# Cheese making 101



## catsraven

Ok this is for those who are interested in homemade rennet and Cultures and cheese making.

Rennet
First, I dont know how to make vegetable rennet. Animal rennet is made from a calf or kids fourth stomach. This page
has instructions and pics on how to make animal rennet.

Cultures
Mesophilic Culture is for low heat cheese, can be made with cultured buttermilk. Set buttermilk on kitchen counter take cap off and just lay it on the top to keep dust and bugs out and to relieve pressure. Let it sit 6 to 8 hours to ripen. It should look like yogurt. If it dose not let it sit 2 more hours. Take what you need ( 4 oz per gallon) and freeze the rest. Use a ice tray put the culture in the ice tray and freeze. when it is frozen pop them out, put them in a freezer bag label date and pop them back in the freezer. When you make cheese again take 4 per gallon thawed.

Thermophilic Culture is for high heat cheese
Is simple yogurt. You can make it at home or buy it at the store. Live and active culture plain Dannon yogurt. You can use the ice tray to freeze this as well. Again 4 per gallon thawed.

More later.


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## *Andi

I will look forward to this thread!!!  

:2thumb:


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## catsraven

equipment, what you do need to make cheese.

A stainless steal pot large enough to hold 2 gallons plus some room. A 12 quart is good.
stainless steal slotted spoon
butter muslin
cheesecloth
Dairy thermometer
glass measuring cup
stainless steal measuring spoons
cheese board to dry your cheeses. a wooden cutting board is what i use.
curd knife. if you have a long knife you dont need one
cheese wax 
pot for cheese wax
colander
cheese press
molds and followers

To be continued


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## lhalfcent

catsraven said:


> Ok this is for those who are interested in homemade rennet and Cultures and cheese making.
> 
> Rennet
> First, I dont know how to make vegetable rennet. Animal rennet is made from a calf or kids fourth stomach. This page
> has instructions and pics on how to make animal rennet.


Is it ok to contribute about veggy rennet?
you can make rennet from nettles. I use to have that recipe but couldn't find my notebook... :gaah: anyway I looked it up to see if i could find it on the net and sure enough found the recipe! It does work.
how to make vegetable rennet:
Simmer 1 qt nettles, 1 qt water, 1 tsp salt for 10 minutes. Strain. Add to warm milk. 1 cup curdles 4 quarts milk. Recipe can be halved or quartered
** when the nettles are mushy mash them to release the chemical that coagulates the milk before straining**
I made cheese this way only twice quite a long time ago. made a white cheddar and it turned out real good. Just took a little longer to set is all. I haven't had a proper place to cure cheeses until this year so this gets me thinking i might get back to it again! 
good thread!


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## catsraven

Yes its ok  Speak up if you know something I dont. Thats how we all learn :2thumb:


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## Jimmy24

Very cool thread...following with much interest!!

Jimmy


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## *Andi

Thanks for the tip about the nettles ... I didn't know that. 

But I will add it to my notes! :flower:


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## catsraven

On cheese presses

You dont need one unless you plan on making hard cheese. This  is the one I have. You can also make one heres one and another.

The simplest cheeses are spreadable ones. You can make Buttermilk cheese or yogurt cheese. You dont need rennet for these cheeses. More on this later.

Before you start making cheese, you need to sterilize your equipment. Wash in hot soapy water and boil or steam for 10 min. You dont want something yucky to get into your cheese and making your cheese taste nasty.


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## *Andi

You have a very nice cheese press! :2thumb:


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## Jimmy24

In the beginning soft cheeses are fine to learn, but I see hard cheeses for sure. 

I like your cheese press and I like the homemade ones too!

This is such a "Cheesey: thread....:ignore: :2thumb::2thumb:

Jimmy


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## catsraven

Thanks *Andi and Jimmy24. When I started to look for a press I wanted it to be easy to work and under 100 dollars.

More on sterilizing

You can use bleach but make sure it is rinsed very well. If its not you may not get your milk to coagulate because the bleach has killed your Culture.

Milk

Cows milk? Goats milk? Thats up to you. I use raw cows milk. Before you ask, I do know the risk. I take the risk because it is pure milk, store milk makes me sick. It can have all kinds of nasty things in it like antibiotics, steroids, hormones and other chemicals. I dont want that in my body. 

Most cheese is made with whole milk some with skim and ricotta is made with whey.


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## *Andi

catsraven said:


> Milk
> 
> Cows milk? Goats milk? Thats up to you. I use raw cows milk. Before you ask, I do know the risk. I take the risk because it is pure milk, store milk makes me sick. It can have all kinds of nasty things in it like antibiotics, steroids, hormones and other chemicals. I dont want that in my body.
> 
> Most cheese is made with whole milk some with skim and ricotta is made with whey.


I'll take my raw milk, any day over 'store milk' ... For the same reason that you do. :2thumb:


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## catsraven

Sorry, I have been canning tomatoes. It was a big batch! 

There are two ways to heat milk to make cheese. The first is on the stove, second is in your sink. It just depends on how hot you need to get the milk.

Basic technique for making hard cheese.

1 warm the milk
2 add culture
3 add rennet 
4 let it sit until you get a clean break
5 cut the curds
6 cook the curds
7 drain the curds
8 mill ( break the curds up )
9 salt the curds
10 mold the curds
11 press the curds
12 air dry cheese
13 wax cheese
14 age cheese

I know that sounds like a lot but its not. 

Next I will explain some things such as what a clean break is.


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## Ezmerelda

Woot! I'm so glad you started this thread! I have a book about cheesemaking, but being walked through will be much more valuable. Especially if you post pictures of the stages.


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## snappy1

I just started helping out at a dairy yesterday. Yesterday we made queso fresco and today we made a farmhouse cheddar. About 8 gallons of milk worth of each. It's a lot of fun! I look forward to learning more from you, Catsraven! I am especially interested in the waxing as we vacuum pack and sell. Not to keep.


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## weedygarden

snappy1 said:


> I just started helping out at a dairy yesterday. Yesterday we made queso fresco and today we made a farmhouse cheddar. About 8 gallons of milk worth of each. It's a lot of fun! I look forward to learning more from you, Catsraven! I am especially interested in the waxing as we vacuum pack and sell. Not to keep.


This is such a great opportunity to learn about cheesemaking.


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## SageAdvicefarmgirl

catsraven said:


> On cheese presses
> 
> You dont need one unless you plan on making hard cheese. This  is the one I have. You can also make one heres one and another..


We made cheeses a few years back with a homemade press somewhat like the one you show..cheese came out real good.

We hope to get dairy goats again soon...look forward to reading more on this topic! Thanks!


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## catsraven

Im glad people are getting something out of this :2thumb:

Now there are some things that you should know, culture is called starter its the same thing.

Rennet is always called rennet

A clean break. If you have ever had a medium set jello and stick your finger in it and bent the finger and puled out your finger. it breaks in half where you puled the finger out, thats a clean break.

Curds are the white solid stuff. Whey is the yellowish liquid.

Milling. After you have drained the curds, you have to break up the curds, they tend to stick together. Dont squeeze them just break them apart to about the size of a walnut or a little smaller.


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## Jimmy24

I'm loving this!!!! :congrat:

Jimmy


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## snappy1

Not trying to get off track but I used the whey I brought home the other day from the dairy in bread and it rose better than any bread I have made. I used it as the liquid--2 cups for two loaves. Woohoo! OK Back to the cheese making! ( I will be bringing some whey home to put on my garden --when that happens)


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## catsraven

First Im going to show you the difference between store and real cheesecloth









This the store stuff. You can use it but you need to quadruple it.









This is real cheesecloth. See the difference?

I do use both and both can be expensive.

On store milk.
Although I dont recommend it, if you do use it you will have to have some Calcium Chloride. Its a salt that balances the calcium in pasteurize milk. If it is ultra-pasteurized (the milk) it will not work. You can get the Calcium Chloride here

Lets make some cheese!
I will give some recipes later. This is just to show you the proses. In the pics Im making Farmhouse cheddar.









Boil or steam all utensils you will use for 10 min. Let them cool.









Put hot water in your sink.









Put put the pot with the milk into the sink.









Put your dairy thermometer in. Heat the milk ( in this case 90 degrees ) in the hot water. Stirring the milk helps heat it faster. The bigger the batch the longer it will take to heat. This is a one pound batch.


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## catsraven

Dilute rennet in 1/4 cup cool unchlorinated water. Add to milk and stir for one min. Let it sit 45 min or until you get a clean break. Maintain 90 temp.









This is what a clean break looks like.









Cut the curds with the knife strait up and down all the way across. Make sure you go all the way to the bottom. Next turn the pot and do the same across.









Next put the knife at an angle close to the top and cut down the side. turn and do the same. Do all 4 sides. Most of the time its cut at 1/4 inch.


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## *Andi

Very cool. :2thumb:

:thankyou:


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## catsraven

Once the curds are cut start to bring the temp slowly up to 100. 2 degrees every 5 min buy putting hot water into the sink. Should take 30 min.









Stir the curds gently to keep them from matting. Yes you will be string for 30 min. Break up any matting buy cutting them up. You can use the spoon for this.

Once you reach 100 degrees cover the curds and let it sit for 5 min.









Line a colander with cheesecloth









Pour in the curds and let it drain. How long depends on the recipe.









Tie up the curds and let it drain. Again how long depends on the recipe.

As you can see people are already messing up my work space! Grrrrrr


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## catsraven

After the curds have drained Put them into a bowl.










Break them up (don't squeeze ) to about the size of a walnut.









This is called milling. Put salt in and mix it in.









line your mold with cheesecloth. Put the curds in









Use your fist to press the curds down.









The curds in the press









Fold the cheesecloth over the curds









put in your follower.









and press.


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## Jimmy24

COOL! COOL! COOL! 

Thank you so much!!! :congrat:

Jimmy


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## catsraven

Your welcome









Take the cheese out of the press









peal off the cheesecloth. Be careful it can fall apart. Dont worry if it looks like this, Its normal. Turn it over wrap the cheesecloth around the cheese, put it back into the press and press again.









This is what it looks like when you are finished pressing.


















Put it on a bored and dry it. 1 or 2 days should be fine. Make sure you turn it 3 or 4 times so it will dry evenly.


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## catsraven

Time to wax. I brush and dip.









Cut the sharp edges off. Its easier to wax with it rounded.









Melt wax in a double boiler. I just use a smaller pot in a bigger pot. Don't boil! Cheese wax has a low flash point. You could start a fire so be safe and don't boil. Your brush needs to be a natural bristle brush. A nylon one will just melt. How wide is up to you. I use a 1 1/2 inch brush.









Once your wax is melted brush it on the top of cheese ( by the way the cheese should be cold. put it in the fridge for 30 min before you start.) let it dry.









Do the side, let dry









Do the bottom, let dry. If you plan to just brush you need to do another coat or two.









If you are going to dip do the top let dry









sides let dry and bottom let dry









Tada! you are now done. you made and waxed cheese :congrat:


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## snappy1

Excellent tutorial and photos!!!!! I am not that far along but this will help me learn. Thank you so much!


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## *Andi

Wait ... what is the date and time for the taste test. 

catsraven, Thanks for posting! :congrat:


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## catsraven

*Andi said:


> Wait ... what is the date and time for the taste test.
> 
> catsraven, Thanks for posting! :congrat:


Taste test will be aug 25th lol

And your welcome everyone!


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## ditzyjan56

That is the best tutorial I have seen, thanks for the info . Haven't been on the site in ages due to many issues and just catching up on some of the info. Thanks again. This web site is the best :kiss:


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## *Andi

catsraven said:


> Taste test will be aug 25th lol


Got it!

Looks like I'm free that day ... lol

Thanks again and great job!


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## snappy1

DH brought me home 2 gallons of whey from the dairy! I will make ricotta tomorrow. Recipe says the whey needs to sit out at room temp for 12 - 24 hours first. My first cheese at home! Somewhere I have recipes for cheeses made from powdered milk! That should be fun!


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## wolven

Would love to see your recipe for the ricotta cheese and any other recipes you might have.


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## Emerald

@Snappy! I have made ricotta a few times now and I find I get a bit richer flavor if I add about one pint of heavy cream or one quart whole milk to the whey before I let it sit and warm on the counter and then make the ricotta(I know not needed to make ricotta) the family all love the home made stuff and can't stand the store bought.
I've cheated tho before and made it from plain old whole milk too.


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## catsraven

I will get to the recipes some time this weekend. I have been bizzy.


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## catsraven

Recipes start here


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## wolven

*Thanks for the recipes*

Catsraven thanks for the recipes will check out the link. 
once again thanks


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## mikesolid

wow. Awesome post. Definately one of THEE best "how-tos" I've seen on here.

Thanks alot:2thumb:


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## catsraven

:threadbump:


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## Magus

You rock!

Any recipe for cream cheeses?

[Before some n00b says real men don't eat cream cheese, real men eat whatever they damn well want. ]


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## lhalfcent

I agree that this is one uber excellent thread! I have tried cheeses before but not making a waxed hard cheese. I do have the equipment however just never seem to get around to it. lol you have inspired me!!!! excellent!!!!


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## catsraven

Magus, Yes I have two for cream cheese. It will be in the recipe thread.

lhalfcent, Go for it :congrat:


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## lhalfcent

catsraven said:


> Magus, Yes I have two for cream cheese. It will be in the recipe thread.
> 
> lhalfcent, Go for it :congrat:


i shall! got out my box of stuff including the wax! just have to get some fresh milk from the dairy and off I go.


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