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I don't want to be self promoting here but I am going to launch a new site that will sell equipment, instruments and ingredients. It will sell internationally. Australia and New Zealand included.  Until I announce the site, I do have lots of stock so if you have any special request please let me know and perhaps I can fulfill your request.

Hi guys, sorry i went awol for a bit, trying to roll two online shops into one, work out my new overlocker, look after 6 kids, do christmas shopping, kids hospital appointments, and a million other things...

I just sent dh off to splurge on un-h milk for me today :-)

Right, books... ive seen ricki carrols book and the 200 one and couldnt choose! I think im really interested in everyday kinda cheese. For the family really, not artisian blue cheese... i think the 200 one is a bit more basic tho isnt it?

Supplies, ive got the hard cheese kit from greenliving, which is ok... but... i bought the cheese press, and i wasnt impressed... the 'knob' bit that winds it down isnt secured so as soon as you hit the follower and get a bit of pressure the knob but just lets go and winds down the shaft... but i have a trusty kitchen spanner that works ok!

So, mr cheese yoda, you will be selling some stuff... thats great! I might check it out when your done so make sure you let us know when its up so we can come have a look!!

Oh, and as for cheese courses, i dont think i can do it. Its expensive and i dont want to make half the cheeses in the courses. Ill just muddle my self through and hope for the best!

But ill get the book!

Ok ive sent the day realising that the milk is everything! Wow, i just made fetta with un h milk, its still draining. But i have about twice the curd i usually get and it set great, didnt smoosh when i stirred it! I had cubes. My cutting was terrible though and nothing uniform, so i will take better care next time to cut evenly, though i dont know how! It works so much better though.

Oh, cheese yoda, if your about, im looking for flora danica. I can get it here, but only in large amounts and im not sure ineed that much. If u want to sell me a small amount id appreciate it?

alright, i have some bad notes on todays fetta make ;-)

Note, i hadn't investigated the floc method yet, have now and will use it next time!

Im working with the book from greenlivingaustralia.com that came with my cheese kit.

8L Organic Unhomoginised Milk (Pauls Brand)
1/2 tsp calcium chloride
MO 030 starter
1/2 tab vege rennet

start time 12 noon (had to wait for DH to deliver the milk )
placed milk in double boiler and added the calcium.
12:21 heated to 26c then shut off heat. target temp is 30c.
12:28 reached 30c, i took the pot off the double boiler.
12:27 added starter
1:16 diluted rennet and added, stirred 1 min- temp 28c so i put the pot back on the water
1:56 had great clean break, so cut into 1.5cm cubes... sort of... how on earth do you get such clean neat cubes?
temp was 29c, let sit 10 mins. (OK, the whey was rather milky... i used the good milk i swear!)
2:10 stir 20 mins
stand 5 mins, was a bit longer as i got sidetracked ;-)
2:40 drain curds (OMG, my collander didnt cope! I had to drain some curd, then put it in a bowl, drain some more, transfer, then a whole nother collander full~ I never get that much curd from P&H milk, thats really over double what i usually get! Awesome! And, it helped me justify to DH spending $22 (!!) on milk... Told him it makes twice as much cheese
tied up to drain for 4 hours
7:30 ish- put curds in press @ my best estimate of 6kg... no idea really how much pressure im putting on. but i have a very handy FIL who i am in discussion with about a custom made cheese press....
8:20 removed, turned and repressed (i did this because it was sloped and i dont like the rough top the cloth and follower leave.

so its pressing now. i actually tried the curd before it went in the press, so did the hoard of cheese fiends i call my family. we were testing for texture and i must say its much firmer, more rubbery. not soft smoosh like my last cheeses. Also i noticed when i was putting it in the press that the curds still had a lot of cubish shape, which im assuming is how it should be! So my goal is to get the same look as shop fetta with the spaces in it. Its due to come out of the press at about 1:30am... but since i have a life i'll leave it in! Oh, also ive noticed my cheese press doesnt keep constant pressure, once the cheese starts to compress and shrinks the press doesnt move down with it as its a winder one. i know this is causing a problem as the pressure is never constant and im always guessing anyway. so i figured leaving this one in all night wont make a stack of difference as its not technically going to be 'pressed' all night!

Another note: I didnt add lipase... I wasnt sure if i could still use the whey for ricotta if i put lipase in?? If some one can answer that id really appreciate it!

So, thats what i did! If i made a mistake point it out! If i did some thing right point that out too! I did dilute the calcium chloride. And every one commented on the nice cubes of curds, for once it didnt look like smooshed!

Hi again,

Just took my cheese out the press, cut, salted and put it in the fridge:

I like the texture but maybe pressed too hard as its not as loose as id have liked. it tastes really salty for now, cos i just ate it with chunks of salt all over it

Nice work Crystal! The unhomogenised really makes a difference doesn't it!

A couple of points, I don't press my Fetta at all, just let it drain in the hoops overnight. My hoops are square baskets and I get about 1.2kg cheese from 8 litres milk. I fill two baskets. The texture of my Fetta ends up being much more open as I dont press.

I can adjust the 'crumbliness" of my Fetta by varying the amount and strength of stirring. More, stronger stirring gives drier curds, which translates into more crumblier, open texture. 

I use lipase, it adds an extra sharpness to the Fetta which I like. I don't bother making ricotta from the whey anymore, too variable results and I'm not keen on the flavour.

I brine my Fetta rather that dry salt. After removing from the hoop after overnight draining, I just place the blocks into a 12% brine solution. When I need cheese, I just cut off what I need and return the rest to the brine.

Congratulations again on your first Fetta, looks fantastic! 

Wow, i considered brining, decided not too lol. And i only have a round basket so thatll have to do. I think ill be a bit more vigorous with my stirring next time and wont press. Though the gaps in yours arent much more than what i got. But i would like more gaps next time. Oh, and this is my second fetta. I like it!

I will put lipasein the next batch just to see what the flavours like i think!

Thanks for the help and ill let you know how the next cheese goes!

Quote from: Crystal on December 15, 2011, 05:34:57 AM
Ok ive sent the day realising that the milk is everything! Wow, i just made fetta with un h milk, its still draining. But i have about twice the curd i usually get and it set great, didnt smoosh when i stirred it! I had cubes. My cutting was terrible though and nothing uniform, so i will take better care next time to cut evenly, though i dont know how! It works so much better though.

Oh, cheese yoda, if your about, im looking for flora danica. I can get it here, but only in large amounts and im not sure ineed that much. If u want to sell me a small amount id appreciate it?

Sorry Crystal, I haven't been on for a few days.  I am so glad you did that experiment so at least you got to see the difference between the milks!

As for Flora Danica - it is usually inexpensive and comes in quite large bags.  There is a competing product called Probat 222 that you can look for.  Another good replacement for it would be MM100 (It's a mix of 3 of the 4 strains that go into Flora Danica). It has less of that buttery flavor  and less gas production. There is also MA4000 which has those 3 out of 4 mesophilic strains that go into Flora Danica and a 4th strain which is thermophilic (acts as a stabilizer in mesophilic recipes so a Camembert for example takes longer to age but is less runny and is in ripe state for longer time before developing ammonia). This said, MA4000 series is really made for Tommes and the likes

right, lots of mmmmmmmm's lol. Thanks for the info. i did find some cheaper and locally, just have to go and get it. i think ill get the fd, as its used in a few other things. Cultured butter etc... ill slowly collect some others...