Cheese Classes and a New press

I know I've been quiet for a couple of weeks, not really much to talk about. I've been teaching cheese making in my kitchen since the 7th of January. The old cheese press I made, the one with the all thread, finally warped enough I had to do something different. I should have used some sort of sealer on the pine wood, it would not have warped if I had. Hind sight is 20/20 and I learned. This new one I made is a bit more stable than the old one, using wooden dowel rods. I did figure out pretty quick that the hole drilling thing is pretty hard on the 1" pine so I may eventually try something different for the top piece. I just used 2 layers of wood on the bottom with holes drilled for the rods, used wood glue and screws on the rods to hold them more secure. I also used a poly acrylic sealer in the hope it will prevent whey absorption and avoid the warping.

All the cheeses being made during the classes are cheddars. I chose cheddars to teach because I like them, it's a simple cheese to create, is the least complicated, has the shortest process time and the process itself is the same for all other cheeses in the semi-hard cheese catagory.

Tomorrow, when the cheese comes out of the press, i will take more details pictures to share of the simple new design I created.

Mozzarella Cheese

This is what happens to most of the mozzarella cheese that gets made here. There is just nothing like home made pizza.

I like the whole milk mozzarella myself, it's a good recipe that i can easily get other things around the house taken care of while I'm making it.

2 gallons of fresh milk heated to 90F, add the culture and lipase powder(not necessary but it adds to the flavor) and let it ripen for 30 minutes. Add the rennet and allow to set for an hour 15 minutes. Cut the curd and let it set for another 20 minutes. Slowly heat the curds to 100F. Once at 100F, let them sit for 5 minutes. Drain the whey, fill the sink with 102F water, place the pot in the sink and allow the curd to set for around 2 1/2 hours. During this time, about every 20 minutes, drain the whey and flip the curd mass over. don't break the curd apart, just leave it in a mass. After the 2 1/2 hours, pull the curd mass out and place it on a cutting board to drain. Slice the curd mass into strips and then into cubes, about 1/2" square. Dip the cubes in a stainless steel bowl of 170F water until they stick together and work the ball until it stretches nicely (no splintering) the surface will become slick when it's ready to be cooled. Put the finished ball in a bowl of ice water(salt brine if you like) to cool until firm. Pat dry and put in the fridge until ready to use.

The best part of making your own mozzarella cheese is the taste of it and you can use as much as you want!

WooHooo! Finally got it right!

Wow, this Jersey cows milk is tough to work with! I finally got it to come out the way I want it to. I actually had to reduce the cook temperature slightly so that the cheese would not be so hard and dry when it came out of the press. Here it is, a perfect wheel of caraway cheddar with good moisture and texture. I was beginning to think I would never get a good wheel of cheese with the Jersey milk ;)

Next Wheel

Todays wheel of cheese is farmers cheddar. This is a quick cheddar cheese, more moist than traditional cheddar but with all the great taste. It's also a great fresh cheese to eat. Smooth and light.

This cheese starts off the same as traditional cheddar with the same culture set time and the same curd set time. The temperature of 100F for cooking the curd but without the extra cook time. Instead, you simply tie your curd in cheese cloth and allow to drain for an hour in a draft free spot and press for 12 hours instead of the traditional 24. A day or so to dry a light rind and develop it's flavor and you've got fresh cheese to eat!

Happy Cheese Day!

Here they are, 2 successful batches of cheese. I had forgotten how hot the darn water is processing the whole milk mozzarella. along side it is a fresh batch of stirred curd cheddar after it's traditional 24 hour press time. I have a batch of farmers cheddar due out of the press in about an hour...

Happy Milk Day!

Wooohooo! Yep, Daisy calf is weaned! Well, more or less anyway. Daisy is not a happy calf but Goober cow is good to go and with 5 gallons of milk in the fridge and a batch of mozzarella cooling in salt brine and a batch of cheddar on the stove, I am one happy farmer!

Using home made rennet

While I haven't been making much cheese lately due to a lack of fresh milk, I still think about cheese making every day. Each morning when I go out to feed the animals, I day dream about some fresh cheeses to eat. As soon as I can afford the fencing, I will pen that calf during the day so I can have some milk!

I picked up a book from the local Tractor Supply a few years back. It's a little hard to read due to the tiny print in it ( I need new glasses) but it really is a great book. It's called The Encyclopedia of Country Living and it has a section on home made rennet. Apparently I have been making a big mistake digging up and destroying those nasty, pasture killing purple thistles! This interests me enough to give making home made "vege" rennet from thistle flowers a try sometime in the near future.