Cheese! Glorious Cheese!
10:45 PM Edit This 19 Comments »
I made homemade cheese today. After I spent an hour. AN HOUR! A WHOLE HOUR at the fabric store trying to buy two yards of cheesecloth, I needed a nap and I was convinced that there was going to be no cheese making today. But I couldn't sleep. So there. I made cheese. A half gallon of milk and 2 1/2 Tablespoons of vinegar and there you go. Cheese. I used whole, organic milk for this venture. I warmed it up with a low, low flame. If the milk gets scorched, you're screwed, so I watched it the whole time and used very low heat. The recipe I used called for the milk to reach "about boiling" which also meant 185 degrees. I found a meat thermometer in the drawer and when it got to about 180 degrees, I thought I was good to go. Then I poured in the white distilled vinegar. The recipe told me to simmer it for a couple minutes, so I did. I wanted to add more vinegar to make more curds, faster! But I was on the phone with my sister who is the cheese making goddess, and she cautioned me to be patient. Sigh.
I poured the mixture in and pulled up the cheesecloth.
Look at my collection of curds!
The recipe said you should tie it up and let it drip for at least four hours or overnight.
This is four hours later.
Cheese! It's real cheese! And I made it! I put too much salt in it. It said to salt it when you put the curds up to hang. The recipe said you should salt it more than you would imagine. And well, it was too much. Hold back!
So, I took it off the flame and let it sit for about 20 minutes.
Look at the curds!
Some people save the whey to make ricotta, but for my first cheese making experience, I just threw it out. I know. Sigh. Wasteful. But you gotta start somewhere. I had the cheesecloth and colander ready to go.
Look at the curds!
Some people save the whey to make ricotta, but for my first cheese making experience, I just threw it out. I know. Sigh. Wasteful. But you gotta start somewhere. I had the cheesecloth and colander ready to go.
I poured the mixture in and pulled up the cheesecloth.
Look at my collection of curds!
The recipe said you should tie it up and let it drip for at least four hours or overnight.
This is four hours later.
Cheese! It's real cheese! And I made it! I put too much salt in it. It said to salt it when you put the curds up to hang. The recipe said you should salt it more than you would imagine. And well, it was too much. Hold back!
It's a spreadable white cheese like cream cheese. Kind of. It's awesome! I made cheese! I'm going to try it with skim milk tomorrow. This was whole milk and it's super creamy and yummy and well - I'm super excited! I made cheese! How cool is that? The recipe says you can add all kinds of herbs and spices when it's in curd form. Garlic? Parsley? Onion? Italian spices? I don't know, but I'm pretty dang excited!
19 comments:
Cheese :)
Great job!
Some comments:
You can buy cheesecloth in the grocery store or Walmart. You can also use those really thin flour-sack towels - if they've seen a lot of wear (like some I have). I also use them to make niter kibbeh.
Another great cheese: 1 gallon whole milk, 1 quart whole buttermilk. Heat and process just as above. Add a bit of salt at curd stage. After draining, semi-flatten under plates w/weight. Cut and fry. ZOMG.
Great job, again! Make it for friends and they will be so impressed!
THIS IS AWESOME, INSPIRING!
that is so cool, i can't believe how impressed i am! i will never make cheese, because we can't eat it but very very cool
yum yum YUM! I make a version of this style of cheese using plain yogurt. Adding finely diced sauteed veggies makes for a tasty savory spread. :)
Yummy!!!!
I just laughed when I read this. I'm a foodie, love to cook, entertain, have even worked as a cook in a reasonably good restaurant. I just never had the urge to make cheese. It's delightful.
Given that I now spend more time taking photographs than cooking, my only other comment is, "Say cheese!"
Holy shit. She can make cheese. I've never met anyone around our age that can make cheese. I think I love you.
Rock out with your cheese and whatnot. Now I'm inspired to try my hand at cheesery.
BTW, please forgive my dumb, but where is your RSS feed link. I want to add you into my Google reader, but I can't find the RSS link.
You just have to click on follow. That will put me in your google reader.
Wow!! Good stuff!
Congrats!
Is it okay that I don't like cheese?
Very cool! I might have to do this with Little Ms. C when she gets older.
I'm impressed! As much as I love cheese, I have never attempted to make any...
Your sister's coming to see me in a few weeks. I think she's going to have to teach me how to make cheese!
That's precisely how we make Sirak, a traditional Slovak food, at Easter. I like to call it "egg loaf." You mix a bunch of eggs with some milk, nutmeg, and some other things. You cook over low heat until the eggs are about to scramble, then you do the exact same cheesecloth/hang-from-the-cabinet trick! The next day? TA-DAH! Egg loaf. We put horseradish on it, but I think it really needs some bacon.
You should use "Look at my collection of curds!" as your tag line on your dating profile. Can't miss! :)
Wow - that is quite ambitious & impressive! Nice work.
You made paneer! Now you can make more homemade Indian food!! (If you make Indian food!)
Wahoo!
And the warm milk smells so good. Oddly.
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