February 02, 2010
I love cheese and it it definitely a must in my food storage program. I have never tried making my own but after trying so many things I was afraid to try, and discovering it wasn’t a big deal I am ready to tackle cheese. I ask a real expert to share with all of us just how this is done. I think I can handle it and it sounds like a great project for a group of friends. Make cheese and while we wait maybe throw together a few freezer meals…Thanks Kat
“I love cheese. I love it so much that I learned to make it for myself. The process is easier than you think and just takes some time and a little getting used to.
So, how does one go about making some cheese? First step is to get some milk. Fresh milk it the best to use but low temperature (below 161) pasteurized will work.
What else do you need to make cheese besides milk? A good digital thermometer, a stainless steel stock pot, a long handled plastic spoon to stir with, some cheese culture, some rennet and a cheese press. The digital thermometer is a very handy tool. Cheese making is an art form and precise temperatures make your results much more consistent. Cheese can be made with a non digital thermometer but being exact in this case makes wonderful cheese! I have used all-clad and enamel stock pots with decent success but my personal preference is the stainless steel. A quick and easy cheese press design is at the bottom.
Now, you have fresh milk. 2 gallons is what you need for this recipe. It’s Colby cheese and is it ever good.
Put your 2 gallons of milk in a stainless steel stock pot. Using your digital thermometer and a low to medium heat, slowly warm your milk up to 86 degrees. Add your culture (measurements differ from culture to culture) and stir gently but thoroughly, top stirring as well as full stirring to make sure the cream is well mixed with the culture. Cover the pot and allow it to sit at 86 degrees for 1 hour. Now stir your cultured milk well, making sure your milk is still 86 degrees. Add your diluted rennet (per instructions for rennet type) making sure to mix well for even distribution. Cover the pot and allow the rennet to set for 30 minutes or until curds give clean break.
Cut the curd into 3/8″ cubes and stir gently. let the curd sit for 5 minutes.
Heat the curds by 2 degrees every 5 minutes until the temperature reaches 102 degrees. Stir gently to keep the curds from matting. Maintain the curds at 102 degrees for 30 minutes while stirring gently.
Drain off the whey to the level of the curds. While stirring the curds, add cold water to them until the temperature reaches 80 degrees. At 80 degrees, allow the curds to sit for 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes to prevent matting.
Pour the curds gently into a colander and allow the curd to drain for 20 minutes.
Break the curds into thumbnail sized chinks and add 2 tablespoons of cheese salt or fine ground sea salt. Mix into the curds gently but thoroughly.
Place your curds into a cheesecloth lined mold and press at 20lbs of pressure for 20 minutes.
Remove the cheesecloth, turn the cheese over and redress, press at 30lbs of pressure for 20 minutes.
Repeat the redressing process but press the cheese at 40lbs for 1 hour.
Again, redress the cheese and press at 50lbs for 12 hours.
Remove the cheese from the press and allow to air dry a rind at room temperature for several days or until the wheel is dry to the touch on both sides. Turn the wheel a few times a day during drying to ensure it dries evenly.
Once the cheese is dry to the touch you may wax it for aging. At least 2 layers of cheese wax applied with a non plastic (plastic bristles melt)bristled pastry brush.
This cheese is also very good eaten fresh.
Now, are you ready to try making some cheese?
The following cheese press is a simple construction:
I used 1″ thick, 12″ wide pieces of board cut 12″ long and simply drilled holes in each corner. I used stainless steel all thread rod with washers and nuts top and bottom to hold the press more steady. I used pvc pipe for the cheese mold, cut a wooden chaser to fit inside it and sit on top of the cheese wheel, a 3″ piece of pvc to put the pressure on the cheese wheel. The top piece of wood is held steady by washers and nuts on top. Lightly set against the wood so as not to change the amount of pressure the bricks on top are applying. I learned quick that without the nuts on top of the board, the cheese did not press evenly and caused the bricks to shift and fall off. The all-thread was not enough to hold it on it’s own.
This isn’t a perfect design but it will help you get started right away and as you go, you will have ideas of your own on how to improve it. I have tons of ideas on how to improve it. A good starter press without having to put a whole bunch of money into it and still have good cheese. I am actually still using this press plus another one just like it.
To achieve the weight I need for each stage of pressing, I use a combination of bricks and weight bench weights. The free moving top allows the weight to be evenly distributed and it always stays the same as the cheese presses. Just don’t forget to move the top nuts down every now and then or your bricks will fall off!
You will also need some sort of catch pan under your cheese press. As the cheese curds presses down into a cheese wheel, it expels whey. I use an old lipped cookie sheet under mine. Use one that you won’t be using for baking anymore as the whey is actually quite acidic and will rust up the cookie sheet and eat the non stick coating off.”
Kathryn Murphy
There you have it! Let us know how things go when you try it.
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Hey, thanks for the information! Always like these kinds of articles, for sure!
But, come to think of it, I like anything that talks about food!
Thank you!
I have some of Kat’s cheese in my fridge right now!! Boy, is it YUMMY!