Learn To Make Cheese

I can’t believe we’ve never before come across the fabulous blog, Cheese A Day, a site dedicated to home cheesemaking and other slow food pursuits.    And they’ve had yet another successful experience with Ricki Carroll’s 30 minute mozzarella recipe.   (We really need to try it ourselves).  Photos prove it after the jump!

“I used Ricki Carrol’s 30 minute recipe with the microwave, and for a first success I’m happy with the results. It does look kinda funky since I wasn’t exactly sure how to shape it, but it is absolutely string Mozzarella. I pushed out a lot of the whey so it won’t be as creamy on a pizza as I could have made it, but the mechanical properties–the grain, so to say–are spot on. It’s going to be fun trying different kinds of milk to see what results I get.’

Cheese A Day: Mozzarella!.

In the Alchemical Kitchen, Catalyst Magazine writer discusses her first experiences with cheesemaking at home.  While initially, the idea of cheesemaking seemed daunting, Brenner now makes her own cheeses on a weekly basis.   We’re talking ricotta, mozzarella, cream cheese, kefir as well as some non-dairy cheeses.

Brenner’s cheesemaking began with the 30 minute mozzarella kit from the New England Cheese Supply Company.  In her article she provides a list of basic cheesemaking equipment as well as her recipes for ricotta, cream cheese, kefir cheese and more.

Following up on yesterday’s vegan cheese discussion, we’ll share with you her cashew cheese recipe, with more real cheese recipes and more after the link.

Cashew cheese
1¾ cup of raw cashews
2 tablespoons of tahini
5 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon of salt

2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1. Place cashews in glass bowl, cover completely with water, and allow to soak overnight.
2. Drain cashews and rinse.
3. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until very smooth – about 8 minutes (less in a Vita-Mix).
4. Return mixture to glass bowl, cover loosely with a towel, and let sit 12-24 hours. The texture of your cashew cheese will be very smooth and creamy. Great for spreads and dips.

Catalyst Magazine – The Alchemical Kitchen: Cheese-Making.

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.

We liked this informative mozzarella-making demo. It takes you from cutting the curd through stretching and forming the mozzarella cheese. Unlike a lot of cheesemaking videos, it’s set in a home kitchen so you can see the setup people have – their utensils, bowls, etc. It will make you want to try your hand at cheesemaking yourself!

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.