Cheese Making

[MadJohnShaft]

Ordered the basics using the last of my Amazon card.  From Midwest Homebrewing Supplies too, where I ordered my beer stuff at the end of that adventure

Tablet Vegetable Rennet - 10 ct.
Small Mold for Hard Cheese
Liquid Animal Rennet - 2 oz.
Mesophilic C101 - 5 Packets
Cheese Salt 8oz


Guess I'll be trying the basic recipe first, I have all the other supplies in my brewing gear

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese98.htm

[RAGER]

something else I've been wanting to get into.  I've only ever made fresh cheeses like mozarella and fresh white cheese (queso fresco).  just needed rennet, salt ,whole milk and citric acid

[MadJohnShaft]

I decided to get the mold (the plastic round can, not mold mold)  to make things easier - who in the hell has a coffee can anyway?

Probably whole foods carries the Rennet and Citric Acid. You could use canning salt I bet.

[RAGER]

"canning" salt sounds like marketing to me

[Jor el]

Blessed are the CheeseMakers

[MadJohnShaft]

Heh


Canning salt was probably a thing you would have to go out of your way to buy in the 70s, you just want non-iodized salt. Now, with all the fancy salt it's not a big deal.

[deleted account]

oh shit.  I thought this thread was gonna be about your posting style Shaft.  my bad

[MadJohnShaft]

The BS belongs in Gen Disc, vegan

[deleted account]

listen Food Noob, this here's the new OFF.  I don't care how many smites you have! 

[RAGER]

Be careful or i will MODERATE you both!

[MadJohnShaft]

Okay.

priest, I am sorry I called you a vegan

[deleted account]

I accept your apology.  you may proceed to post about cheese, CSA's, pork shoulder, and anything else that is sure to annoy me

[MadJohnShaft]

Okay vegan,

I got the items and am making round one tonight...

[deleted account]

when you say "got", do you mean the CSA limo driver delivered them to you on a silver platter?

[MadJohnShaft]

Is this thing on why are you always so far from making any damn sense? Do you even read anything I type on here? We're going on 10 years. I'm putting you on block and done with you forever.


The cheese is made and in the mold, after a day it goes in the fridge for a few weeks the gets waxed and stored for a month.   We ate some of the curds and it was amazing - like cottage cheese.  


Shhhh.... this cheese is sleeping


http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Cheese98.htm

Although I forgot, with the left over whey you are suppose to make ricotta, so I got that to do tomorrow. I am suprised how good it smells.

(ricotta - there was no solids left in the whey so no ricotta showed up, doing Chedder instead)


Child labor making slave Cheddar

[deleted account]

that slave laborer looks like he was just caught putting a booger in the cheddar pot.

you should change your slogan to "sorry for party blocking"

[Chovie D]

pretty fucking cool  shaft.
so is it worth the trouble and expense?, over just buying some  local cheeses?

[MadJohnShaft]

We shall see.



Like anything artisan that is hand crafted? It's probably better done by the pros so I doubt it... more kind of cool.  I wouldn't enter my beer or cooking or canning efforts into any sort of contest, it's just to do it for the fun of doing it, rather than to be great at it I just want to fuck around with it.   Making cheddar is an 8 hour process elapsed, where you have to watch it for hours at a time keeping it at the proscribed temperature of 102 degrees or otherwise waiting to do the next step.  You can't go wandering off.



I got the second cheddar wheel chilling out on the mantel for a few days. Looks much like that one in the fridge above so no picture needed.  The curds were awesome all warm and freshly made though.   That would be one hell of a nice gift to give someone or bring to a dinner get together... here, I made this cheese.   I guess we'll see if it is good, great, excellent or what...


Now when I get some Goat's milk in a few weeks...

[Chovie D]

good job farmer scientist, that does indeed look and sound like fun...delicious fun.

[RAGER]

I am proud.  very nice addition to the "Food and Drink Forum" Juan !!!!

[MadJohnShaft]

The Cheddar Cheese is now waxed. Family fun.

[Chovie D]

are you gonna try and age some? that would require patience...plus you can go buy the aged shit without having to wait ten years I guess.

[MadJohnShaft]

Making Gouda, the milk guy had a sale so I got 4 qts of fancy whole milk.  I got more aggressive with the mesophilic and rennet and it set up a lot firmer than the first two batches, figured out a better cheese press setup too. 
Oh yeah


http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/Recipes/Make-Gouda-Cheese-951/Gouda-Cheese-Recipe-486.aspx

[MadJohnShaft]

Opened two and brought them to my dads - the first one I made and the gouda. Keeping the cheddar to age a bit.


The first basic recipe was thick and creamy like a Brie, the Gouda was mild and had a nice texture and a crumbly salty appealing rind.

Both were excellent so I give this project an A+.  The kids suggested I do event cheeses - make one when he starts high school and eat it at graduation.

I got the Thermo-whatever culture to try a Parmesan next.  I got a couple of nicer pieces of cheese cloth, the grocery store cheese cloth is too sticky.

[khoomeizhi]

are there pics of the finished cheese that you're withholding, or did you not document the best part of such a formative moment in your personal culinary arc? i mean, c'mon.