Learn To Make Cheese

Chef, writer and sustainable food supporter Heather Jones writes about her cheesemaking experience on her site, Cooking Up a Story.  An accomplished butter maker, she takes on a neufchatel recipe. Neufchatel is a versatile French cheese similar to cream cheese, and you can add just about any type of flavoring to it (herbs, fruits, veggies) you like.  It ’s not a fresh cheese, however and is not usually a good one for beginners.

Even if she decides to leave cheesemaking to the experts, we admire her efforts and enjoyed the photographs and account of making neufchatel cheese. (all after the jump).

Making Cheese at Home |.

Here’s a wonderful post from Indigo Days about making goat cheese in Japan from local goat milk.  Not the most common food in Japanese cuisine, but after picking up some tricks in the Dordogne, as well as Cowgirl Creamery in California, she’s making moist, delicious goat cheese.

Here’s an excerpt:

“The first day I unmolded 6 (almost) perfect little rounds, I zoomed over to Sunny-Side Up! to give the staff a try.  I didn’t think the kids would be interested, but when I walked into the school with my cheese board in hand, I was assailed by eager little ones clambering for a peek at what I was carrying.  I offered small wedges all around and they took them without hesitation.  That’s trust.  I walked into the backyard with my board and dropped more wedges into grimy little hands.  No worries, a little dirt adds flavor.  I couldn’t keep up with the demand and had to go home for more.  I’ll stop right here and mention that Japanese kids don’t really eat much cheese, and certainly not goat cheese.”

Making Goat Cheese – Indigo Days.

Jamie Forrest of Curdnerds fame wrote this interesting article on raw milk and raw milk cheese, pasteurization, safety and taste.  As you wade into the discussion, the debate isn’t as simple as it seems.  Raw milk does not post the same health risks as raw milk cheese.  Raw milk cheese usually tastes better than cheese made with pasteurized milk, but there are still some delicious pasteurized milk cheeses out there.   Also, just because the milk is pasteurized, doesn’t mean it’s safe.

The debate continues.  Forrest makes some interesting points about how pasteurization is definitely not the simple answer to making cheese safe.

“There is a theory that pasteurization can in some ways actually be more problematic than using raw milk. Pasteurization kills off any beneficial bacteria that are naturally present in raw milk. These beneficial bacteria could be an important defense against pathogenic growth, especially in a medium such as milk whose high water-content, relatively low acidity and high sugar levels make for a bacteria-friendly environment.”

Serious Cheese: On Raw-Milk Cheese | Serious Eats.

Cheesemakers and cheeselovers alike will enjoy CheeseForum.org, a site designed by a cheese enthusiast for cheeselovers  to go and chat, as well as learn from eachother.  Participation is global and discussion topics include buying and storing cheese, cheese recipes, pairings, cheesemaking courses, methods, ingredients and more.  Is your feta too salty?  There are plenty of friendly folks who know a lot about cheesemaking and are ready to help.

In addition to the forums, CheeseForum.org has some of the most comprehensive information on cheesemaking equipment we’ve ever seen.

There is a lot to explore!  This definitely should be one of your first go-to online resources about cheese.

CHEESEFORUM.ORG Cheese Making Forum, Recipes, Reviews, Pictures . . ..

We enjoyed this post at Eight Square Meters about a computer science grad student’s first cheesemaking efforts.   With basic equipment like a thermometer and just milk, lemons and rennet, he turned out some lovely mozzarella cheese balls to share with family.  We sense this will not be his last cheesemaking endeavor.

There is also a link to his Flickr site which has tons of step-by-step photos.  Really helpful if you’re not quite sure what to expect when making homemade mozzarella cheese.  bon appetit!

Eight Square Metres » Cheese Making Part I: Mozzarella.