Learn To Make Cheese

Learn how to make homemade cottage cheese using this simple step-by-step method from Savvy Housekeeping.  A perfect cheese for beginning cheesemakers, all you need to make cottage cheese is milk and vinegar as well as your basic kitchen supplies like a thermometer and cheesecloth.   Freshly made cottage cheese is extremely delicious and as this article points out, a great way to use milk that otherwise might go unused.  You can make it with whole or skim milk if calories are a concern.   Rather than the vinegar in this recipe, some cottage cheese recipes call for lemon juice which also works well.   When you’re finished, be sure to salt your cottage cheese recipe to taste.   Add fresh herbs or other flavorings as you like.   The leftover whey water from this method can also be used for making other cheeses like ricotta so don’t dump it!

Instructions and photos after the jump.

Savvy Housekeeping » How to Make Cottage Cheese.

We loved this Bumblebee account of her 30 Minute Mozzarella cheesemaking efforts.   Using Ricki Carroll’s Home Cheese Making book, she’s knocking out one great cheese after another. This time, it was her 30 Minute Mozzarella, made with just four simple ingredients: citric acid, whole milk, liquid rennet and cheese salt.

She provides outstanding step-by-step instructions, recipe and photos after the link.  And, be sure to scroll down for her neufchatel!

Bumblebee Blog » Cheese Making.

Cheesemaking is one pastime you simply can’t experience through books.  Part of why we enjoy it is because you use your hands and can observe science taking place in the cheesemaking process.  In this Northwest Food News article, Guy Hand walked blindly into the world of cheesemaking and found himself a satisfying hobby.

His first efforts at making ricotta and cheddar were impressive!  Here’s what he has to say about the transformational experience of cheesemaking.

“What I’ve learned on the bumpy road to cheesemaking is that a good cheese sitting quietly on its shelf is a little biological miracle, a teaming universe of microscopic processes, a dance between time and temperature, art and science.  I’m not really good at it yet, but I’ve made some fresh cheeses that easily out compete the average supermarket varieties and I’m waiting for the weather to cool down so I can start aging some specimens in my newly christened cheese closet.  I’ll keep you posted . . .”

Discovering My Inner Cheesemaker | Northwest Food News.

Here’s a great recipe for making goat cheese at home.  Goat’s milk is a little harder to come by in large volumes, but it’s definitely worth it.  It has less fat than cow’s milk (and thus, cow’s cheese).  The distinctive taste of goat cheese is great for blending with fresh herbs or other flavors.

Here’s the basic ingredients and supplies list but check the link for detailed instructions:

Homemade Goat Cheese Recipe

Ingredients You Will Need:
1 gallon raw goat’s milk
Juice of 4 medium lemons
Salt

Cheese Making Supplies:
Cooking thermometer
Cheesecloth
Colander
Stainless steel pot
Or, a cheese making kit

Tips for Goat Cheese Making at Home – Life123.

Experienced home cheesemaker Gavin shares some excellent tips for making cheese at home.  He addresses lots of issues such as sanitation, what cheeses to make, and what equipment to invest in.   If you’re just starting out, he suggests making a soft cheese such as ricotta.   A local cheesemaking course is also valuable in helping you build enough knowledge to experiment with other cheese recipes.

Gavin clearly having a wonderful time making cheese on a weekly basis for the last eight months and we enjoyed his many insights.

“Tip #2.  Have everything all prepared and layed out before you start.  As I am waiting for the 15-20 minutes for the pot,  stainless steel utensils and cheese cloths to sterilise, I get a clean tea towel and lay it on the kitchen bench next to the stove top, ready to place all the tools on.  I select the recipe well in advance, and get out all the necessary ingredients and put them on the side ready to go.  Cheese making requires un-chlorinated water for diluting some ingredients, so I have to pre-boil some rain water from my tank and let it cool to room temperature.  You could use bottled water, but I do not due to environmental reasons.  I pre mix the diluted calcium chloride with this water, and do the same with the rennet.  Something I learnt in the Boy Scouts that I shall never forget and that is the Scouts motto, “Be Prepared”.”

Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op: Cheese Making Tips.