the pressure that need to be exerted on the process to make sure that the cheese that will be made will turn out fine. The cheese press replaces the bucket that were used by past generations in measuring the quantity of milk. Moreover, because some cheese presses come with their own pressure regulator, they have also replaced the bricks and stones or animals such as buffalo that were used to apply pressure on the milk in the coagulation process.

Common Features of Cheese Press

Though the market is now flooded with cheese presses that comes in various designs and capabilities, the following are some of the common qualities all cheese presses share:

A container for measuring the quantity of milk. Though the volume of the container varies from cheese press to cheese press, the essential thing is that all of them have their own bucket or container to uniformly measure the amount of milk accurately. No more guessing or haphazard calculation is involved.

A pressure regulator. A pressure regulator is perhaps the most vital part of a cheese press. Without it, one will never be certain on whether the pressure exerted is too much or too weak, either of which will result to a cheese of very poor quality.

A transparent container. The transparent container is loved by most cheesemakers as this allows them to see what actually goes on inside the container.

Where to Get Your Chest Press

If you are looking for reliable cheese press to use in your home-based cheese making, log on to The Grape and Granary. You can also compare prices there as well as the features that come along with each product.

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