How To Make Cheese
Learn How To Make Cheese
For most people, learning how to make cheese is a hit and miss, often frustrating experience. The art of cheese making is an actual science, as the bacteria and culture activations need to be exact for sterile, solid, and good tasting results. The process is time consuming, to say the least, and requires patience and persistence. The rewards, however, are unimaginable, as you watch what started as a gallon of milk and a tiny pill you couldn’t pronounce become a beautiful brick of tart cheese. To help you learn how to make cheese, here is a step by step plan for making a homemade brick of basic rennet.
First on the how to make cheese list are the supplies that you will need. One gallon of pasteurized milk will make one pound of cheese after all is said and done. You will need a large stainless steel pot with lid, both of which need to be completely sterilized immediately prior to use. Rennet is an enzyme pill which can be found at many grocery stores and specialty markets, and you will half of one pill for this recipe. You will also need either 3 teaspoons of buttermilk or 1/3 cup of yogurt. You will need a whisk, a meat thermometer, a sterile knife, a sterile colander, a cheese press, and eight sterile, white cotton handkerchiefs.
Your first step in the how to make cheese process will be bringing a fresh, chilled gallon of milk to an even 68 degrees. The milk should then be removed from the heat and the whisk the buttermilk or yogurt into it. The milk should be covered with the sterile lid and be allowed to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for 12 hours. At this point, probably the next morning, you will heat the milk back up to 76 degrees, very carefully as not to scorch it.
Remove the milk from the heat, Dissolve the rennet in ¼ cup of cold water, and whisk it into the milk. Cover the pot and leave the milk undisturbed for no less than one hour, in some cases as long as two hours. Check the setting of the milk by inserting a clean tip of your finger into the center of it. If it breaks evenly with the pressure of your finger, it is ready. If it oozes over your finger and leaves a clumpy residue, it needs more time.
When the milk is set up properly, you will need to cut the curd with your sterilized knife, ideally to ½ inch cubes on the surface. The whey will begin to separate, and this is what you want. If your curd floats in the whey, your milk has been contaminated and your cheese is not guaranteed to be safe. If your curd falls to the bottom, you are ready to reheat the curd slowly while gently mixing it with your hands. Bring the curds to at least 92 degrees for softer cheese, up to 102 degrees for a harder brick. Strain the curds with the colander, thoroughly salt it, and then place it in a handkerchief.
Wrap the curd tightly. Cut the top and bottom off of a can and place the can around the curd. Find something to weigh the curd down and press the whey out. Let the cheese press sit for 12 hours at room temperature. Remove the curd from the press, rub it with salt, and wrap in a fresh handkerchief, placing it in the refrigerator. Replace the wrapping every day until there is no moisture on it. This can take up to 2 weeks. Good luck!