Cheese Making for Beginners -
supported by Bellingen Council's Environmental levy
Workshop held at North Farm, Hydes Creek Bellingen
Cheesemaking
From
'Home Cheesemaking' by Neil and Carole Willman
Ingredients The
most important ingredient you need to make cheese is milk. For best results,
use unhomogenised milk – either fresh from an animal or organic unhomogenised
milk from the supermarket (Parmalat, Norco) - the fresher the better.
Equipment
Container for the milk (3
litre plastic containers are convenient)
Small syringes to measure
small quantities of rennet solution
A range of measuring cups
and jugs, ranging from 50ml cups, to 1 litre measuring jugs
Sanitising agent (any
household-grade sanitiser eg Milton) or steam using an inch of boiling water
Hot plate or stove top
Two large pots that sit
inside one another for heating and pasteurising milk (a double boiler system)
or a large pot (7 litres is a good size) and a plastic basin (or you can use
your sink)
Long bladed knife for
cutting the curd
Thermometer for accurately
measuring the temperature
Timer
Long handled stainless
steel spoon for stirring and slotted spoon for draining the curd
A colander and chux or
cheesecloth or plastic moulds known as 'hoops' for draining the cheese
Container with a plastic
cake rack in the bottom for storing the cheese
Typical steps in cheesemaking (not all steps are used
with every cheese)
Sanitising
– the equipment and the cheesemaker
Pasteurising
- heating the milk to kill
pathogens, ie dangerous and spoilage bacteria
Ripening or inoculating the milk with starter - 'good' bacteria eg yoghurt to assist with the
flavour and preservation of the cheese
Adding
rennet to set the milk
Cutting
the coagulated milk into cubes
Cooking
and stirring helps more whey
come out making the curds, and hence the cheese, firmer
Draining
the whey off the curds
Hooping
- gathering the curds together
and placing into a mould or hoop to contain the curds and shape the cheese
Salting
- adding salt or immersing in
brine to draw out moisture, enhance flavour, and help preserve the cheese by
inhibiting the growth of lactic bacteria
Pressing
the curds to assist the
moulding process and to squeeze out more whey
Storing
and maturing until ready for
consumption. Flavour develops with age.
Santising
Health – infectious disease esp relevant for children,
frail elderly, compromised immune system
Product –
consistent result
Flavour – spoilage bacteria can lead to sour or bitter
taste
Mindfulness – living organisms
Feta
4 litres will produce
approximately 500g feta
First day
- Heat 4 litres milk to 32C (note, add one
eighth to one quarter teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in quarter cup
water if using store-bought pasteurised milk. If using cow's milk, you can
achieve a more authentic, goatier flavour by adding one tenth of a
teaspoon of lipase dissolved in 1/4 cup of unchlorinated water at the same
time as you add the starter culture. Allow the Lipase to set in the water
for 20 minutes before using. If using lipase, you may also need to
increase the amount of rennet used to achieve a good clean break.)
- Stir in 3 tablespoons yoghurt and leave
overnight, maintaining temperature of 32C if possible
Second day
- Next day, make rennet solution – add 1 ml (10
drops) rennet to 10 mls cool boiled water . Add to ripened milk and stir
thoroughly and gently for 1-3 minutes to ensure that the rennet is evenly
distributed. Allow to rest undisturbed for one hour, maintaining the
temperature at 32° C.
- Check the curd for a ‘clean break’. If the
curd is not firm enough leave for another 5 minutes and check again.
- Once the curd is firm enough and gives a clean
break, cut the curd into 1.5 centimetre or half inch cubes. Rest for 10
minutes.
- Gently stir the curds for 20 minutes, being
careful not to break them down.
- Transfer the curds to feta moulds and turn
every hour for 5 hours or, alternatively, gently pour into a colander,
lined with cheesecloth, to drain off the whey. Tie
the corners of the cloth together to form a bag and hang to drain for 5
hours. The curds will knit together into a solid mass.
- If using moulds, sprinkle with salt and leave
to age in fridge for 3-4 days, remembering to turn every day. If using
cheesecloth, untie the bag and cut the curds into 2.5 centimetre cubes,
lay flat, sprinkle with salt to taste and leave to age for 3-4 days.
- When dried, store in brine (13% solution)
Haloumi and ricotta
4 litres will produce
approximately 500g haloumi and 200g
ricotta
- Heat 4 litres milk to 32C
- Add diluted rennet, 1 ml (10 drops) rennet to
10 mls cool boiled water and stir thoroughly and gently for 1-3 minutes to
ensure that the rennet is evenly distributed. Allow to rest undisturbed
for one hour, maintaining the temperature at 32° C.
- Cut the curds gently into half inch cubes
using a long handled knife then leave for 10-20 mins or until the solids
sink to the bottom of the pot and begin to knit together
- Put the whole pot into a water bath (or use
the kitchen sink) and bring to 40C, stirring continually (10-20 mins).
- Leave 10 mins then transfer to hoops and leave
for an hour.
- After 1 hour, turn the cheeses, ie unmould
then return, upside down, to the moulds.
- After another hour, return the drained whey to
the pot.
- Heat the whey slowly until 98C or just before
boiling point.
- Cut the blocks of haloumi into whatever size
you prefer then drop into the hot whey.
- Leave for an hour.
Ricotta
- After a 20 minutes or so, you will see a raft
of ricotta has risen to the top of the haloumi pot. Strain it into a mould
(or cheesecloth lined colander). Drain for a few hours then place in glass
dish in the fridge.
Yoghurt
- Heat 1 litre milk to 90C
- Place pot in cold water to cool down to about
42C
- Add a tablespoon of yoghurt, mix well
- Pour milk into a jar or container with a lid.
Close well and wrap in woollen blanket to keep warm
- Let it sit for about 8 hours then check. If it
is still liquid, let it sit longer (up to 12 hours - any longer and it
gets really sour). If it is sort if thickish, take it out of blanket, let
it sit at room temperature for another hour, then put in fridge.
Alternatively, you can use
a yoghurt maker. Follow the first three instructions then pour into a yoghurt
maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Swiss
quark
2 litres of yoghurt gives
about 600g of quark. Use for spread, in salad dressings, with fruit or jam. You
also can make cheesecake from it. You can also make labneh the same way but instead
of using lemon, just add a little salt and drain for up to two days.
- Add lemon juice (from 1 lemon) to 2 litres
yoghurt
- Stir gently
- Pour into cheesecloth and hang up to drain.
for about 6 hours, (the warmer the weather, the quicker it drains)
- When the consistency is is to your liking,
transfer the quark to a container and place in fridge.
Paneer
- Heat 1 litre milk to 90C
- Quickly add 50ml white vinegar, stirring
thoroughly
- Leave for at least 20 mins to allow the curd
to knit into a raft on top of the whey
- Transfer to a lined colander and drain for
half an hour with a light weight on top to press the paneer
- Can be used immediately or stored until
required
