How To Make Homemade Cheese: Making Cheddar Cheese

MAKING HOMEMADE CHEESE

Home Made Cheese
Making cheese has been around for almost 6,000 years. Scientists belive that the Middle East is where it originated, but today it is enjoyed all over the world. The technique was a little different back then, and we have a lot more variety today. However, cheese making spread from there to all cornors of the globe. Today every country in the world enjoys some form of cheese. It can be bought in shops, stands, wholesale, and even on the internet. A great site I found to get any type of cheese or anything cheese related is CheeseSupply.com
The alternative to buying your cheese is making it yourself. It can be a wonderful pastime for you and your family. There is nothing quite like the feel of creating something. Here we are going to go over the basics of what it takes to make it. However, cheese is like wine. The more you find out about it the deeper you see the cheese hole goes. There are only a few simple steps necessary to make cheese and most decently equipped kitchens have the necessary equipment. But, to make cheese that will knock your friends and family off thier feet a kit REALLY helps!
Some of the basic things required are as follows. A heavy stainless steel pot with lid. A non-reactive pot is important because the acidifying milk can dissolve aluminum. Enamel pots would work as well. A heavy bottom is important to evenly disperse the heat and prevent scorching. Scorching affects the flavor and is a cleanup hassle. The size of the pot should be large enough so that you have at least an inch of head space above the milk. A cover is needed for the steps when the milk must sit for periods of time. I bought a high quality five gallon pot like this years ago (expensive). I have never been sorry.
Measuring cups You may need measuring cups ranging from 1/4 cup to a quart. Obviously you can improvise, but accurate measurements improve your success rate. Measuring spoons are occasionally needed.
Thermometer- An accurate thermometer which reads in the range of 32-225 F (0-100 C) is very important. A candy or meat thermometer can work. There are several reasons that accurate temperature is important. The texture of the cheese depends a great deal on achieving a temperature to within one degree. Also, after milk for yogurt is scalded, it must be cooled to 130 F for optimum bacteria action.
Whisk Thorough mixing of starter and rennet is important. A whisk is the obvious choice for this step.
Cheese cloth- The purpose of "cheese cloth" is to catch the curd and allow the whey to drain out. For This you can use cheese cloth bought at any local store. Some other options that have been said to work well are large plain white cotton handkerchiefs, or white non-terry cotton dish towels.
Cheese press is required for the hard cheeses. You can purchase them for a handsome price, or build one {displayed later on}

The Process
To pasteurize raw milk, use a stainless steel pot, or double boiler, heat to 145* and maintain for 30 minutes. {if you are planning to age your cheese for longer than 60 days, you do not need to pasteurize. }
Farm house cheddar 2 gallons of milk 1 packet Direct set culture 1/2 rennet tablet dissolved in 1/4 cup cool water 1 Tablespoon salt {I have used canning salt}
Note -One can get direct set culture and rennet from www.CheeseSupply.com Cheese cloth from Wal-Mart in the material dept.
Heat milk to 85* to 90* add starter culture, stir in well, maintain temperature for 45 minutes. {turn heat off} Add rennet into the milk stir gently for one minute. Make sure it is stirred all the way from bottom to top. Cover your container and let it set undisturbed for 45 minutes. {curds should have formed nicely} Leave it in the pot and Cut the curd into 1/2 inch blocks length and depth of the pot then cut diagonally, let the pot cool slowly, for about 45 minutes, the curds will shrink and the whey will seem to grow, as your curds shrink, stir gently. Cover your pot for about 10 minutes, pour your curds into a cheesecloth lined colander, knot your four corners together or tie it, hang the bag to drain for 1 1/2 hours, pour your drained curds into a bowl and break them up with your fingers, mix in the salt. Pack the curds firmly into a lined mold to the shape you wish, place your cheese cloth over the mold and place 10 pounds of pressure on it .

1. Place a large, smooth bottomed dinner plate inverted in the bottom of a canner (to keep assembly up out of the expressed whey).

2. Place pressing frame can on top of plate. Here I am using a 9 inch length of 6 inch PVC pipe cut from a discard from a construction site. In the past I have used large a tin can with both ends cut out. I FAR prefer the PVC pipe because it does not corrode, and the cheese is removed much easier

3. Lie a very clean cloth over the can

4. Push cloth down into the can to form a "bag." A rubber band stretched around the top is helpful to hold the cloth in place for the next step.

5. Add salted curd into the cloth "bag." Note that the curds should still be warm to allow molding and cohesion into a wheel. The final wheel may crumble if the curds are too cool.

6. "Sweep" all of the curd into the press.

7. Pull up on the corners of the cloth to remove wrinkles between curds and can.
Shake to settle the curds and reduce folds in the cloth.

8. Place wooden block follower on top of cheese. I am using a follower I cut from cypress.

9. Press wooden block ("follower") down on top of curds. Pull up evenly on the cloth all around the circumference to remove wrinkles.

10. Attach inner tube rubber band through canner handles with chopsticks

11. Pull up on attached rubber band, insert a Mason jar underneath so that the band will press the jar onto the wooden block. A half gallon jar exerts more force than a one quart jar.

12. Press down on the jar to exert added initial pressure on curd. Align the tension of the rubber band so that the jar is vertical (and the follower board is horizontal).

14.Apply pressure for 12 hours

Removing the Cheese from the mold

Pressing frame removed from canner.

The cloth is peeled down from the cheese

The follower is removed. The edge will be cut smooth, the c

Cheese rubbed with salt, wrapped in a handkerchief, and
cured in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

And there you have it the very basics of how to make some awesome cheese. But……that’s just scratching the Surface. If you are REALLY interested in learning how to make some great cheeses check out the experts at www.CheeseSupply.com
Note {the whey is good for breads and biscuits etc., So don't throw it away.}

Confirmation Code: GDVXNFX13289319

References
Donna, from Mo, entered 2002-01-20{www.Kountrylivin.com}
David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. Professor of Biology and Chemistry University of Cincinnati Clermont College, Batavia OH 45103 {www.biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML}

Monday, September 15, 2008

Making Cheddar Cheese

This makes approximately 0.5kg (1lb) of Cheddar. The final weight will vary depending on the type of milk. For a larger quantity, adjust the ingredients accordingly. It should be pointed out that it is far more economical to make a larger quantity than the one stated here because it takes just as long to make a small cheese as a larger one.

5 litres (1gallon) full cream milk
1 litre (1.7pints) additional cream (optional)
5ml (1 teaspoon) liquid starter or 5ml DVI dry starter (or half a cup of live yoghurt/live buttermilk although this is not as reliable as a commercial starter)
3ml (half teaspoon) rennet
10g salt
Method
Pasteurisation: Pasteurise the milk to destroy unwanted bacteria. To avoid damaging the subsequent curd, this is normally 66 OC held for 30 minutes. Cool to 21 OC.

Starter:Stir in the starter and leave the milk, covered in a warm place for about an hour so that it can acidify. Don’t leave it for much longer than this otherwise the cheese may be too dry and crumbly.

Rennet: Increase the temperature to 28 OC for goat or ewe’s milk, or to 30 OC for cow’s milk. Mix the rennet with two teaspoonfuls of previously boiled and cooled water and then stir it in. Give it another stir 5 minutes later to stop the cream collecting at the top. Cover the container and then leave the milk to set in a warm place.

Setting: (Coagulating): The curd is normally ready when it is firm to the touch, gives slightly and does not leave a milk stain on the back of the finger. Note that with vegetarian rennet, setting takes longer than with animal rennet. It also takes longer in a cooler environment.

Cutting the curd: This is where the curd is cut in order to release the liquid whey. Cut down into the curd, from top to bottom one way then cut it at right angles to form square columns. The curd is then loosened from around the walls of the pan. Unless a curd knife is available to make horizontal cuts, a palette knife can used to make diagonal cuts to break up the curd into pieces that are approximately pea-sized. Stir gently with the hand for a couple of minutes.

Scalding: Sometimes referred to as cooking, this is where the temperature of the curds and whey is raised slowly while occasional stirring of the curds takes place by hand. Gradually increase the temperature to 38 OC over the next 30-40 minutes.

Pitching: This is the process of giving the whey a final, circular stir so that it whirls round. The curds then gradually sink to the bottom and collect at a central point. Turn off the heat and leave the pan until all movement has ceased in the liquid.

Running the whey: Ladle out as much of the liquid whey as possible, then place a previously sterilised cloth over a stainless steel bucket or large basin and tip in the curds. Make the cloth into a bundle by winding one corner around the other three. This is called a Stilton knot. Place the bundle on a tray which is tilted at an angle to let the whey drain away. Leave for about 15 minutes.

Stacking or cheddaring (Texturing):Untie the bundle and the curds will be seen to have formed into a mass. Cut this into four slices and place one on top of the other then cover with the cloth. After about fifteen minutes place the outer slices of the curd on the inside of the stack, and vice versa. Repeat this process several times until the curd resembles the texture of cooked breast of chicken when it is broken open.

Milling: This is the process of cutting the curd into pea-sized pieces. Traditionally a curd mill was used for this, but it is easy to do it by hand.

Salting: Sprinkle 10g salt onto the milled curds. rolling them gently without breaking them further.

Moulding: This is the process of lining the cheese mould from the press with previously boiled cheesecloth and adding the curd until the mould is full. The corner of the cloth is then folded over the top of the cheese and it is ready for pressing.

Pressing: Once in the mould the curds have a wooden ‘follower’ placed on top so that when the mould is put into the press there is a surface on which to exert an even pressure.

Pressing cheese is essentially a process of compacting the curds while extracting the liquid whey. For the first hour, apply a light pressure so that the fats are not lost with the whey then increase it to the maximum and leave until the following day.

Next day, remove the cheese from the press, replace the cloth with a clean one and put the cheese back in the mould, upside down, and press for another 24 hours.

Drying: Remove the cheese from the press and cloth and dip it in hot water (66 OC) for one minute in order to consolidate and smooth the surface. Place it in a protected area at a temperature of 18-21 OC and leave it to dry for a day or two until a rind begins to form.

Sealing: Once the rind has formed the cheese can be sealed to prevent it becoming unduly desiccated while it is maturing. Large cheeses are sometimes bandaged but it is much easier to use cheese wax that is available from specialist suppliers.

Using a water bath, heat the wax in a pan and stir it to ensure that it is melting evenly.

Do not leave the pan unattended in case of fire! Dip the cheese into the liquid wax and coat thoroughly. It sets quickly, so rotate the cheese so that the area where your fingers are touching can also be coated. If preferred, you can paint on the wax with a paintbrush but this will probably need two coats.

Maturing: The last stage is often the all-important one. A cheese, which is tasteless and bland when freshly made, is full of flavour and body after its proper ripening period.

Leave to mature in a cool, dry place at 8 – 11 OC where it should be turned daily for the first three weeks, then on alternate days after that. For a large mild cheese, ripening should take place for at least three months. A longer period of ripening produces a more mature cheese. Smaller cheeses are usually ready after a month.

How To Make Homemade Cheese

MAKING HOMEMADE CHEESE