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Thinking about trying my hand a cheesemaking...

w_r_ranch

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I've been researching it all week & figured I'd give it a shot... ordered the stuff today. Stay tuned...
 
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ErnieCopp

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Who is going to do the milking? I have started drying my sweet black figs. I have two trees, one big pretty tree near the house that has big flavorless figs on it, and an ordinary looking fig out by the fence that has small delicious figs on it. I will take out the pretty one, and put a yellow peach in its place. Dried figs are my favorite to put on cereal.
Ernie
 

w_r_ranch

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Who is going to do the milking?

I'm going to start by doing it with plain old whole milk first. Then, if things go OK, I'll find some goat/sheep milk. I know a few people that may be able to help in that area...
 
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ErnieCopp

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That sounds a lot easier, for sure. It will be interesting to see how it turns out for you.

Ernie
 
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Slowngreen

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This should be cool. My mom has made alot of cheese, regular whole milk cheese which is hella easy and lots of goat cheese. MMMMMMM CCHHHEEEESSSSEEE, I love cheese.
 

w_r_ranch

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OK, today is the day!!!

Per the instructions, you will need:
2 gallons of whole milk
1 packet of our thermophilic culture C201
Rennet 1/2 tsp or 2.5 ml liquid rennet (single strength) or 1/2 rennet tablet
A good thermometer
A knife to cut the curds, and a spoon or ladle to stir the curds with.
A colander and butter muslin to drain the curds
A sturdy bowl or pot to hold the curds for heating
A pair of thermal gloves to save your hands from the hot curds and water while stretching.
A wooden spoon
Another pot for heating water (this does not need to be stainless steel).

Step 1) Acidifying and heating the milk:
Begin by heating the milk to 100F. You do this by placing the milk in a pot or sink of very warm water. If you do this in a pot on the stove make sure you heat the milk slowly and stir it well as it heats

Once the milk is at this target temperature, the culture can be added. To prevent the powder from caking and sinking in clumps, sprinkle the powder over the surface of the milk and then allow about 2 minutes for the powder to re-hydrate before stirring it in. The milk will need to ripen for 60 minutes before adding the rennet.
 

w_r_ranch

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Step 2) Coagulation with rennet:
Now add the rennet and stir slowly top to bottom for about 30 seconds.

The milk now needs to set undisturbed for 45 minutes while the culture works and the rennet helps form the curd. Keep the milk at the 100F during this period, preferably using a sink or water bath of warm water. It can not be heated on a stove top because of the curd formation. I'm using a 300W aquarium heater in a double pot...

Coagulation_With_Rennet.jpg
 

w_r_ranch

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Step 3) Cutting curds and releasing the whey:
During the next 20 minutes cut the curd at 2 inch intervals and then make the same cut spacing at right angles to the first cut. Allow this to rest 5 minutes then break the rest of the curd into walnut or hazelnut sized pieces (1" - 1/2" ). The smaller the pieces the more whey will be released and the drier the cheese. This is your first control point in determining the final result.

Cutting_Curds.jpg

Releasing_The_Whey.jpg

It will now rest for an hour...
 

w_r_ranch

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Step 4) Cooking the curds :
After cutting and a brief stir, allow the curds to settle to the bottom of the pot for 1 hour. A brief stir every 5-10 minutes just to keep the curds separate will retain the most moisture. For a drier cheese, a more frequent-constant stir will cause more whey to be released. The temperature may even be increased to 106-108F for more moisture removal.

Cooking_The_Curds.jpg


Step 5) Removing the whey:
The dry curds and whey can now be transferred to a colander or cheese mold to form into a consolidated curd mass & the whey is allowed to drain off.

Step 6) Ripening the curds:
At this point it is essential to keep the curds warm because the bacteria is now producing the acid that is so important for a good stretching Mozzarella. The easiest way is to place both curd and the colander or form back into the empty pot and keep this in a sink of warm water to keep the curd at 96-100F.

Allow the curds to ripen in the warmth for about another 2 hours, then you begin testing for the stretch.

Ripening_The_Curds.jpg
 
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Rolex

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When it's all finished and you have a dining room of guest to sample it, call me and I'll be more than willing to show up to cut the cheese.
 

w_r_ranch

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Well Rolex, you best leave right now... Luckily, I won't be finishing till tomorrow AM.... I ran out of time & supper need to be finished, LOL!!!

The curds are cured & ready to be stretched... I will finish this up tomorrow.

Ripening_The_Curds_2.jpg

So far, so good!
 

w_r_ranch

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Well, I did something wrong along the way... I could not get the cheese to stretch at all. It tastes OK, however it has grainy texture sort of feta cheese. Oh well, I guess we can use it crumpled on our salads.

Failed_Finished_Product.jpg


I'll have to figure out where I messed up & try again next week.
 
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Slowngreen

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Looks edible enough. What were you hoping for, more of a sold sharp type texture?
 

w_r_ranch

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It was suppose to be mozzarella for our grilled pizzas.

I still haven't gotten around to trying it again, been spending most of my efforts finishing the garden wall.
 
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