Untitled
10 months ago
Taking a course next weekend! So excited!
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How to learn to make cheese
It made me
 "Four frustrating failures and one triumph!"
How I did it: I first got inspired to try cheesemaking when I read Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." I visited Ricki Carroll's website and ordered her book, DVD and 30-minute mozza/ricotta kit. My first four attempts at mozzarella more-or-less turned into ricotta, so I was really disappointed. I kept reviewing my technique, doing research on the net, increasing the rennet, etc. and ultimately figured my milk was the problem (we can only get pasteurized/homogenized). So I ordered some liquid calcium chloride from a Canadian cheesemaking supply company and tried again with 1/8 tsp CaCl2. Still didn't work! (Meanwhile, we were getting tired of eating all that ricotta we ended up with!) On my fifth attempt I used 1/2 tsp of the CaCl2 and worked really hard to drain my whey better before moving on to the heating/stretching phase. And it worked! I'm not sure if it was the increased CaCl2 or the better drainage of the whey that did the trick, but at least now I know that I can do it. Yay! By the way, the mozza is delicious and has such a nice texture. Lessons & tips: Milk is a little bit different everywhere you go, so don't be too quick to give up if one or two recipes/techniques aren't working for you. You might need to adjust the amount of rennet, and definitely try to get some calcium chloride if the only milk you can get is pasteurized/homogenized. Resources: Tim Smith's book called "Making Artisan Cheese" helped me more than Ricki Carroll's book. I was able to get it at the library. Also, the people at www.cheeseforum.org were REALLY helpful and encouraging.
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More "How I Did It" stories
mompaulina achived the most important one
It made me
proud
How I did it: Took a class from a friend that lives in the countryside. It is easier than I thought. She also lend me a book with lots of recipes for different kinds of cheese, and, as she says, you just have to try it. It will go wrong sometimes, but eventually, you learn! Read how I did it…
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Entries
Shopping...
10 months ago
I found a local store that sells everything necessary to make cheese. I can’t wait to get the stuff I need and try this!
cia007 is a "Romatic Spiritual Tree-Hugger!"
Cheesemaking kit
19 months ago
Saw this great kit http://www.cheesemaking.com/product_info-cPath-22-products_id-34.php and decided it would be fun to get it and make cheese with my little guy to make homemade pizza. Don’t know if I would want to make cheese forever, but if I do it once, I’ll consider this goal accomplished.
letterboxer is slowly plugging back in...
Ok.......
2 years ago
I made cheese today. A basic mozarella. Didn’t quite turn out right. Not the lovely shiny, elastic-like texture from the instructions. It came out like a ball, but the texture was not stretchy and more bumpy like ricotta. My book says that the milk I used was probably homogenized at too high a temperature and to try another brand…..so I’m adding whole milk to my milk order this week (I get local milk delivered) and I’ll try again with that.
The good news? I made a great spread out of the cheese that I made. I took a slice of it and put it in the microwave with a big spoonful of pesto on top. After 30 seconds it was bubbly and smelling fantastic. I blended it together and served it on wheat thins. Delish!
letterboxer is slowly plugging back in...
Picked up a thermometer today.....
2 years ago
.....DEFINITELY making cheese this week!
letterboxer is slowly plugging back in...
My kit is sitting on the counter unused.....
2 years ago
.....because I need a thermometer that can clip on my cooking pot. Put it on my list to buy THIS week!
letterboxer is slowly plugging back in...
I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
2 years ago
by Barbara Kingsolver and she’s inspired me. She wrote about a woman in the tiny town of Ashfield Massachusetts that runs New England Cheesemaking and has workshops on how to make cheeses. SO FUN! Of course, all of her fall workshops are full, so I did the next best thing: ordered the book, dvd & supplies to make a beginners mozzarella. Should be here next week! Can’t wait!!
nevermind
3 years ago
I guess cutting dairy from my diet undermines the need to learn cheesemaking. :(
I love cheese.
3 years ago
Not as much as sausages, but still lots. I really want to make my own cheese, but I need to get a cow first. Maybe I should make that another goal…
