Cheesemaking, anyone?

[Lister]

Has anyone got any tips for us?

We're re-enactors and inspired by 'Tales From Green Valley' decided we want to make some cheese (hard and cottage), and get reasonably competent over the winter so we can do it as a living history thing, next year.

I just got a book called 'Home Cheesemaking - Recipes for 75 homemade cheeses' by Ricki Carroll but before we get going - there's nothing like some tips from people who've actually done it!

Any help will be appreciated!

[Stonehead]

One of the best online illustrated how-tos is Cheese Making for Beginners.

It is American, but the bloke who wrote it is a professor of biology and chemistry who's obviously used to getting the message across to students. He also regards cheesemaking as both a science and an art.

The instructions and photos are very easy to follow, and he grades his instructions by difficulty so you can work your way up from yoghurt through neufchatel to blue cheese.

[glenniedragon]

What age do you re-enact? we do Roman and a simple white cheese is really simple to make.
Warm about a litre of milk slowly, do not boil, add 120ml white wine vinegar stir till the milk setparates then drain the curds from the whey and season-
voila! you can stick any herbs or garlic in you have to hand and its nice eaten fresh. I tried to follow Jacks example and try to make Blaand from the whey, but all I got was a stinky slosh- you might have better luck! I have never made hard cheese and wouldn't know where to start!

Kind thoughts
Vale
Deb

[farmerdrea]

The Ricki Carroll book (an older edition) is what I used as my cheese-making bible when I first started to make cheese about 8 years ago.

I would just jump right in with a simple cheese, like feta, first, and perfect that before going on with the more aged/harder cheeses. You can get a reasonable facsimile of a feta with cow's milk, but goat's milk is much better, as it naturally contains the lipase which gives feta that lovely bite.

Just make a recipe, even of a soft spreadable cheese, and see how it goes, then come back and ask specific questions. That's what I wish I could have done when I first started making cheese - get feedback on my mistakes.

The Fankhauser (Stonehead gave the link for that one) website is excellent, and the professor will even answer emails!

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

[mrsflibble]

What age do you re-enact? we do Roman and a simple white cheese is really simple to make.
Warm about a litre of milk slowly, do not boil, add 120ml white wine vinegar stir till the milk setparates then drain the curds from the whey and season-

that's how I make paneer.

[Lister]

Yes, I'll go away and attempt something easy then come back with questions!

My family were dairy farmers on one side, and owned a dairy on t'other so you'd think I had some idea, but sadly my grandma although she left a recipe book didn't bother writing down a thing about cheese - no doubt she thought it was too obvious! But I remember my dad saying he used to watch his mum making the cheese then hanging it up from the rafters in cheese cloths. I wish I still had some of the old churns and containers we had hanging round when I was a kid!

[Wombat]

I made cheese years ago, but the mould was to big for the amont of cheese so it was very thin - too big a surface area for the volume - it came out like a roof tile!

Nev

[Cheezy]

Now you'd expect me to make cheese... and I have once.

Like Nev the mould size worried me, so I decided to make some of those small goats cheeses in ramakins lined with muslin.

It wasn't too bad, the main problem being I couldn't leave it long enough to mature before eating it!.

I'm thinking of having another go if I get time.

[ina]

I made small moulds out of yoghurt pots once - the type that is of softish and fairly thick plastic, which are now becoming less popular (too much plastic wasted!). But they are great for cheese moulds: just drill holes in them with an electric drill.