The Potting Shed

Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:12 pm Post subject: Basic hard cheese

I made some more cheese today and thought I'd post the instructions here. I know a few of us have seen instructions at MrsL's but thought I'd share them here for new members who might want to give this a try.

What you need.

2 litres (roughly 4 pints) of milk. I use whole milk but you can use semi-skimmed.
2 large tablespoons of natural live yoghurt
1/4 teaspoon vegetable rennet (available in most supermarkets)
1 teaspoon salt
A thermometer (I use my soapmaking one)
Cheese mould and press (you can make your own, I'll post suggestions at the end)
Muslin square and colander for straining
Large saucepan

Method
Before you start, fill the saucepan with water and bring to the boil. In the saucepan place all instruments you'll be using for the cheesemaking and boil for 10 minutes. This will make sure everything is clean and sterile. Make sure your hands are well washed and any kitchen towels you use are clean.

Put the milk into the saucepan and very gently so that it doesn't catch the bottom of the pan heat to 35C. Using a tea cup or similar take a small amount of the warmed milk from the saucepan and mix thoroughly with the live yoghurt. Pour the mixture back into the pan and stir well. Turn the heat off, place lid on saucepan and leave for about 40 minutes.

Add the rennet and stir very well, this is important so that the rennet is evenly distributed in the milk. Place lid back on pan and leave for about 1 hour. Test for a clean break. To test for clean break (completed action of rennet), probe a clean finger into the milk mixture, it should have the consistency of set yoghurt. It should be firm enough to split cleanly as you lift your finger out of the mixture. If a clean break is not achieved then leave the mixture to sit longer, very important...do not stir, be patient, do NOT disturb the milk.

this is not a clean break, the milk is not "set" and still quite watery

this is a clean break, the milk is "set" and had an almost rubbery consistency.

Once a clean break is achieved use a long knife or flat spatula to cut the curds into cubes. Cover and leave to sit for about 15 minutes. You will see the whey (the watery liquid) rises above the curds.

Place the saucepan on a gentle heat. Stir gently but do not mash the curds. If you want to set some curds aside for a cottage style cheese then remove a bit from the pan now before you raise the temperature. For the cottage cheese, strain lightly and leave in the fridge, you can add salt and freshly chopped herbs to taste.

Raise the temperature to 35C for a soft curd cheese and 39C for a harder cheese. Stir gently whilst waiting for the mix to reach desired temperature. Turn down heat to maintain this temp until the curds reach a consistency of firm scrambled eggs, this took about 10 minutes for me. The whey will rise above the curds.

Line a colander with muslin and strain the whey from the curds. I place my colander in a bowl to catch the whey as it can be used for making ricotta cheese (I'll post a recipe with photos tomorrow when I make mine) or the hens love porridge made with the whey. If you make the ricotta cheese you will get leftover whey again which can still be used for the hens.

Tie the muslin into a knot and suspend above a bowl or jug so that the last of the whey can drain, leave like this for about half an hour.

Turn the curds into a mixing bowl and break up gently, it should resemble dry cottage cheese. Thoroughly mix in the teaspoon of salt. You can exclude salt but you will run the risk of your cheese going off during the curing.

Put the salted curds into your cheese mould and place in the press for about 12 hours. Mine will be in there overnight and I'll continue this thread tomorrow when I take the cheese out of the mould...

Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:13 pm Post subject:

somerset lad
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Posted: 18 Mar 2006 11:40 pm Post subject:

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Looking good J, I like the press, i only use scale weights.
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Kathy
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Posted: 18 Mar 2006 11:49 pm Post subject:

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Looks quite simple really, when you see it like this. I've got everything except the stuff it gets wrapped in for storing. Dont know what its called.

Thanks for posting Jesse.
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somerset lad
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Posted: 18 Mar 2006 11:52 pm Post subject:

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Lard Kathy. or possibly Cheese cloth and lard.
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Jesse
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Posted: 18 Mar 2006 11:59 pm Post subject:

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Thanks SL, as you say a press isn't needed, anything heavy placed on top will work. Here's a link to something easily homemade http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/cheesepress.html. The cheese mould I have is simply a plastic container with lots of small holes dotted all over it so that when compressed by the press the whey can drain out through the holes. Something similar could easily be made using a plastic container (it doesn't have to be round, it could be square) and drilling some holes in it with a small drill piece. Remember to add holes in the base as well. Then you'll need something to act as a follower and a pusher, perhaps a ramekin dish or something similar that fits snugly inside your plastic container. Or anothe idea for a mould is that you can use a baked bean can with both sides removed and lined with muslin (no holes drilled in).

btw is it called a mould or a mold, anyone know?

Last edited by Jesse on 19 Mar 2006 10:14 am; edited 1 time in total

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Jesse
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Posted: 19 Mar 2006 12:05 am Post subject:

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Kathy it's called cheese coating, for some reason Ascott sent me two bottles when I ordered and paid for one so I've got a lifetimes supply in the cupboard

SL I haven't used lard so perhaps you could post here some instructions for using lard to seal the cheese. When this cheese is ready I'll be using the cheese coating and will post some photos for that.

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Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:13 pm Post subject:

This morning I unmoulded the cheese and now it will sit in a cool dry place for about 24 hours to dry a little more before I seal it with cheese coating (similar to a wax).

Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:14 pm Post subject:

nanny
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Posted: 19 Mar 2006 08:14 pm Post subject:

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thanks for that jesse

you gave me some more tips to use for next time

gonna have another go soon
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somerset lad
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Posted: 19 Mar 2006 09:47 pm Post subject:

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I use lard at the stage Jesse is at now .When dry melt some lard and with a pastry brush 'paint' the cheese with lard then attatch a length of cheesecloth around it painting more lard on top of the muslin. It will all glue itself well. When cold and set again it will keep the cheese from air and other outside influences, the cheese then is ready to mature, at this time turn the cheese upside down every day or two so the rind can harden and so protect the ripening cheese. Meanwhile make some chutney, it wont be long.
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Jesse
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Posted: 19 Mar 2006 10:07 pm Post subject:

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...unless you have a dozen jars of chutney still sitting in the cupboard from last year like some of us have

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Kathy
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Posted: 19 Mar 2006 11:52 pm Post subject:

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SL, would this have to be animal lard, or can I use a solid veg fat?
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somerset lad
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Posted: 20 Mar 2006 10:33 pm Post subject:

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That would be fine Kathy. It's just to keep the air etc. out.
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Kathy
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Posted: 20 Mar 2006 10:36 pm Post subject:

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OOooo thanks SL, this means I have everything I need to start apart from the milk.
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somerset lad
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Posted: 20 Mar 2006 10:59 pm Post subject:

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Try not to buy Homogenised milk as it has been pressurised through a screen to stop it's fat content from coagulating and it dosent make the best of cheeses.
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Jesse
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Posted: 20 Mar 2006 11:08 pm Post subject:

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I've found a recipe for mozarella cheese so I'm going to try that this week sometime, will be using goats milk, shame there're not buffalo around here

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Paula
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 05:29 pm Post subject:

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mmmm mozzerella my favourite, your cheese recipies not helping me loose weight, stillat least i know what i am eating
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nanny
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 08:23 pm Post subject:

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i used homogenized milk for mine and at least it looks like cheese

however i shall go for the organic option next time and see what happens

am i right in saying that organic milk is pasteurised but not homogenized?
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Jesse
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 08:26 pm Post subject:

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no nanny, the milk I use is pasteurised, homogonised and organic. The only organic milk I can buy is homogonised, the cheese still turns out okay but on SL's advice I am tryng to source local raw milk so I can see if there's a difference.

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nanny
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 08:33 pm Post subject:

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the only raw milk i have ever used was goats milk and that was for soft cheese.....then i had to pasteurise it before doing anything else but t wasn't a particularly onerous task, just a bit more time consuming

i don't think there is anywhere around here that does raw milk now, it all goes to whatever the milk marketing board call themselves and of course i haven't a milking goat

i am also trying to price the two out if you see what i mean, the organic versus the regular milk and the appropriate cheeses

bearing in mind i buy organic cheese, i think the price of making it isn't far out of being equal even if i add the yoghurt on

very interesting thought, having all your own cheeses

in essence it would be a time thinkg with me as is everything i do
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Jesse
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 08:43 pm Post subject:

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raw milk is very difficult to get hold of now. we can buy it from a farm about 12 miles away, but I can't justify driving all the way there and back to buy it, it's not on a route I usually travel on my day to day running about.

I can't make enough cheese for what we use, we eat quite a bit of cheese in this household, but I enjoy making it just to prove I can and because I enjoy it

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nanny
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Posted: 21 Mar 2006 09:24 pm Post subject:

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Jesse wrote:

I can't make enough cheese for what we use, we eat quite a bit of cheese in this household, but I enjoy making it just to prove I can and because I enjoy it

completely agree with that, that's the reason i do most of the things you lot have talked me into
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Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:14 pm Post subject:

Here's what the cheese looks like once the coating has been applied. It took a few coatings, it's better to do a few thin layers than one thick one.

Leonie2 · Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:15 pm Post subject:

nanny
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Posted: 22 Mar 2006 09:09 pm Post subject:

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errr

now it looks more like a black currant jelly

i take it the shine wears off a bit?
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Jesse
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Posted: 22 Mar 2006 09:20 pm Post subject:

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a little bit, and it probably looks more glossy because of the flash. The black coating peels off very easily, a bit like wax.

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nanny
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Posted: 22 Mar 2006 09:23 pm Post subject:

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is it a wax then?

presumably from ascott smallholders place.............

really want to have a go at that
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Jesse
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Posted: 22 Mar 2006 09:45 pm Post subject:

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It's called "cheese coating" and yes, from Ascott. It's not a wax, it's a liquid that has the consistency of glue or paint, you paint it on thinly (I use a pastry brush), leave to dry before giving more coatings until completely sealed, takes about 3 coats for me. They recommend using the white coating as a base if you intend using black otherwise the black can discolour the cheese. The first batch of cheese I made I used only the black coating and it did slightly discolour the outer layer of cheese, we cut those bits off. Since then I've used the white as a base and painted over with black. If I was buying again, I'd buy only the white...which is what I ordered but for some reason they sent me black as well.

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lloyd · 5 Star Club Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 2586

I'm quite keen on making brie. Anyone done that?

What's the white stuff on the outside???.......(on Brie that is)

Pilsbury · Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 8:23 am Post subject:

the white stuff is mould Shocked

just like the blue stuff in stilton and the like but you need to use a special mould culture for Brie, cheesecraft by Ritaash says its a camembert mould culture.
I will post the full instructions when i get home if you like but I should be at work now Embarassed

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