Hi, new here and the only cheese I have ever made (ok, so not actually cheese....) is yogurt. Does butter count? LOL. But I use a LOT of dairy products for making things. The best caramel I have ever made is with truly fresh cream.
It may be naive or over-simplified, but the way I wrap my mind around the cost of fresh/raw milk is: $4/gallon store bought or $6/gallon raw. (I think goats milk is more expensive than that even.) In order for me to get decent results with store bought I need to alter it a bit, add cream, etc to it to increase the fat % and milk solids. (this is most noticeable in cream where the fat % can vary greatly and affect the ability to whip it - carageenan has been added to stabilize it and there is less fat %. I guess the same might be true of milk as well.) A quart of
cheap store cream is $3 quart. (Some are $6/quart) 1 gallon of whole milk plus 1 quart of cream equals $7 per gallon at minimum to add the fat, etc back in and try to get back to closer to the real thing. So the $6 per gallon I can deal with. And the end results just do not compare. (The same is true for yogurt, btw. No comparison in the results.)
As far as cheese, I am guessing (using mozzarella as an example) that I can use the store bought milk and get the same quality as those plastic sealed blocks. But for just a little bit more I can get the really good expensive mozzarella in the gourmet section and actually have it cost less than the $6.50 for like 4 to 6 ounces of cheese. So, I can get the good stuff and pay the price of the cheap stuff. I like it.
(Ok, let's not talk about labor and utilities....it is therapy. And waaaaaay cheaper than those therapists couches, btw!
LOL)
I love all things cheese. Give me some yummy, cheesy goodness! I am now on an adventure/quest to begin making my own fresh cheese.
Funny thing, I set out trying to replicate commercial yogurt. After eating the homemade version for a couple of days, I was disappointed in my yogurt making skills.
I did get it thick and creamy but thought maybe I was still not getting it right. So I went and tasted the leftover commercial yogurt I had. ew!!! The texture was weird somehow compared to the fresh. Now I have been able to set my complex aside and am thrilled with my results and will never go back to the commercial variety again. And dh even agreed with the assessment.
This site is an amazing treasure trove of info.
