Last Friday we decided we were going to learn to make our own cheese. This is part of what I hope will be kind of a series of learning experiments. First they taught me all about making jam. This time cheese! I know, I know. You're probably asking yourself: "who the heck decides to make their own cheese?" What can I say? We're creative women up for a challenge.
We were working with a cheesemaking kit that made things relatively simple. There was a booklet (with hilarious illustrations, like a goat in a graduation cap & gown) with recipes. We chose 30 minute mozzarella. It seemed straightforward enough. You start with a gallon of milk, add some citric acid and some rennet (a cheesemaking enzyme), separate curds from whey and voila! Cheese! Some of us were less optimistic than others, as evidenced by this photo of Ingrid:
So, we begin! Here we are warming the milk to a cozy 90 degrees. So far so good!
In this photo, the curds are starting to separate from the whey. We were instructed to slice the top curd into little cubes. (Insert your own "cut the cheese" joke here).
Now the mixture is sort of like soupy, lumpy yogurt. Are we really going to get cheese from this stuff? At this point, I have to admit I was having my doubts. Also, might I add, this is the point where the cheese-to-be started smelling less than appetizing.
In this photo the cheese had progressed to a new level. See what it looks like? It smells the same way.
Here the cheese has reached the point where we separated out the curds with a slotted spoon. It's ready for the next phase! We poured most of the mixture through some cheesecloth (who knew?) to separate everything. I wasn't sorry to see the whey go down the drain. Siobhan pointed out that some folks like to use whey when they make pizza dough. She even initially was trying to save it. But I think her sense of smell and gag reflex made her change her mind. Bleh!
After separating the curds, we had to heat them in the microwave a couple times, and then pull them like taffy. The recipe book suggested wearing rubber gloves to protect you from the heat. The ones we wore didn't help much. Though they did give our cheese a nice balloon-flavored aftertaste. Tres gourmet!
Here is the finished product - our cheese blob. After this point, we rolled them into string cheese type logs and chilled them.
Cassie tries the finished product. She looks happy, but after we took this photo she stated rather adamantly that she would not eat the latex flavored cheese and threw hers away. Can't say I blame her.
So, for our first try, I think it went rather well. I mean, other than the fact the cheese wasn't exactly palatable. It was still cool to go through the process and see everything come together!
Last Friday we decided we were going to learn to make our own cheese. This is part of what I hope will be kind of a series of learning experiments. First they taught me all about making jam. This time cheese! I know, I know. You're probably asking yourself: "who the heck decides to make their own cheese?" What can I say? We're creative women up for a challenge.
We were working with a cheesemaking kit that made things relatively simple. There was a booklet (with hilarious illustrations, like a goat in a graduation cap & gown) with recipes. We chose 30 minute mozzarella. It seemed straightforward enough. You start with a gallon of milk, add some citric acid and some rennet (a cheesemaking enzyme), separate curds from whey and voila! Cheese! Some of us were less optimistic than others, as evidenced by this photo of Ingrid:
So, we begin! Here we are warming the milk to a cozy 90 degrees. So far so good!
In this photo, the curds are starting to separate from the whey. We were instructed to slice the top curd into little cubes. (Insert your own "cut the cheese" joke here).
Now the mixture is sort of like soupy, lumpy yogurt. Are we really going to get cheese from this stuff? At this point, I have to admit I was having my doubts. Also, might I add, this is the point where the cheese-to-be started smelling less than appetizing.
In this photo the cheese had progressed to a new level. See what it looks like? It smells the same way.
Here the cheese has reached the point where we separated out the curds with a slotted spoon. It's ready for the next phase! We poured most of the mixture through some cheesecloth (who knew?) to separate everything. I wasn't sorry to see the whey go down the drain. Siobhan pointed out that some folks like to use whey when they make pizza dough. She even initially was trying to save it. But I think her sense of smell and gag reflex made her change her mind. Bleh!
After separating the curds, we had to heat them in the microwave a couple times, and then pull them like taffy. The recipe book suggested wearing rubber gloves to protect you from the heat. The ones we wore didn't help much. Though they did give our cheese a nice balloon-flavored aftertaste. Tres gourmet!
Here is the finished product - our cheese blob. After this point, we rolled them into string cheese type logs and chilled them.
Cassie tries the finished product. She looks happy, but after we took this photo she stated rather adamantly that she would not eat the latex flavored cheese and threw hers away. Can't say I blame her.
So, for our first try, I think it went rather well. I mean, other than the fact the cheese wasn't exactly palatable. It was still cool to go through the process and see everything come together!
5 comments:
the comment after cassie's picture is the best! latex-flavored, indeed!
it was fun! and we learned a new skill! and we know what to do differently next time... no latex (man, i wanted to crack SO many jokes about that), make sure the rennet is fully dissolved (ingrid only mentioned it as she was finishing pouring it in), leave the coconut bras at home, and... um... some other key things.
but it was fun! thank you for hosting. what's next on the list? what do we need/want to learn how to do now???
I love it. Its so fun to do something new.
I was wondering how it all went. Bummer that it didn't turn out delicious, like you hoped, but had fun in the process.
Where does one buy citric acid and rennet?
Siobhan bought the cheesemaking kit. It came with the citric acid and rennet. You can purchase the kit and so much more at cheesemaking.com! (I've never actually gone to that site. But they talked about it in the recipe book.)
Hey, I tried my hardest to eat that cheese, it was too remniscent of a three pack for my liking! I still can't believe our stupidity, why on earth did we not try using utensils! Such a rookie mistake.
I'm tired of hearing siobhan talk about not having anything on her kitchen wall, so, I am going to blow up that picture of a goat in cap and gown, and present it to her at the soonest opportunity. It would really set off her decor, I think.
Also, I really think the coconut bras added to the cheesemaking ambiance. Who ended up taking it home? If we have that sorbet at three more functions we can all go as coconut bra clad women for halloween. Do not dismiss this idea out of hand, it could be hot.
And lastly, I want to do a cheesemaking post on my blog, what a great idea. I'll be stealing the pictures. Can you send me the coconut bra pictures? Unlike your post, mine will reveal the more tawdry side of cheesemaking. I understand why you didn't do it, it's a family blog. :)
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