Learn To Make Cheese

While we may experience some discomfort trying to knead our mozzarella straight from the hot water, it’s nothing compared to the century-old cheesemaking process taking place in alpine Switzerland each summer.  With the milk from 51 cows over the course of 90 days, this hardy group produces around 1000 gorgeous rounds of cheese.

FXCuisine beautifully documents the incredible cheesemaking process.  With no electricity, running water or sewers, cheese is made over a wood fire with wood brought in by helicopter.  It’s salted and aged for a minimum of two months before being sold throughout the Alps.

More about cows:

“The secret of these high alpine pasture cheeses incredibly complex taste is in the grass. Each plant contributes toward the final tastes. If your cows change pasture, you can taste the change in the milk. It is not mystery – milk is made from water and grass.

The herd is 51 cows strong, owned by 4 farmers in Münster. Most are the Swiss Bronfi cow and 3 are the famed Evolène fighting cow. They come up for 90 days in late June and visit 4 different pastures/chalet as they exhaust the grass. The rest of the year the cows are down in the village. The cowboys don’t come down at all – it’s a full time 7-days-a-week job. One farmer brings the food up by foot once a week.”

Swiss Alps Cheesemaking.

Steve Shapson, expert cheesemaker, home-brewer and winemaker offers a great cheesemaking kit that makes up to 30 pounds of cheese.   He provides detailed instructions and his methods are clear and easy-to-follow.  While we haven’t used it ourselves, it looks like a great way to demystify the cheesemaking process.

Here are a few helpful tips from Steve:

“1. Avoid aluminum pots, the acid will dissolve them and possibly overload you with aluminum.
2. Sterilize the pot just before use by pouring ½ inch of water in the bottom, covering, and bring to a rolling boil for at least five minutes. Pour out the water, replace sterile lid, keep sterilized pot covered until you are ready to add the milk.
3. If the curds float, you have a gas-producing contaminant in your starter or your milk was contaminated. You need to pay closer attention to handling your milk, and/or purchase fresh starter. The bacteria which form bubbles may be a form of Escherichia. However, it does not necessarily ruin the cheese, but does make it iffy. Many CO2 formers are non-pathogenic. Indeed, you might WANT bubbles in your finished cheese. Think about Swiss cheese… However, to be safe, age your cheese for at least two months because pathogens do not survive this extended aging. In addition, you will have a little more difficulty separating the curds from the whey if the curds float.”

Home Made Cheese Making thats very Satisfying when you taste your first Cheese.

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.

Wouldn’t be wonderful if you could give the lovely gift of your very own homemade cheeses to friends and family for the holidays?  Perhaps you’d give buttons of your fresh herbed goat cheese and pieces from a gorgeous block of cheddar you’ve been aging since the spring.

Well, if you’re like many beginning cheesemakers, you may feel your cheese is not yet gift-worthy.  In that case, you may consider giving cheese gift baskets packed with artisanal cheeses made by renowned and dedicated cheesemakers.  A cheese-of-the-month club is also a lovely way to introduce people to a variety of tastes.  As for your own cheesemaking efforts…there’s always next year!

Artisanal has a lovely selection of gourmet cheese baskets you can custom design, enjoy cheeses by geography, as well as many other options.

Cheese Baskets and Gifts.

The site Living Off the Grid has countless tips on everything from solar cooking to composting.  There’s also a piece on their efforts at homemade cheesemaking.  But you don’t need to be completely self-sufficient in order to enjoy making cheese at home.  As you may have already seen, cheesemaking is very much a process of trial and error. (more…)