Hello and questions!

[Phiber_optikx2]

Hello from Missouri! I have decided to take the cheese plunge and am excited to make my first cheese. I have a few questions though. I plan to control the temperature by placing a heater in a vat of water with a temperature controller and place the cheese pot into the water. Would setting the water temperature at your desired temperature raise it quickly enough or would I want to increase the temperature higher than desired? Also, while reviewing recipes I often see it saying to let it "set." While it sets I assume that I am maintaining it at the last stated temperature? Thank you all for your help.

[Gregore]

If it was me I would use a stove to get the milk from fridge temp to starting temp and use the double boiler to keep it there .

Yes resume at last known temp unless stated otherwise.  Then during molding most  timed recipes assume  aprroxamatly 70 f  degree room temp.

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Would setting the water temperature at your desired temperature raise it quickly enough or would I want to increase the temperature higher than desired?

That would depend, to some extent, on the relative volumes of milk in your vat and water in the water bath. If the milk is cooler than the water bath, heat will flow from the water to the milk, cooling the water bath. So yes, you probably would want the water bath to be warmer than the required temperature initially. You will then need to adjust the controller as the milk comes to temperature. With the sort of volumes you will be using, temperature changes will be fairly gradual so you will have time to adjust your settings.

[Gregore]

I suggest trying with water in both first to get it right before you throw in having to use half you brain power following a recipe .

Trust me , we all at first get overwhelmed with everything we need to do to get the cheese timed just right , so you need to see if the the heating cycle can hit the timing the recipe calls for.

Happy cheese making

[Danbo]

Gregore: That is very good advice! :-)

Phiber: It might sound silly but I would even suggest that you try to run the whole recipe without the milk the first time. Of course you don't have to stir the water for 40 minutes etc. But try to heat to the right temperature and hold it there for a while. Use the spoons, meassuringcups, vats, containers etc. when the recipe says so. Find all the things you need including cheesecloth, knife, spoon, mould and so on. This way you are sure that all nessary equipment are at hand when you are going to make the cheese and you know exactly what to sanitize first. I can't count the number of times I have forgot to sanitize something that I needed in the middle of a make (and that can be a pain)...

[Phiber_optikx2]

Thanks for the tip. I was actually thinking of doing a dry run and you have convinced me. Any suggestions for your favorite cheeses? I am not a fan of moldy cheeses and even thought a store bought brie was similar to licking a basement wall..... I am a huge fan of Cheddar's but don't want to wait a year to see if my first try was a success. I am thinking of starting with a farmhouse cheddar or Colby and then moving up to Monterey, double Gloucester, and true cheddar. Opinions or other suggestions?

[awakephd]

Welcome, Phiber! A couple of additions to what others have said:

Certainly use higher temperature water to warm the milk. One nice thing about water - if you see that you are warming too fast, or in danger of going too high, you can remove some of the warm water (I use a basting bulb) and add cooler water to get to your target. Also, don't be afraid to pull the pan out of the water to keep if from going over temp.

BUT -- and this is a very important but -- when the milk is setting (coagulating), DO NOT move the milk at all, and do not add any heat. Either of these can mess up the coagulation. Even a couple of gallons of milk has a pretty high thermal inertia, and if it is in a water bath, that adds even more inertia. At most you may lose a degree or so during the time that it sets. This is perfectly fine. Once the curd is cut and you begin to stir it, then you can start adding heat (if the recipe calls for it) -- gently, gently -- very gradually warming the whey, and letting that transfer the warmth to the curd.

For relatively quick results, my recommendations are either a Caerphilly or a Lancashire. Both are generally considered to be in the cheddar family, but both are quick aging. For Lancashire, here is a link / tutorial: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,14315.msg108963.html#msg108963. This recipe is based on the recipe of MrsKK who posts here from time to time. It is not a "true" Lancashire in the historical sense; the real thing is actually made over two or three days. But what this recipe produces is ready in as little as 6 weeks, though it will continue to improve for a few more weeks. It will not improve if left for, say, six months. It will be nicely tangy but not sharp, fairly smooth though maybe just a bit crumbly. This is my favorite "utility" cheese - a cheese I make just to keep some cheese in the pipeline, so that I can satisfy my cheese cravings while waiting for the long-aging varieties.

For Caerphilly, there are a couple of fairly different makes represented on the forum, both of which I like, but which give fairly different results. One variety is pretty similar to the Lancashire make above; the other does not include any cheddaring step, and is pressed first, then brined. The latter produces a tangy, crumbly, salty cheese, ready in as little as 3 weeks. The recipe I use for the latter is from the book 200 Easy Cheese Recipes. The former I have found by searching here on the forum - unfortunately I do not have a link at hand.

Let us know how it goes. Pictures are a must. Enjoy the addiction hobby!

[Gregore]

 I personally would recommend  a feta , even if you do not like it much , just give it away.

The reason for feta is it is impossible to get the ph too low , and with timed recipes some cheeses are not nearly as good if they drop below the desired ph .

As I said there are so many things to do and keep track of during your first few makes that not having to worry about the biggest one is comforting . And your pretty much guaranteed success . I have never made a feta that was inedible , even ones that are somewhat dry get moister as they sit in the brine .  Use cooked whey to make your brine ph will match cheese but you will need to add a little calcium chloride .

And lastly feta is eatable straight away , so you have something to eat during your next cheese making session.

[DoctorCheese]

I am very amateur, but I have a bit of advice I think the pros would agree with When I first decided to make cheese I thought it would be a fun thing to do once. Then I fell in love and decided to go and buy a bunch of materials to make a ton of cheese and I pumped out enough to fill my two mini fridges. Unfortunately, I did not realize that my taste in cheese making lies in larger wheels of cheese and my expensive stainless steel double boiler I purchased can only fit three gallons of milk. My message to you then, drawing from my own experience, is that if I could do it again I would wish upon myself to feel out what I want from the realm of cheese making before spending hundreds of dollars on equipment. The two things I regret buying the most right off the bat are the size of double boiler I have and the molds I have. I wish I had known that you can make your own molds and don't need to buy a small ring of plastic for $25  Anyway, best of luck to you.

[awakephd]

By the way, responding to your comment about the taste of a store-bought brie - licking a basement wall is about what I have experienced with store-bought bries or camemberts as well. But I decided to give a try to making a set of camemberts, following OzzieCheese's recipe here on the forum ... and oh. my. goodness!! What an incredibly delicious cheese it is. Apparently the store-bought versions are made from recycled cardboard. I don't honestly know if what I make is comparable to "the real thing," but it is heavenly. I don't know that I would recommend it as a beginner cheese, but you might give it a whirl sometime down the road, just to see ...