The cheese: Lactic Cheese (Carroll, p. 70)
The milk: 1 gallon Lucerne Whole
The starter: 1 packet direct set mesophilic
The rennet: 1 tsp of 3 drops rennet in 1/3 cup water
I set out to make my first cheese of the year, armed with Ricki Carrolls book and a handful of mostly newly purchased kitchen gadgets.
It took a little over an hour to get the water in my large double boiler to boiling. When it finally got to 212, I sterilized the double boiler, large spoon, small spoon, measuring cup, thermometer and tongs for 5 minutes.
I dumped the water in the double boiler, and heated the milk to 86 degrees. Or I intended to, anyway. I looked away and by the time I looked back the milk was at 95. I let it cool in an ice bath until it got back below 90.
Following the recipe, I added the starter and then 1 tsp of a mixture consisting of 3 drops rennet in 1/3 cup bottled water.
By the time I finished it was 4:30 PM. I let it set until bedtime at 2:30 AM and then poured the whey and curds into a muslin lined colander. I tied the muslin into a bag and hung it from a skewer laid across a pot until the next afternoon, around 3:30.
The yield was 13 oz, which was half what the recipe promised. Letting it set for longer, checking my sanitizing protocol, and changing the milk are on my list of changes. (I was eager to get started, and we were near the store that sold that brand of milk).
We sampled the cheese on crackers. It was very mild tasting, soft, and very spreadable.
Tonight I intend to use it to fill crepes.
The milk: 1 gallon Lucerne Whole
The starter: 1 packet direct set mesophilic
The rennet: 1 tsp of 3 drops rennet in 1/3 cup water
I set out to make my first cheese of the year, armed with Ricki Carrolls book and a handful of mostly newly purchased kitchen gadgets.
It took a little over an hour to get the water in my large double boiler to boiling. When it finally got to 212, I sterilized the double boiler, large spoon, small spoon, measuring cup, thermometer and tongs for 5 minutes.
I dumped the water in the double boiler, and heated the milk to 86 degrees. Or I intended to, anyway. I looked away and by the time I looked back the milk was at 95. I let it cool in an ice bath until it got back below 90.
Following the recipe, I added the starter and then 1 tsp of a mixture consisting of 3 drops rennet in 1/3 cup bottled water.
By the time I finished it was 4:30 PM. I let it set until bedtime at 2:30 AM and then poured the whey and curds into a muslin lined colander. I tied the muslin into a bag and hung it from a skewer laid across a pot until the next afternoon, around 3:30.
The yield was 13 oz, which was half what the recipe promised. Letting it set for longer, checking my sanitizing protocol, and changing the milk are on my list of changes. (I was eager to get started, and we were near the store that sold that brand of milk).
We sampled the cheese on crackers. It was very mild tasting, soft, and very spreadable.
Tonight I intend to use it to fill crepes.
Edit: Here are the crepes, with strawberry sauce on top. Too bad you can't really see the cheese.
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