Everything You Need to Make Your Own Cheese
While you don’t really need a dedicated place or kitchen to make cheese, you will need some equipment and, most importantly, a deep understanding of cleanliness. I thought I knew about sterilization from years of canning, canning and fermentation, but I was in no way prepared for how hard you have to be when making cheese.
Before we delve into curd and whey, we need to start with the necessary equipment and a basic understanding of the cheese making steps.
Prepare a place for cheese making and sterilize everything.
You will need a good open space to work on the cheese. There should be absolutely no clutter in this space, and it should be immaculately clean. You will also need direct access to the sink, and while you are working on the cheese, you should not use that sink for anything else – the risk of cross-contamination is too great. You will also need access to a large stovetop burner (or one large burner) so you can cook the curd.
At the beginning of the process, you will need a tall saucepan to sterilize all your dishes, tools and even cheesecloth in boiling water.
White vinegar, which is sold in giant liter jugs, will be your best friend. Keep it nearby in a spray bottle and spray it on tables, tools, pots, pans, and even your hands while you work. It’s amazing how much work can be wasted with dirt, so you need to make sure your hands are clean and you’re only touching clean tools at every step.
Crockery, cutlery and tools needed to make cheese.
Most recipes call for two gallons of milk, which means you’ll need a large saucepan that holds at least 10 liters. It doesn’t have to be an expensive pot – that’s the size you’ll often find in thrift stores – it just needs to be, again, spotlessly clean.
Some recipes call for cooking in a bain-marie rather than on the stovetop in a saucepan. In such cases, I find that a three-liter straight-sided sauté pan will do; its low profile doesn’t add much height to an already tall pan, so you don’t have to reach over to get in the way, and most pans will sit on the skillet, albeit a little precariously.
You will also need a stainless steel colander , which is used to strain the curd. It will be useful if it has handles so that it can be placed on bowls or pans.
You will spend a lot of time standing at the stove and stirring the milk. For these purposes, you will need a long stainless steel slotted spoon. Every cheesemaker video I’ve ever seen mentions this spoon. Always use stainless steel so that it can be sanitized. Do you feel the theme?
You will also need a spider – a large dish for draining water. It is used to extract curd from whey. As you get further along, you might want to buy a cheese harp to cut the curd, but for now, you’ll just need a long knife. This frosting spatula is longer than most knives and won’t scratch pans, and I’m happy with it. In some cases, you will need a stainless steel whisk , so having a large, long whisk will be helpful.
Thermometers are absolutely essential; you’ll need one that’s long enough to attach to the pot, and I liked having a digital version . I also keep a spare thermometer handy in case I have any doubts.
You will need pH strips ; eventually you will want to get a pH meter , but you can do without one for a while. The pH level will tell you how acidic your whey is at different times, and you will need this information.
Did you know that measuring spoons come in adorably tiny sizes? You’re doing it now, and it’s the only thing that will help when you need an eighth of a teaspoon.
No wonder it is called gauze . You will have to go through a lot, so buy it in the yard. Take cotton gauze, which can be sterilized as you go; it is better to start with a few yards.
You will need several small wooden cutting boards on which to drip the cheese. You will need several as you will need two to flip the cheese. Wooden sushi mats will also help with this, as they provide drainage. You will also need cheese molds. While each cheese technically requires a different mold, when making your first few soft cheeses, start with a basic set .
Lastly, you will need a ripening box. This is what the cheese is aged in your cheese cave . You don’t need to think too much about it, although people often do this. The right size Tupper is all you need; The new plastic storage containers with drainage mats inside are perfect for the job.
Ingredients needed to make cheese
Cheese is made up of several successive ingredients: milk, cultures, rennet, and calcium chloride. Occasionally, additives such as annatto, flavoring and coloring, which gives some cheeses an orange tint, or lipase, which adds extra flavor to some cheeses, may be required, but you should not order these until you need them. .
Starting with the hardest source, you will need to secure your own milk. Without a doubt, you shouldn’t start making cheese to save money, unless you’re reading this next to your cow, sheep, or goat. Although milk is plentiful in the corner store, most of it is ultra-pasteurized, which is a problem. UHT means your milk won’t congeal because the rennet won’t work. Milk from the grocery store is also homogenized, which means it’s mixed with all the other milk, and in short, there isn’t much cream in your milk.
There are two solutions, and the first one is pretty easy to find. Some markets only offer pasteurized rather than UHT milk , and some offer vat or low pasteurized milk. These names correspond to different processes and indicate that the temperature of the milk has never exceeded a certain temperature. This milk is often sold in glass bottles labeled like “creamy top” and you can expect to pay $10-$12 a gallon. For your first few forays, this is the best option.
You can’t buy sheep’s milk in most places, and most goat’s milk is also ultra-pasteurized, although Trader Joe’s does get regular pasteurized goat’s milk from time to time. The trick is to find someone with fresh milk, and it’s not as hard as you think if you know where to look. Almost everywhere someone is selling raw milk, and there are all sorts of different laws around it, but the good news is that since you will effectively pasteurize it while making the cheese, you won’t have to worry about the safety issues that come with using “raw milk”. » dairy products.
A Google search will get you started, and joining the raw milk or dairy trade Facebook groups in your area will ultimately help you find someone. Ask around at your farmers market. I got lucky and found someone who has sheep and cow milk and even though she’s an hour away we have a pretty good relationship now and I can stop by when I’m in the area and say hello to the ladies in the field. . Note: The milk should be as fresh as possible, and in the case of cow’s milk, it must not be frozen (frozen sheep’s milk will do).
Once you’ve mastered the hardest part, everything else will be easy. There are a few places where you can buy mail-order crops, but The Cheese Connection was my favorite. They are run by two women, their website is impressively extensive, and they are the only source in the United States that I have found that delivers cultures via ice packs. They are also very helpful by email or phone. While their site is just full of cultures to choose from, you should generally start simple and invest in mesophilic and thermophilic cultures. All cheese cultures are one or the other, but you can get regular meso and thermo raw ones to start with.
You will also want to order calcium chloride and rennet from them. Rennet is now available in many forms, including vegan rennet and animal-based rennet . Personally, I’ve never had much luck with vegan rennet so I stick with animal products, but it’s up to you. You can also purchase gauze, molds and many other supplies from them. It’s hard not to overdo it, but once you’re starting out, try to hold back.
Homemade Cheese Recipes
There are a few recipes in this pack to get you started, but to get used to how cheesemaking works, I recommend watching the video of today’s godfather of cheesemaking, Gavin Webber. There is a collection of videos on his website that go over absolutely everything about cheese and all of its possible types. If you feel overwhelmed, relax. Armed with the right equipment and a clean work environment, making your own creamy treasures is easy.