Latest work...

[Fabiola]

Getting ready for Christmas....

 

[LoneStarLori]

Wow. .that is some nice looking queso. Well done!
I have been thinking of trying that hobby but I'm afraid I will have trouble getting the necessary ingredients. Is it hard to get the supplies or can most of it be bought at the grocery store?

 

[Fabiola]

Yes, a large part of ingredients are found at Walmart or any store, but I prefer to shop in amazon.com because of the prices, Internet would be your best bet, this is a really delicious hobby, I just started making wine cheeses, wine candles and wine soaps, and hopefully market them to local wineries...

 

[the_rayway]

Ooooh! Would you mind sharing a recipe for one of them? I've also been very interested in this...I've got a few dairy farmers who wouldn't mind helping out I'm sure

Also - wine candles and soaps? Please tell us more!

 

[jamesngalveston]

do you make bread cheese also....dam i love that stuff.
have been trying to get some from finland, but not having much luck.

 

[iVivid]

Hmmm; I have a friend in Finland!

 

[Fabiola]

Ooooh! Would you mind sharing a recipe for one of them? I've also been very interested in this...I've got a few dairy farmers who wouldn't mind helping out I'm sure

Also - wine candles and soaps? Please tell us more!

sure, this is a good cheese for starters, is a Colby, approx. 2 lb. very easy to make and you can eat it as soon as 4 weeks:

Ingredients:
•Annatto Cheese Color (optional)
•1/4 tsp Mesophilic A Cheese Culture
•1 1/2 tsp Calcium Chloride Liquid (30%) prepared
•1/2 tablet Rennet Tablets (microbial) dissolved in 1/4 cup distilled water
•3 Tbsp Flaked Salt
•3 gallons whole milk

Procedure

Combine the milk, optional annatto and diluted calcium chloride in a cheese pot. Slowly heat the mixture to 86°F. Stir to prevent the milk from scorching.

Turn off the heat and sprinkle the Mesophilic starter onto milk surface. Allow the culture to rehydrate for 2 or 3 minutes before stirring it into the milk. Cover the pot and allow it to acidify at 86°F for 1 hour.

Add the prepared rennet and stir it gently into the milk, using an up and down motion. Let the milk set covered at 86°F for 30 - 40 minutes or until the curd shows a clean break. See: How To Test Gel Development.

When the gel demonstrates a clean break cut the curd into [3/8] inch cubes. Stir gently, and then let the curds heal for 5 minutes.

Using the indirect water bath method, slowly stir and heat the curds and whey to 102°F by increasing the temperature no faster than 2°F every five minutes. This should take about 30 minutes. Hold the temperature at 102°F for 30 more minutes, gently stirring every 5 minutes or so during this period so that the curds do not mat together.

Cover the pot and allow the curds to settle for five minutes.

Pour off the whey until it is level with the curd mass. Stir in cold tap water until the temperature in the cheese pot is lowered to 80°F. Hold the temperature at 80°F for 15 minutes while gently stirring to keep the curd from matting. The temperature of the cheese pot during this step will determine the moisture content of the finished cheese. A slightly higher temperature will produce a drier cheese. Lowering the temperature a few degrees will make a moister cheese.

Place a large colander in the sink. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and allow the curds to drain. Gently sift through the curds with clean hands to facilitate draining. This will unblock the draining holes and keep the curds from matting together. Once the whey has drained, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flaked salt over the curds and gently mix it in using your hands. Wait 1 minute and repeat with another 1 tablespoon of flaked salt. Wait 1 minute and repeat with the last tablespoon of flaked salt.

Prepare coarse cheesecloth for use in your cheese press. Press with 20 pounds of weight for 20 minutes. Turn the cheese over and press again with 30 pounds for 20 minutes. Turn the cheese a third time and press with 50 pounds for 12 hours. (See: How To Press Cheese).

Remove the cheese from the press and remove the cheesecloth. Place the cheese on a bamboo mat to air dry for 1-3 days turning over twice each day. When it starts to form a yellowish rind and is dry to the touch, it is ready to wax for aging.

Wax the cheese. Store for aging at 40° to 60°F (55°F is ideal) for up to 6 months. Turn the cheese over daily for the first month and several times a week thereafter. (See: How To Wax Cheese).

Aging Colby Cheese

Age the waxed cheese for up to six months at 50-55°F.

You may choose to add annatto coloring to give your cheese the traditional orange appearance.

 

[Fabiola]

Ooooh! Would you mind sharing a recipe for one of them? I've also been very interested in this...I've got a few dairy farmers who wouldn't mind helping out I'm sure

Also - wine candles and soaps? Please tell us more!

It would be better using raw milk, but whole milk from store works very well, as long as is not ultra-pasteurized, and the most important thing you need to watch is temperature, keeping the right temperature will decide how good the cheese will be.

 

[Fabiola]

do you make bread cheese also....dam i love that stuff.
have been trying to get some from finland, but not having much luck.

Leipäjuusto - Finland (Squeaky Cheese or Bread Cheese)

The formula for this recipe is based on one that Lauri Sauko (director of Salolampi language camp) talked about in her book. It enhances the milk with extra milk powder and heavy cream. The dry milk adds a great deal of bulk to the cheese.

1 gallon skim milk
3 cups Carnation instant dry milk
1 quart heavy cream
1 Junket Rennet tablet
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

Mix milk, dry milk and cream well in a large, heavy pot and place over lowest heat until milk reaches 110 degrees F.

Crush rennet into the water and add to the milk; stir in the salt. Cover and do not stir anymore. Turn off the heat and let stand 1 hour until milk curdles and looks like a custard. It is okay to let it stand 2 to 3 hours, in fact some recipes call for putting the pot into the refrigerator at this point to stand overnight.)

With a long spatula or knife, cut the curd into 1 inch squares. The curd and whey should separate. If curd is very soft, place over low heat again for about half an hour.

Line a colander with dampened cheesecloth. Place over a large bowl or pan to collect the whey. Pour milk mixture into the cloth lined colander. Drain well.

Transfer curds to a large rimmed cookie sheet or pizza pan. Press into a firm, evenly thick round cake.

Broil until cheese shrinks from sides of the pan. Pour off whey. Invert cheese onto another pan and broil to golden brown. (I had to invert mine several times onto another pan and broil again).

This recipe makes a large squeaky cheese, which can be cut into portions, wrapped, and refrigerated until you’re ready to eat it.

 

[jamesngalveston]

Thank you very much for that...I will try to make some next week..
I can buy some here, a specialty wine shop, its made in wisconsin.
but its like 12 dollars for 8 oz....i could eat that with a heartbeat.
I like serve it warm, with a sweet chili chutney...

 

[Fabiola]

Thank you very much for that...I will try to make some next week..
I can buy some here, a specialty wine shop, its made in wisconsin.
but its like 12 dollars for 8 oz....i could eat that with a heartbeat.
I like serve it warm, with a sweet chili chutney...

Enjoy your cheese!!

 

[Pumpkinman]

Fabiola,
I am very impressed!!!!

 

[cimbaliw]

Your cheeses look just delightful Fabiola. I wish I was on your Christmas list!

 

[ibglowin]

Lori,

One of WMT's supporters Brew and Wine Supply carries all the supplies you could ever need for making cheese. He also carries starter kits to make some basic cheeses so you can jump in and get your feet wet without spending too much $$$.

Wow. .that is some nice looking queso. Well done!
I have been thinking of trying that hobby but I'm afraid I will have trouble getting the necessary ingredients. Is it hard to get the supplies or can most of it be bought at the grocery store?

 

[Fabiola]

Lori,

One of WMT's supporters Brew and Wine Supply carries all the supplies you could ever need for making cheese. He also carries starter kits to make some basic cheeses so you can jump in and get your feet wet without spending too much $$$.

It is true, I get cheese making supplies from them and their prices are very reasonable...

 

[the_rayway]

We have a local LHBS that carries cheese making ingredients. I'm going to go and have a more thorough look I think!

Thank you very much for the recipes!

 

[reefman]

Fabiola,
Thanks for sharing the recipes. I bought a cheese kit from Amazon a few months back, but have not yet made my first batch. I'm still looking for a place to buy non-ultra-pasturized milk. There are laws in Maryland that stop farmers from selling it. However, there are farmers from Pennsylvania that sell it, and they are only an hour away, so now that the weather is turning cold, I may venture out and give it a try.

 

[Fabiola]

Fabiola,
Thanks for sharing the recipes. I bought a cheese kit from Amazon a few months back, but have not yet made my first batch. I'm still looking for a place to buy non-ultra-pasturized milk. There are laws in Maryland that stop farmers from selling it. However, there are farmers from Pennsylvania that sell it, and they are only an hour away, so now that the weather is turning cold, I may venture out and give it a try.

You don't need to go that far as raw milk, just buy the one sold at stores, the milk with red cap is pasteurized and homogenized and is perfect to make cheese, as long as it not "ultra-pasteurized", because that one doesn't have the good bacteria needed to make cheese. Now, raw milk is the ideal to use, the cheese flavor is better and more creamy, but my advice would be to use regular milk to start into the hobby, normally raw milk requires more experience in cheese making because you need to pasteurize it, and to be sure you age it properly enough to kill all the pathogens found in raw milk, which carry salmonella among other diseases... cheese making is fun and delicious and doesn't have to be complicated...

 

[ibglowin]

I bought a Cheve kit last year and was very excited to make some fresh cheese. Then I started looking for a source of Goats milk and found that 1 gallon of milk will cost me close to $25 at the local co-op health food stores. I can purchase (2) 10 oz logs of Chev (Kirkland brand) from Costco for ~$5.50 and its fantastic in quality. So for me it doesn't make much sense to make my own.

 

[Fabiola]

I bought a Cheve kit last year and was very excited to make some fresh cheese. Then I started looking for a source of Goats milk and found that 1 gallon of will cost me close to $25 at the local co-op health food stores. I can purchase (2) 10 oz logs of Chev (Kirkland brand) from Costco for ~$5.50 and its fantastic in quality. So for me it doesn't make much sense to make my own.

I agree about the price, normally people who make cheese have goats, but when smeone has to buy the milk is not cost effective, Walmart sometimes has goat milk for $5-$7 a gallon.