A blog that may not be updated with any sort of regularity, but here we go at learning to make cheese. Should be full of pitfalls everyone can enjoy, and maybe have a tasty outcome.
Today I decided to try my hand at making some cheese. Utilizing the only resource book I currently have (Artisan Cheese Making at Home), I chose Queso Blanco.
For those of you who, like me, are not in the know, Queso Blanco is not the same thing as Queso Fresco. They're related, but I'm not sure what that means yet. My best guess is something along the following lines: 1) They're both Hispanic cheeses. 2) They don't take long to age, so they're considered "fresh" cheese. 3) They're both white cheeses. 4) They can both be made with cow milk (although you can also make them with goat milk, according to my sources. All one of them.).
For my first batch of cheese, I opted to use a 1/2 gallon rather than the called for full gallon. This is partially because I do a lot of cooking for one. I don't know if I could eat a whole pound of this cheese before it went south, and even if I could I am not sure I should. Pesky Coast Guard weigh-ins are coming up in a few months. There is nothing quite like the diet of "ritualistic humiliation in front of your peers" to get you to eat right. Or, at the very least, to get you thinking maybe you should eat right.
Ok, back to the cheese.
The ingredients were simple:
Milk- 1 gallon.
Apple cider vinegar -1/4 cup.
Salt- 1tsp.
Phew. That's a rough recipe.
I started out with a half gallon of whole organic pasteurized cow milk from Whole Foods. I don't remember the brand and I have already tossed the carton. While I could go dig through my apartment's dumpster, I don't really care enough about the details for that to be practical or sanitary.
I heated the milk to 195 degrees F, which took longer than the book said it would. Also, hot milk smells gross. Maybe it's the lactose inefficient person in me, but I just don't like the smell of milk. Ever. And hot milk is even worse. The smell of cheese is fine. Smell of yogurt is fine. Plain-ol'-run-of-the-mill-milk? No. In any case, I was worried about scorching the milk, and had my electric stove set to low-medium. When the milk had sat at 155 degrees for about ten minutes, I started boosting the heat. I was up to medium-high before the milk would rise to the required 195 degrees. As soon as it did, I popped in the vinegar.
Cutting the apple cider vinegar in half was a little more tricky, as the recipe called for 1/3c of cider per gallon of milk. Not having a 1/6c wet cup measure, I eyeballed it. Seemed to work alright; as soon as I whisked it in, the curds began to form. I placed a lid on top of my pot and let it sit for ten minutes. During this time, the curds and the whey separated out. For some dumb reason I had expected the curds to float. I'm not sure why I thought they would; I've been making yogurt for years, and the whey is on top when you finish making yogurt, just as it was when the curds had sat for the required amount of time.
Not having the muslin the author recommends, I used regular old cheesecloth, dampened and placed over a metal mesh strainer to separate out the curds from the whey. The whey drained into an old Pyrex mixing bowl that I've had forever.
I let it drain for five minutes, and added the salt. This was strange. The book said to not break the curds up while salting, but they'd formed a sort of half-dome, so I had to break them up. Ah well. I then tied the whole mess up into a rather lumpy looking package in the cheesecloth. The cheesecloth was then tied to the faucet of my kitchen sink. It looked pretty odd, with random drips of greenish whey falling into my garbage disposal. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with the whey. I hate wasting things, but it went down the drain. I was in a bit of a rush, towards the end, as I had a hair cut appointment to get to.
On the bright side, when I came home I had delicious (if lumpy) Queso Blanco to add to the chili I made today. Not a bad meal, if I must say so myself. :)
Overall, this was a lot of fun. I'm planning to try another cheese this weekend, if I can procure all the supplies. One that requires the use of rennet rather than vinegar as the coagulant. Stay tuned, folks.
Today I decided to try my hand at making some cheese. Utilizing the only resource book I currently have (Artisan Cheese Making at Home), I chose Queso Blanco.
For those of you who, like me, are not in the know, Queso Blanco is not the same thing as Queso Fresco. They're related, but I'm not sure what that means yet. My best guess is something along the following lines: 1) They're both Hispanic cheeses. 2) They don't take long to age, so they're considered "fresh" cheese. 3) They're both white cheeses. 4) They can both be made with cow milk (although you can also make them with goat milk, according to my sources. All one of them.).
For my first batch of cheese, I opted to use a 1/2 gallon rather than the called for full gallon. This is partially because I do a lot of cooking for one. I don't know if I could eat a whole pound of this cheese before it went south, and even if I could I am not sure I should. Pesky Coast Guard weigh-ins are coming up in a few months. There is nothing quite like the diet of "ritualistic humiliation in front of your peers" to get you to eat right. Or, at the very least, to get you thinking maybe you should eat right.
Ok, back to the cheese.
The ingredients were simple:
Milk- 1 gallon.
Apple cider vinegar -1/4 cup.
Salt- 1tsp.
Phew. That's a rough recipe.
I started out with a half gallon of whole organic pasteurized cow milk from Whole Foods. I don't remember the brand and I have already tossed the carton. While I could go dig through my apartment's dumpster, I don't really care enough about the details for that to be practical or sanitary.
I heated the milk to 195 degrees F, which took longer than the book said it would. Also, hot milk smells gross. Maybe it's the lactose inefficient person in me, but I just don't like the smell of milk. Ever. And hot milk is even worse. The smell of cheese is fine. Smell of yogurt is fine. Plain-ol'-run-of-the-mill-milk? No. In any case, I was worried about scorching the milk, and had my electric stove set to low-medium. When the milk had sat at 155 degrees for about ten minutes, I started boosting the heat. I was up to medium-high before the milk would rise to the required 195 degrees. As soon as it did, I popped in the vinegar.
Cutting the apple cider vinegar in half was a little more tricky, as the recipe called for 1/3c of cider per gallon of milk. Not having a 1/6c wet cup measure, I eyeballed it. Seemed to work alright; as soon as I whisked it in, the curds began to form. I placed a lid on top of my pot and let it sit for ten minutes. During this time, the curds and the whey separated out. For some dumb reason I had expected the curds to float. I'm not sure why I thought they would; I've been making yogurt for years, and the whey is on top when you finish making yogurt, just as it was when the curds had sat for the required amount of time.
Not having the muslin the author recommends, I used regular old cheesecloth, dampened and placed over a metal mesh strainer to separate out the curds from the whey. The whey drained into an old Pyrex mixing bowl that I've had forever.
I let it drain for five minutes, and added the salt. This was strange. The book said to not break the curds up while salting, but they'd formed a sort of half-dome, so I had to break them up. Ah well. I then tied the whole mess up into a rather lumpy looking package in the cheesecloth. The cheesecloth was then tied to the faucet of my kitchen sink. It looked pretty odd, with random drips of greenish whey falling into my garbage disposal. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with the whey. I hate wasting things, but it went down the drain. I was in a bit of a rush, towards the end, as I had a hair cut appointment to get to.
On the bright side, when I came home I had delicious (if lumpy) Queso Blanco to add to the chili I made today. Not a bad meal, if I must say so myself. :)
Overall, this was a lot of fun. I'm planning to try another cheese this weekend, if I can procure all the supplies. One that requires the use of rennet rather than vinegar as the coagulant. Stay tuned, folks.
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