Who makes their own cheese? ..

[Noahs ARK]

I'm about to embark on a new adventure...cheese!!

I've been researching different cheese making kits, but decided the best advice I could get would probably be from you fine people.

So...do you make your own cheese? If so, do you have a tried & true cheese-making kit and recipes you use?

P.S. Ignore the man in the corner rolling his eyes at my new experiment. After all these years of being married to me, he should be used to this by now. :l0 (5):

[Dolcezza]

I don't make real cheese but I found out how to make nut cheese by mixing and grinding in water, cashew nuts and lemon+herbs. It tastes delicious and it really is a good substitute for cheese!

[Noahs ARK]

I don't make real cheese but I found out how to make nut cheese by mixing and grinding in water, cashew nuts and lemon+herbs. It tastes delicious and it really is a good substitute for cheese!

Oooh - I'd be interested in that recipe, Dolcezza.

I have a Vita-Mix blender...would that work?

[Dolcezza]

wow - that's the best one you can use! Yes....

here is one of the recipes..


Cream Cheese
1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
½ cup pure water
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp Lemon juice

3 cups of spinach (we like it with lots of spinach but you could use less if you want)
minced garlic, to taste
Braggs or salt, to taste
your favorite fresh or dried herbs (optional)

Prepare the cream cheese by blending all the ingredients until smooth (or use some you have already made).

Pulse chop the spinach in your food processor until finely minced. (You don't want a green mush though!)

Gently fold the spinach, garlic and seasonings into the cream cheese.

[Donith]

I've only made one batch, so I'm no expert, but I have made my own mozerella.

I used the recipe that comes with the Junket rennet tablets. It was alot easier than I expected and tasted great.

No kit was needed. The only specialized equipment was a large stainless stock pot, and some cheese cloth.

Mozerella, I was told, is the easiest to start with, and the left over whey can be used to make ricotta. I've been itching to try cheddar.

Keep in mind that it is a long process. It's not difficult just long. There is no "set it and forget it." You have to check on things occasionally, so don't plan on leaving the house for a day.

[Noahs ARK]

wow - that's the best one you can use! Yes....

here is one of the recipes..

*snipped*

Oh good - I'll use the Vita-Mix. I love that thing. It came with 2 blender attachments. One blade is like a regular blender blade. The other blade is for cracking wheat, corn, oats.

I can use the 2nd blade to chop up my spinach and then add it to the cream cheese mix.

Yay - this sounds good! It reminds me of a dish I used to eat when we lived overseas. We "scooped" the dip up with pita bread.

Thanks!

ETA ~ are these recipes on your raw food blog? If so, I need to wander over there again.

[Noahs ARK]

I've only made one batch, so I'm no expert, but I have made my own mozerella.

I used the recipe that comes with the Junket rennet tablets. It was alot easier than I expected and tasted great.

I was thinking I'd start with Mozzarella. I've seen some of the chefs on the Food Network make it and it doesn't look too difficult.

I've been researching and you're right - it doesn't sound difficult, but it definitely sounds time consuming. I'm thinking that maybe this would be a good new hobby for my hubby. He tends to go stir-crazy and this might be something that would keep him busy thru the winter.

Thanks!!

I don't even know where to find those Junket rennet tablets...can you give me a hint, please?

[Donith]

I bought mine at one of the small town type grocery chains (Associated Foods I think). None of the big chains had it. You can order it online, but then you have to pay shipping.

[Noahs ARK]

I bought mine at one of the small town type grocery chains (Associated Foods I think). None of the big chains had it. You can order it online, but then you have to pay shipping.

Thanks. I doubt any of our stores will have it around here - small town! I'm going to order it online. It's probably a good thing for me to have in storage, anyway.

[phylm]

I, too, am going to try making cheddar and mozzarella, but I'm going to try it with dry milk.

Cottage cheese is the easiest one to make. When I was ten years old, my Dad gave me and my seven year old brother the job of hand-milking our two cows. We would bring the pails of milk into the kitchen, and I'd strain the milk through clean cheesecloth. I'd save the two pitchers of milk we'd need for the house,then take the remainder out to the shed and run it through the cream separator. The cream came into the house, and the skim milk went to the garage, where my Dad kept a barrel of clabbered milk that he fed with corn mash to the pigs.

If we were going to make cottage cheese, I'd save back a few quarts of the skim milk, and we'd let it clabber in a pan on the kitchen shelf. It was then put in a larger pan, and boiling water was poured over it. We'd strain it through cheesecloth, wringing it a bit at the end. Voila! Cottage cheese!

PS: I milked those cows by hand until I was 13, and by then, I could successfully Indian arm wrestle every boy in school!!

[Julie Bulie]

I'm about to embark on a new adventure...cheese!!

I've been researching different cheese making kits, but decided the best advice I could get would probably be from you fine people.

So...do you make your own cheese? If so, do you have a tried & true cheese-making kit and recipes you use?

P.S. Ignore the man in the corner rolling his eyes at my new experiment. After all these years of being married to me, he should be used to this by now. :l0 (5):

I have made my own cheese many times. My Husband made me a cool cheese press.
I used renit or citric acid. I actually think I was just pressing the curd. It was squeaky and would not melt like it should. We still loved it!
It sure takes alot of salt to make it flavorful. My husband insisted on the orange coloring. Isn't that funny? I would rather have it the natural color.

I never learned how to cure it. Let me know If you figure that out.
I will look for my recipe and post it.
I will tell you this much, its not that difficult and fun to do!! I felt so SMART! :l0 (59):

[constable01]

What were you making JB Cheddar?

[arbilad]

There is a 30 minute mozzarella recipe that I have made once. It turned out really nice, although since it was my first time it took me longer than 30 minutes.
I want to get into making the hard cheeses. Can anyone recommend a good cheese press?
I think that every new cheese maker should start by making mozzarella. It was a simple introduction to cheese making, and it gets you acquainted with some of the basic principles.

[arbilad]

BTW, mozzarella can be made from dehydrated milk, so it is a good way to turn some of your food storage dehydrated milk into cheese.