Author Topic: Hello fellow cheese lovers  (Read 902 times)

ifwisheswercows

  • Guest
Hello fellow cheese lovers
« on: June 27, 2015, 01:12:25 PM »
I'm Rebekah from a little nowhere place called Alpine Tennessee. We are currently milking a beautiful Jersey that is giving between 5 and 6 gallons a day. I Love dairy and am determined to learn to make wonderful cheeses to feed my family. I started out with the 30 min Mozzarella and tried many times to make it work and of course it just wasn't what I wanted (I have the mindset regarding store bought food that anything they can make I can make better given enough time and information). I have been making MrsKK's 2 day Mozzarella and our whole family has thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you so much for wealth of information that you all share here I have already learned so much and am looking forward to learning so much more from you. I would love suggestions as to equipment that you feel is a must and which cheeses I should try next

hoeklijn

  • Guest
Re: Hello fellow cheese lovers
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2015, 05:30:46 PM »
Welcome to the forum!

Offline awakephd

  • Old Cheese
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  • Location: North Carolina
  • Posts: 2,351
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Re: Hello fellow cheese lovers
« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2015, 06:35:05 PM »
Welcome, Rebekah! This is indeed a fabulous resource, one from which I have learned and continue to learn immensely.

Congratulations on mastering mozarella -- not an easy cheese at all, despite the reputation of the 30-minute variety. As for your next cheese ... what do you like? If you want to try a hard cheese, and like something in the mild-cheddar range, let me suggest a Lancashire or a Caerphilly -- search the forum for recipes. Both of these are ready in a relatively short time, allowing you to get faster feedback on your efforts. As for equipment, here's the basic list I think would be needed to make hard cheeses; search the forum for a variety of options on all of these:

1) Appropriate size of stainless pot or pan -- or possibly two, one slightly larger to make a water bath for the other
2) Miniature measuring spoons (1/8, 1/16, 1/32 tsp)
3) Cheese ladle or other spoon/spatula for gentle stirring
4) At least one decent-quality thermometer -- I like the dial type, available for around $10-15. Buy two if you plan to use a water bath -- it makes it much easier to hit temps.
5) Curd knife -- I just use a large cake decorating spatula
6) Cheese cloth -- I prefer butter muslin
7) Stainless colander -- don't use aluminum!!
8) Cheese mold -- can be re-purposed plastic container with holes drilled
9) Cheese press -- again, search the forum for countless examples ranging from dirt-simple to complex, just about any of which will work just fine.

I'm probably forgetting something ... oh yes: optional for cheese-making, but a virtual necessity for participation in this forum: a digital camera to report on the results. :)
-- Andy

jmason

  • Guest
Re: Hello fellow cheese lovers
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2015, 12:59:32 AM »
Welcome
and yes you can make as good as or better than what they sell

ifwisheswercows

  • Guest
Re: Hello fellow cheese lovers
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2015, 03:01:05 AM »
Thank you for the warm welcome
 
;D Haha I wouldn't say that I've mastered Mozzarella but it does come out right about half the time the other half is either really good "I have no idea what kind of cheese this is" or horific let the worms have this one. : :P