The Cheese Making Process

·        All cheese making equipment should be sterilized before using (rinsing or submerging in boiling water).

1.    Heat 1 gallon of milk to 93-100 degrees Fahrenheit (35-38 degrees Celsius), simultaneously boiling water for a later step.

*If you are not using an insulated pot or making a very large amount, be sure to transfer the milk to an insulated container (even a container wrapped in blankets) because it would cool too quickly.  You cannot just leave the flame on because it will burn the mixture. 

2.    Stir in one cup of buttermilk to sour the milk a little (2 Tablespoons of buttermilk per 1 L of milk). 

3.     Add 1 ml of rennet (2-2.5 ml of rennet per 10 L of milk) using a syringe; dilute slightly with water and stir into milk.  It is important to mix well with milk because the rennet is what sets the milk and helps make it solid.  Be sure that once you have stirred in the rennet that you stir the mixture counterclockwise to stop the milk.  The mixture must stop to solidify evenly. 

*Rennet is the enzyme that comes out of a calf’s stomach and is used for digestion.

4.    Let sit for 45 minutes to an hour.  Make sure the stove is off at this time. 

5.    Check to see if the whey is set by cutting into it with a knife.  If the cut doesn’t disappear into the liquid, the mixture is set enough, and if the cut dissolves, let the mixture sit for a little longer.  Repeat the test until the whey is solid enough.

6.    Once the whey is solid enough, cut into the cubes forming in the pot horizontally, vertically and depth-wise using a knife in order to cut the curds into dice-sized pieces. 

7.    Leave for an hour, stirring the whole mixture every ten minutes with a whisk to continuously break up the curds.  At the end of the hour, the curds should be pea sized. 

8.    After the hour, use a ladle to take enough whey (yellow liquid) off the top that you can see the curds and put into a container off to the side.  It will not be used again in the cheese making process and is useful for feeding animals, cooking or drinking.  It can be refrigerated and kept for approximately a week.  It tastes the best if you put a little fruit juice in it.  It is very good for your digestive system, and you can also use it when making pancakes or waffles.

9.    Heat the curds with a little whey to 113-122 degrees Fahrenheit (40-45 degrees Celsius) by pouring in hot water that is 148 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius).  Let stand 30 minutes and stir every ten minutes as you had been before.  By the end of the 30 minutes, you want a rubbery consistency. 

10. Ladle out the remaining whey into a container you put off to the side not to be used again in the cheese making process.

11.  Fill the cheese mold, which has a cheese cloth in it, with curds, squeezing out some of the excess whey with your hands as you go.  The curds shouldn’t really be pushed down forcefully. The whey should drain through holes on the side and the bottom, and the cheese cloth can be either cotton or a material you can hot wash.  It must be able to let liquid thru. 

12. Put the cheese mold in a weighted cheese press for 30 minutes. 

13.  Flip the cheese and leave it in the weighted cheese press for an hour. 

14.  After an hour, flip the cheese one more time and let it sit overnight.

15.  In the morning, take the cheese out and leave it exposed to the air for 24 hours.

16.  Soak the cheese in a salt solution for 24 hours, flipping the cheese after 12 hours.  The salt solution should have enough salt in it that if you put a small potato in it, the potato floats.

17.  After 24 hours, remove the cheese from the salt solution and store in a cool, dark place for at least three months.  Scrub and wash the cheese in salt water as mold forms (roughly every two weeks).