277025 Tue Mar 15 07:42:31 -0800 2005 6 31 Home Cooking 0 1463053 I have begun making cheese at home. Right now, I am mostly experimanting w/ soft, fresh cheese like queso blanco, mozzarella, marscapone, etc. I am thinking about expanding to more complex cheeses that are pressed and aged. Is anyone else trying this? I am wondering where you get your milk (I would love to find local unpasturized cow and goat milk- I think sheep milk might be a stretch) and how the cheese has turned out. Where do you store your cheese? Obviously I don't have a "cave." And just anything you have to say on the subject. Thanks. Tue Mar 15 07:42:31 -0800 2005 0 orla 1 1463081 I've tried just the very basics: mozarella and ricotta using the online store, New England Cheesemakers. I've been fairly happy with it, although the ricotta doesn't taste as good as the good stuff by Calabro cheesemakers that I can get at the store. Not sure if it is because it ends up being more "cooked" than theirs. The recipe I use does not work with the whey to make the ricotta but instead just from milk with citric acid and rennet. I've tried making it with the whey left from the mozarella but you don't get anything from it. If you have any tricks for ricotta I'd love to hear them. If you do a search on raw milk online you can likely find local sources. There are usually farms that are happy to sell it as long as you follow certain rules. Tue Mar 15 11:27:27 -0800 2005 1463053 0 dillard 1 1463122 Regarding raw milk, it depends where you live. If you live in California, you can buy raw (unpasteurized) milk at Whole Foods. See the link below for info. Mr. Taster Link: http://www.realmilk.com/where2.html Tue Mar 15 14:41:44 -0800 2005 1463053 0 Mr. Taster 1 1463184 We went to a cheesemaking workshop in western MA and I think the bigger question is where are you going to get the rennet? We were only able to find one source where you can get it for the home (Rather than in the barrel full for a corporation). This is where we took our class (she's wonderful) and we also purchased our supplies from her. Link: http://www.cheesemaking.com/ Wed Mar 16 10:17:37 -0800 2005 1463053 0 krissywats 2 1463193 I've also found rennet and other cheesemaking suplies at my local brewing supply store (online at link below). I'll try to post my cheesemaking experience soon, it's a fun thing to try! Link: http://www.beer-wine.com/category_page.asp?categoryID=61&sectionID=4 Wed Mar 16 12:04:56 -0800 2005 1463184 0 Chris VR 1 1463198 OK I compiled some of my older posts on the subject: I took a cheesemaking course a few years ago from New England Cheesemaking and that started me on making my own cheeses at home. Basically, what you are doing when you are making cheese is you are curdling the milk, on your own terms, with the application of heat and other substances such as vinegar, rennet or starter cultures. For a really easy mozzarella, all you need is citric acid. Rennet makes a firmer cheese, but isn't necessary.   Since citric acid can be tough to put your hands on (although I've been told people find it in drugstores), and it's nice to have directions, I always point people towards the kits put out by NE Cheesemaking (URL below). I gave a few of the Mozzarella/Ricotta kits to friends for Christmas presents and they were a big hit.   If you have access to farm fresh milk, more power to you... I just use milk from the supermarket. It can't be ultra-pasteurized. Different brands of milk work better than others, and it's a process of trial and error for you to see what locally available milk works best for you. Here in the Boston area, all the major local brands are not ultra-pasteurized, but one organic brand is and another is starting to ultra-pasteurize. I've had the best luck with Hood milk. If you don't like what you get, try at least one more brand before giving up. And, also, if it doesn't come together, say "I meant to do that" and call it ricotta. For the easy mozzerella, the whole process takes about 30 minutes if you use the recipe and process from the kit. It's not an "authentic" recipe, because it doesn't use cultures and uses (horrors!) a microwave, but it's so quick and easy, and the quality I've gotten has been good enough to impress my Italian friends. I've made it a number of times and it always comes out great. There's a bit of a learning curve, and each time it gets easier. 1 gallon of milk yields about 3/4 to 1 pound of mozzarella cheese, in my experience. You REALLY want to do this recipe with a pair of heavy rubber gloves, as you have to handle the cheese quickly, while it's hot. When I make mozzerella, I end up with a pretty firm textured cheese, more like packaged mozz. than the stuff in the tubs (Buffalo Mozzarella). I can get the texture a bit looser by squeezing out less whey, but the real difference, I think, is the milk. White, creamy buffalo mozzarella requires, somewhat obviously, buffalo milk. Hard to come by in the average store!   If you make mozzarella the traditional way, which is more complicated than the 30 minute method, and involves culturing the milk at precise temperatures, that might yield a better texture but it's a heck of a lot of effort. Once you see how easy it is, if you want to try your hand at other cheeses, I'd recommend the book "Cheesemaking Made Easy". Soft cheeses are easier to start with... for hard cheese you need a cheese press, and mold ripened cheeses intimidate me a bit! Like home brewing beer, you need a clean workspace (so nasty bacteria and molds don't start doing their own thing with your cheese) and, for aged cheeses, a cool humid place to age them. I've made 2 hard cheese, with the cheese press and all that. The cheddar and gouda looked great when I waxed them, but ended up with mold under the wax, and a runny cheese. I don't think I had the wax hot enough. After that, life got hectic and I haven't tried to make a hard cheese again.   Besides the wax temperature, I think part of my problem is not having the right place to age the cheese- you need a cool temperature (around 50 degrees) and a high humidity (80%, I think) for many cheeses. And they need to be turned frequently, and aged for months to really develop the flavor. I might try to rig up an aging refrigerator (with a regulator that turns the fridge on/off to and a pan of water to keep humidity up) for my next efforts.   It's very neat though, to have cheese you made youself! Not cost effective by any means, but if you are the sort that likes to make their own beer, cheesemaking is very similar. After learning how to make my own cheese, I'm a bit surprised we haven't seen a home cheesemaking fad (like with beer)... it's really so easy and there is a huge sense of accomplishment, although I guess when it's all said and done, it's cheaper to buy it rather than make it, and you'd have to make a LOT of cheese before you'd get cheese as good as you could get from a good artisanal producer. Link: http://cheesemaking.com/ Wed Mar 16 12:30:16 -0800 2005 1463053 0 Chris VR 2 1463207 Thanks Chris! Actually, I took Ricki's intro course this past November - that's where I got the cheesemaking bug. I am going to try to get to the 2 day class next month (taught by another instructor but still connected to NE cheesemaking). I think that I will have access to raw cow & goat milk this summer. I just bought "The American Cheese & Wine Book" and the Andante Dairy cheeses are what I aspire to. Might be a pipe dream but I spoke to the cheesemaker at the SF Farmers Market and fell in love with her product! Again, thanks - will post my failures/accomplishments probably later in the Spring. Wed Mar 16 13:45:22 -0800 2005 1463198 0 orla