Author Topic: Michael's Cottage Cheese  (Read 3230 times)

mokumeguy

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Michael's Cottage Cheese
« on: September 14, 2008, 03:58:57 PM »
Cottage Cheese was the first cheese I started making. I was using regular Meso starter and it was OK.
Then I purchased this Fresh Start Culture.
It contains 4 bacteria and makes for a really complex flavor. So here is the batch from yesterday.

1 -Thursday evening- Get pint of starter out of freezer. If you forget this step, you'll be late for work the next morning.
2 -Friday morning- Warmed up 3 Gal raw, skimmed Jersey milk to 72F. I love this cheese because I get to use the older, skimmed milk. Poured in one pint Fresh Start culture, stirred, cover, and walk away. Whole thing took 30 minutes, and off to work.
3 -Saturday morning- It's been about 24 hours and the curd is set. Cut into 1/4 inch pieces.
4 -Start raising temp slowly to 112F. This took 40 minutes. Held at 112F for another hour while I milked the cow.
5 -Drained the curd into colander. I let this batch sit for about ten minutes, with a couple of gentle stirs to break up the matting. You can make as moist or dry as you want.
6 - Put into bowl and added heaping Tbsp sea salt. Milled gently with hands.
7 - This batch weighed in at 5.75 lbs. Another reason I love this culture and this cheese is the great yield I get. Divided up into containers and put in fridge to chill. Done. Total time spent working on cheese was less than 2 hours.

Notes: On my last batch I decided to try pressing the curd. I let it drain for 30 minutes. Put into press at 20 lbs for 10 minutes. The curd was still crumbly at this point and turning it was difficult. The next time I will press at 30 lbs for 20 minutes first. Turned over and pressed at 50 lbs until there was no visible whey draining off. This took a couple of hours. It made a very nice 3.25 lb block of pure white cheese. It will slice if you are careful, but we just crumbled it off and used it in everything you would use Feta in. It was great on greens, in scrambled eggs, and on salad. You can be eating this cheese the same day you make it.





SalMac

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2008, 04:52:34 PM »
Looks great!

Whats that youre using to heat the curds in?

Sal

mokumeguy

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2008, 06:10:08 PM »
Thanks Sal.
That is an electric chafing pan. I got it here http://www.instawares.com/electric-water-pan.upi-ecfrwp.0.7.htm Basically an electric double boiler.
I only paid 65 bucks for mine. The prices always change. The stainless pans and lids are about $35 a set.
It holds 3 Gal very nicely, and will hold a temp forever once you get used to the dial. I had to come up with another way to make cheese without using the stove or the sink. I also like the way you can cut the curd in the shallow rectangle, just like a commercial cheese vat.

That webstore has awsome deals on big kitchen stuff if you watch. I just got a 60qrt stainless pot with heavy bottom for $100. I had been coveting one for a long time but they were always well over $200 for one that heavy.


Tea

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #3 on: September 14, 2008, 08:45:46 PM »
Good morning Michael and thanks for all the information.  What difference did you find in the fresh culture to the freeze dried culture?
Also great to see someone do a cottage cheese.  Was just thinking last week that no one has yet posted a cottage cheese recipe.  I have been trying to get around to making some to post, but haven't done so yet.
Would love for you to post your recipe and the steps that you do, as your recipe appears to be completely different to the one that I make.

mokumeguy

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2008, 03:07:45 PM »
The fresh culture added a ton of flavor to the cheese. It made it tangy. It also made a firmer curd than the freeze dried. It is also very forgiving. It doesn't seem to matter if it takes ten minutes or an hour to get up to 112F, and doesn't seem to matter if I let it sit there for 30 minutes or over an hour. It's also forgiving about the set temp. 70F or 85F, it sets well and tastes great. I also like the way the curd smells. Very fresh without any hint of sour.
The best thing is the yield I get, more than a pound per gallon, even when I press it. And that is using my older, completely skimmed milk, which we have a lot of because of all the butter we make.
The next time I make a batch I will take a full set of pics and post it on the recipe page.

Tea

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2008, 08:35:22 PM »
Thanks Michael for that.  Do you sell your butter, or is it just for your own use.  Have you ever tried cultured butter?

mokumeguy

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2008, 09:44:39 PM »
We can't sell any of our dairy stuff. That would be illegal. Sometimes friends and family help us consume our leftovers ;)
Actually, we have used all of the butter ourselves and want to put some away in the freezer. But the milk and cottage cheese supplies are good.
I have not attempted the cultured butter yet, but it is on my list. Have you tried it?

Tea

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Re: Michael's Cottage Cheese
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2008, 10:00:56 PM »
In a round about way I did do something similar.  I was trialing cream cheese using pure cream, and when I finished I thought that it tasted like what I thought a cultured butter would be.  When I checked the cultured butter recipe, it was almost the same as what I had made.  I was very happy with the result, and pleasantly surprised with the end result.  Something that I would definately do again.