Hello I'm going to eat everything in my fridge
- Thread starter Mirah
- Start date
Mirah
I love you
I took a picture of the new cheese I got. BUT I"M NOT UPLOADING IT YET! I might get around to posting it! I almost took a pic of the cougar gold cheese in the store. I bet you don't have that where you are!
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Have you ever made Cheesey Wotsits into a soup?
jack
The Legendary Troll Kingdom
5.7 kg
Non-homogenized milk , preferably raw
140 g Filtered water , divided
1 g Calcium chloride
0.6 g Mesophilic culture
0.55 g Rennet tablets
-
Salt , kosher, as needed
Equipment Blowtorch (optional)
2 large pots
Digital scale
Sous vide setup
Curd cutter
Cheesecloth
Fine-mesh sieve
Timing 5–6 hr
Yield 650 g, or about 70 curds
Make a day of it.
Did you know that in cheesemaking, cheddar is a verb? It refers to the process of cutting curds into small pieces to exorcise the whey, and then stacking and pressing the curds together into slabs. These slabs are stacked on top of each other, Jenga-style, to expel even more moisture, and then these slabs are cut up, turned into new slabs, and stacked on top of each other again. And again. And, well, again. The process gets repeated until the curds take on the texture we want.
It’s not hard to do, but it does require time and attention. Block out your day, is what we’re trying to say. You’ll have breaks to put together a puzzle or do some adult coloring—hey, whatever you’re into—but you’ll want to keep a timer handy so your can check in on your mix.
Know your ingredients.
You probably don’t have rennet tablets and mesophilic cultures lying around, but don’t be intimidated by the new powders. All of the above ingredients can be easily purchased on Amazon, but we’re also big fans of The Cheesemaker.
So, what do these ingredients do? Calcium chloride helps milk coagulate better, while rennet causes the casein proteins to unwind from their native shape and start to entangle with other casein proteins, which gels the milk—a process known as curdling. There are two main types of culture, or bacteria, used in cheesemaking: mesophilic and thermophilic. The former are used in cheeses like cheddar and brie, the latter in cheeses that can be heated to hotter temperatures—parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, and swiss, for example. The bacteria acidify the milk, converting the lactose (milk sugar) to lactic acid and lowering the milk’s pH. This helps to separate the curds from the whey and control the growth of undesirable bacteria in the cheese.
Don’t freak out if you can’t find raw milk.
Forming good, strong curds is challenging with pasteurized milk, and most especially with the stuff labeled “ultra-pasteurized,” meaning it’s undergone a high-heat process that wreaks havoc on your milk, cheesemaking-wise, on a microbial level. The good news is that calcium chloride can remedy the situation. (For a very good explanation of how this works, feast your eyes on this article). Basically, if you can’t find raw milk, don’t worry about it. But avoid ultra-pasteurized. And definitely don’t skip the calcium chloride.
Explore squeak science.
Curious about what makes curds squeaky? We got you.
Non-homogenized milk , preferably raw
140 g Filtered water , divided
1 g Calcium chloride
0.6 g Mesophilic culture
0.55 g Rennet tablets
-
Salt , kosher, as needed
Equipment Blowtorch (optional)
2 large pots
Digital scale
Sous vide setup
Curd cutter
Cheesecloth
Fine-mesh sieve
Timing 5–6 hr
Yield 650 g, or about 70 curds
Make a day of it.
Did you know that in cheesemaking, cheddar is a verb? It refers to the process of cutting curds into small pieces to exorcise the whey, and then stacking and pressing the curds together into slabs. These slabs are stacked on top of each other, Jenga-style, to expel even more moisture, and then these slabs are cut up, turned into new slabs, and stacked on top of each other again. And again. And, well, again. The process gets repeated until the curds take on the texture we want.
It’s not hard to do, but it does require time and attention. Block out your day, is what we’re trying to say. You’ll have breaks to put together a puzzle or do some adult coloring—hey, whatever you’re into—but you’ll want to keep a timer handy so your can check in on your mix.
Know your ingredients.
You probably don’t have rennet tablets and mesophilic cultures lying around, but don’t be intimidated by the new powders. All of the above ingredients can be easily purchased on Amazon, but we’re also big fans of The Cheesemaker.
So, what do these ingredients do? Calcium chloride helps milk coagulate better, while rennet causes the casein proteins to unwind from their native shape and start to entangle with other casein proteins, which gels the milk—a process known as curdling. There are two main types of culture, or bacteria, used in cheesemaking: mesophilic and thermophilic. The former are used in cheeses like cheddar and brie, the latter in cheeses that can be heated to hotter temperatures—parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, and swiss, for example. The bacteria acidify the milk, converting the lactose (milk sugar) to lactic acid and lowering the milk’s pH. This helps to separate the curds from the whey and control the growth of undesirable bacteria in the cheese.
Don’t freak out if you can’t find raw milk.
Forming good, strong curds is challenging with pasteurized milk, and most especially with the stuff labeled “ultra-pasteurized,” meaning it’s undergone a high-heat process that wreaks havoc on your milk, cheesemaking-wise, on a microbial level. The good news is that calcium chloride can remedy the situation. (For a very good explanation of how this works, feast your eyes on this article). Basically, if you can’t find raw milk, don’t worry about it. But avoid ultra-pasteurized. And definitely don’t skip the calcium chloride.
Explore squeak science.
Curious about what makes curds squeaky? We got you.
Loktar
Pinata Whacker
They're really good. Especially in poutine.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
It would be unpleasant for all involved.
Dr Dave
pillzlol
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Any bacon?