# Anyone making homemade cheese?



## cookingmama (Jan 2, 2011)

Recently, I've been watching videos on youtube about how to make homemade cheese (many have called it "farmer's cheese" - it's meant to be consumed immediately or very soon after making...not aged). 
I finally made my first batch tonight - the recipe was 1/2 gal. pasture-raised, raw cows milk, 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar, plus salt and herbs for seasoning.

I followed the directions - cooking the milk just to about 190f and then adding the vinegar, stirring until the curds separated and then straining in a colander with cheesecloth. The taste is pretty bland, which I guess I expected, since I did not add cultures, but...the curds seem quite tough. I've never tried this before, so I have no experience to draw on, but I expected something much softer like ricotta or cottage cheese. 

any tips? is the toughness of the curds a sign of overcooking or some other user error, or is this just normal?

I have the cheese hanging in cheese cloth suspended from a rack in my refrigerator. I plan on letting it sit overnight and then having cheese and crackers tomorrow.  Hopefully it's not inedible.


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## Midnight_Merlot (Jan 2, 2011)

To be honest, the thought to make cheese curdles my mind, so, hats off to you!! It sounds pretty neat though - Hope that cheese is yummy for you tomorrow!


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## cookingmama (Jan 2, 2011)

Midnight_Merlot said:


> To be honest, the thought to make cheese curdles my mind, so, hats off to you!! It sounds pretty neat though - Hope that cheese is yummy for you tomorrow!



Haha! After smelling the cooked whey left over, I'm a little squicked out myself...but, onward and upward. This is all part of my New Year's attempt at becoming more of a pioneer woman. I've been making homemade breads, homemade ice creams, now homemade cheese...soon I'm on to sourdough and yogurt...I hope.


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## joesfolk (Jan 2, 2011)

Yogurt is pretty easy, there are a bunch of ways to do it but the easiest for me was always the heating pad method.  You can probably find it on you tube.  I am envious about the cheesemaking.  I have been dying to try it myself.  By the way, if you make yogurt and hang it like you do the cheese you get what used to be called yogurt cheese or shevre.  But it also is a good sub for Greek yogurt.


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## Midnight_Merlot (Jan 2, 2011)

U-go-gurt-gurl!! HAHAHA... I am just being silly! I will have to google yogurt making. I adore the stuff, but, never thought to make it either.... &, to think...a long time ago, I pitched-in at a dairy farm??...I sound kinda "dairy dumb" actually!


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## Josie1945 (Jan 2, 2011)

Hi 
I have made cheese before, never with vinegar can't 
get fresh unprocessed milk. If you want creamy cheese 
to use Make it from yogurt. I don't remember where
I got the recipie. But if you Google Yogurt Cheese I bet 
you can find it. I make my own Butter milk and can't tell
any difference from what you buy in the Grocery store.
I make my own corned beef and Pastrami and bread I have
been accused of trying to reinvent the wheel
Welcome to DC 
Josie


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## cookingmama (Jan 2, 2011)

Josie1945 said:


> Hi
> I have made cheese before, never with vinegar can't
> get fresh unprocessed milk. If you want creamy cheese
> to use Make it from yogurt. I don't remember where
> ...



I don't eat (store-bought) pasteurized dairy, so yogurt-making is going to be a bit of a challenge. Most of the recipes I've found so far call for using some kind of starter...so I have to start by making the starter. I think...

how do you make your buttermilk? Also...homemade pastrami and corned beef? yum! sometime in the near future, my little family plans on relocating to farmland of some kind and I'm hoping to find a nice place to buy grass-fed beef. I haven't eaten beef in years, but if I can find a source I'm comfortable with, I would love to make stuff like corned beef and pastrami (my husband would love it too!).


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## Josie1945 (Jan 2, 2011)

I will look up recipies tomorow and see what I can find for you.

Josie


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## taxlady (Jan 2, 2011)

cookingmama said:


> I don't eat (store-bought) pasteurized dairy, so yogurt-making is going to be a bit of a challenge. Most of the recipes I've found so far call for using some kind of starter...so I have to start by making the starter. I think...
> 
> how do you make your buttermilk? Also...homemade pastrami and corned beef? yum! sometime in the near future, my little family plans on relocating to farmland of some kind and I'm hoping to find a nice place to buy grass-fed beef. I haven't eaten beef in years, but if I can find a source I'm comfortable with, I would love to make stuff like corned beef and pastrami (my husband would love it too!).



I'm pretty sure you can get packaged yoghurt starter. I think I saw it at the health food store. I just buy a small container of organic yoghurt. If you do decide to start with yoghurt, make sure it is one with live bacillus. Once you start making yoghurt, you can use your own yoghurt to start the next batch.

Corned beef is easy in a zip lock bag. It takes about eight days.

You could also make quark, which is a lot like cream cheese. It's cultured with the same bacillus as for sour cream or cultured buttermilk. It's even easier than yoghurt. If you have raw milk, the bacillus may already be in the milk.

I think you may have overcooked the curds. I have made vinegar cottage cheese and the curds were not hard. For flavour, add a little bit of salt. It's amazing the difference it makes.


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## cookingmama (Jan 2, 2011)

taxlady said:


> I'm pretty sure you can get packaged yoghurt starter. I think I saw it at the health food store. I just buy a small container of organic yoghurt. If you do decide to start with yoghurt, make sure it is one with live bacillus. Once you start making yoghurt, you can use your own yoghurt to start the next batch.
> 
> Corned beef is easy in a zip lock bag. It takes about eight days.
> 
> ...



I think you're right about overcooking the curds. I heated to 190 or 200 and I think that's just way too high. It completely defeats the purpose of using raw milk too.  Next time i'm going to try letting it just simmer (around 145?) and then adding the acid and taking it off the stove immediately.

We tried the cheese today and it's hard like cheddar...but pretty tasty all things considered. I salted it before letting it hang last night and added some fresh thyme, basil, rosemary and sage (chopped very finely) - tonight we're having our own little caprese salad. The REAL victory will be when I can make caprese salad with homemade cheese and homegrown tomatoes and basil...sigh...a girl can dream, right?


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## Josie1945 (Jan 3, 2011)

I don't know what to tell you if you don't want to use starter
from the Grocery store.This corned beef recipie came from the board here I don't remember who posted it but it is awesome.
Sorry it took so long but I have the Flu and feel awful

I used eye of round instead of venison

Corned Beef.
I cooked my corned venison roast that I started 2 weeks ago. It was delicious and my whole family loved it. I got comments that they liked it better than corned beef, mainly because it is so lean. 

Preparing venison roasts this way is awesome and I don't think I will prepare another one any other way. 

Foodsavers hate liquid in the bags so I came up with a method to brine the roast and at the same time use the Foodsaver. 

•	One venison roast up to 5 lbs 
•	3/4 cup Morton Tender Quick salt (this has the potassium nitrate and nitrite all ready in it) 
•	1/4 cup brown sugar 
•	6-8 whole cloves 
•	1 stick cinnamon 
•	3-4 bay leaves 
•	1 tablespoon pickling spice 
•	enough ice cubes to make 1 quart of water (mine were 3/4 ounce cubes so I used 40) 
The trick is using the ice cubes. I layered all of this into a custom sized foodsaver bag. I only have 8" bags and wish I had the 11" bags. You can measure it up to your roast and add about 6-10 inches for the ice. Better to be long than short. 

Put this in the refrigerator for 2 weeks while turning it every couple of days. There will be a small amount of air in the bag due to air in the ice and some air pockets but it will not be excessive enough to worry about. After 2 weeks cook it just like corned beef. Don't invite my kids over or all 7 of them will clean it up in a moment. 


Buttermilk

For making buttermilk


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## Zhizara (Jan 3, 2011)

I hope you feel better soon, Josie.  Being sick is so NOT fun.

I did notice when I had my recent cold, that I didn't really notice my discomfort while online with my DC friends.


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## joesfolk (Jan 3, 2011)

Josie1945 said:


> Buttermilk
> 
> For making buttermilk


 
That buttermilk link was very interesting.  I make butter all of the time and am now thinking about making the buttermilk.


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## Josie1945 (Jan 3, 2011)

*Buttermilk*



joesfolk said:


> That buttermilk link was very interesting.  I make butter all of the time and am now thinking about making the buttermilk.



I make buttermilk all the time There is no difference in the taste of it 
and that you buy in the grocery store. I use 2 % milk . It is a lot cheaper.

Josie


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## taxlady (Jan 3, 2011)

joesfolk said:


> That buttermilk link was very interesting.  I make butter all of the time and am now thinking about making the buttermilk.



I'm confused. Real buttermilk is the whey leftover from making butter. That buttermilk link is for "cultured buttermilk", which is all I ever see in stores nowadays.


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## cookingmama (Jan 5, 2011)

taxlady said:


> I'm confused. Real buttermilk is the whey leftover from making butter. That buttermilk link is for "cultured buttermilk", which is all I ever see in stores nowadays.



The notes above the recipe from that link clarify that "cultured buttermilk" is not the same as traditional buttermilk which is, as you said, the liquid left over from making butter.


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## taxlady (Jan 5, 2011)

cookingmama said:


> The notes above the recipe from that link clarify that "cultured buttermilk" is not the same as traditional buttermilk which is, as you said, the liquid left over from making butter.



I don't understand why someone who churns butter and gets real buttermilk would want the other stuff. Well, if they wanted to make quark...


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## cookingmama (Jan 5, 2011)

taxlady said:


> I don't understand why someone who churns butter and gets real buttermilk would want the other stuff. Well, if they wanted to make quark...



I had to google "quark" 

Cultured buttermilk has all sorts of uses...pancakes, scones, biscuits...in the Southern US, people drink it (to which I say: "Ew" - but to each his own). Plus, the cultures present are quite beneficial for health.

That said, old fashioned "real" buttermilk is yummy too. My mom used to make homemade butter with me and my siblings for school projects (mostly because we were all obsessed with the Little House books - I still love them - and there were so many fantastic passages about food preparation in those books)...we'd put cream in a jar with a few cleaned marbles and take turns shaking it until our arms ached. These days though, I don't think many people churn their own butter. It made sense back when it was your own cow you were milking and you did all the processing of the milk yourself (eg - letting the milk sit out in pans overnight to separate the cream, etc), but now, you'd have to buy pre-processed cream from the store and most people wouldn't dream of taking the time to make their own. Sad, I guess, but...that's the reality these days.


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## taxlady (Jan 5, 2011)

cookingmama said:


> I had to google "quark"
> 
> Cultured buttermilk has all sorts of uses...pancakes, scones, biscuits...in the Southern US, people drink it (to which I say: "Ew" - but to each his own). Plus, the cultures present are quite beneficial for health.
> 
> That said, old fashioned "real" buttermilk is yummy too. My mom used to make homemade butter with me and my siblings for school projects (mostly because we were all obsessed with the Little House books - I still love them - and there were so many fantastic passages about food preparation in those books)...we'd put cream in a jar with a few cleaned marbles and take turns shaking it until our arms ached. These days though, I don't think many people churn their own butter. It made sense back when it was your own cow you were milking and you did all the processing of the milk yourself (eg - letting the milk sit out in pans overnight to separate the cream, etc), but now, you'd have to buy pre-processed cream from the store and most people wouldn't dream of taking the time to make their own. Sad, I guess, but...that's the reality these days.



But my point was that Joesfolk had just posted that she makes butter.

Old fashioned butter would have been made from raw cream that was naturally cultured. Then the "real" buttermilk would have had all those lovely micro-organisms. I think that is why one finds buttermilk in old recipes before anyone invented a way to turn sweet milk into "buttermilk".


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## larry_stewart (Jan 5, 2011)

I usually make my own Paneer cheese, when making Indian food.  Ive tried making my own home made mozzarella cheese from a kit, but didnt quite work out the way i had hoped.  Supposed to make a pound of cheese, but by the time i finished kneading it, it was about the size of one of those little mozzarella cheese balls you get at the salad bar ( even smaller )


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## fricassee (Jan 5, 2011)

Making your own ricotta is simple as well.  Although not cheese, obviously, I make creme fraiche which is tastier and MUCH cheaper.  I saw it a couple of months ago for $12 CDN for 500 ml.


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## taxlady (Jan 5, 2011)

fricassee said:


> Making your own ricotta is simple as well.  Although not cheese, obviously, I make creme fraiche which is tastier and MUCH cheaper.  I saw it a couple of months ago for $12 CDN for 500 ml.



So, do you make mozzarella? I ask because AFAIK ricotta is made from the whey from making mozzarella.

I'm making a batch of creme fraiche right now. I had whipping cream left over from the holidays and this will extend its shelf life. I haven't tried it yet, but I have read that creme fraiche can be whipped like whipping cream.


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## fricassee (Jan 5, 2011)

taxlady said:


> So, do you make mozzarella? I ask because AFAIK ricotta is made from the whey from making mozzarella.
> 
> I'm making a batch of creme fraiche right now. I had whipping cream left over from the holidays and this will extend its shelf life. I haven't tried it yet, but I have read that creme fraiche can be whipped like whipping cream.


 
Admittedly not lately!


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## Cookee. (Jan 8, 2011)

Making cheese at home can be easy and the results can be yummy!  While on vacation last year,  I took a one-day class at Kookoolan farm in Oregon.  We started on quick Queso Fresco and fresh Mozzarella type cheeses.  The book "Home Cheesemaking" by Ricki Carroll (available at Amazon) is a great guide.  I hope to make it to Steve Shapson's Cheesemaking class in Wisconsin this year to learn more complex techniques.  His website has resources for ordering any supplies you could want. Classes are really just for fun, the book can answer all your questions.   I hope you find these resources helpful.  
I'm totally hooked on home cheesemaking and would like to hear from others with more experience.


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## Kathleen (Mar 8, 2011)

Tonight, I made mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese for the first time!  It was pretty easy and I'm fairly pleased with the results.  Prior to ordering supplies, I had reviewed _The Home Creamery_ by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley.  The book gave a suitable overview of dairy terms.  It covered the basics of cultured dairy products and moved on to soft, unripened cheeses.  

I had also purchased _And That's How You Make Cheese!_ by Shane Sokol.  On the plus side, this book explains cheese-making in very easy to understand terms.  It did give me confidence to think I could easily turn my kitchen into a happy Home Creamery!  On the minus side....if I ever meet the editor of this book, someone will need to give me an alibi.  All I can say is it feels like no one proof-read the manuscript prior to the book being published.  The typos are to the point that I'm unsure whether I trust the recipes.  

I found a site called Leeners that had a good assortment of supplies for a reasonable price.  They also had a kit that included many of the items that I had on my "purchase" list and included a mold.  Perhaps I can try a pressed cheese this weekend!

My mozzarella turned out tasty though I think I will add a bit more salt to the finished product next time.  I pulled it like taffy so that it developed more of a stringy texture than allowing it to stay more soft.  With the whey, I made ricotta, which was so simple to make that it was almost embarrassing.  

Perhaps while at work tomorrow, someone might use the ricotta to make some lasagna or manicotti.  I guess I could point out that there is even spinach in the vegetable drawer that could be added to it.  YUM.  If only someone out there would avail themselves to the fresh spinach and fresh ricotta...hmm...if only.  

I loved making these cheeses.  So much fun!


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## joesfolk (Mar 8, 2011)

Can you make it from half and half?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Mar 9, 2011)

Kathleen said:


> Tonight, I made mozzarella cheese and ricotta cheese for the first time! It was pretty easy and I'm fairly pleased with the results. Prior to ordering supplies, I had reviewed _The Home Creamery_ by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. The book gave a suitable overview of dairy terms. It covered the basics of cultured dairy products and moved on to soft, unripened cheeses.
> 
> I had also purchased _And That's How You Make Cheese!_ by Shane Sokol. On the plus side, this book explains cheese-making in very easy to understand terms. It did give me confidence to think I could easily turn my kitchen into a happy Home Creamery! On the minus side....if I ever meet the editor of this book, someone will need to give me an alibi. All I can say is it feels like no one proof-read the manuscript prior to the book being published. The typos are to the point that I'm unsure whether I trust the recipes.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks for the report, Kathleen and the resources.  I'll make Shrek crazy by starting another project.  I think I'll need a bigger drawer this time!


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## taxlady (Mar 9, 2011)

Enjoy your cheese Kathleen. Leeners looks interesting. They ship to Canada 

Now I just need some spare money, oh and come to think of it, spare time. Tax season is starting.


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## CharlieD (Mar 9, 2011)

I make farmers cheese all the time. Doesn't have to be hanging in refrigerator for draining. It can be kept for at least couple of weeks. It is nothing like cottage or ricota cheese, it is supposed to be blend it is basicaly has taste of milk, unless it was too sour, i.e. adding too much vinegar. Tough curd is to be expected. 190 deg. sounds to hot for me.


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## Kathleen (Mar 9, 2011)

joesfolk said:


> Can you make it from half and half?



I am so new at this that I honestly don't know what all I can use.  I'm using recipes from books at this point and keeping track of what each item does. That being said, half and half makes awesome ice cream.  



CharlieD said:


> I make farmers cheese all the time. Doesn't have to be hanging in refrigerator for draining. It can be kept for at least couple of weeks. It is nothing like cottage or ricota cheese, it is supposed to be blend it is basicaly has taste of milk, unless it was too sour, i.e. adding too much vinegar. Tough curd is to be expected. 190 deg. sounds to hot for me.



Charlie, please post one of your favorite recipes!



taxlady said:


> Enjoy your cheese Kathleen. Leeners looks interesting. They ship to Canada
> 
> Now I just need some spare money, oh and come to think of it, spare time. Tax season is starting.



While the recipe I used is clearly for beginners, the mozzarella took less than an hour to make.  The ricotta took another 40 minutes from start to finish.  Regardless, I will imagine there is not even an hour to spare during tax time.



PrincessFiona60 said:


> Thanks for the report, Kathleen and the resources.  I'll make Shrek crazy by starting another project.  I think I'll need a bigger drawer this time!



He will love the end result!


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## DaveSoMD (Mar 9, 2011)

Kathleen said:


> Perhaps while at work tomorrow, someone might use the ricotta to make some lasagna or manicotti.  I guess I could point out that there is even spinach in the vegetable drawer that could be added to it.  YUM.  If only someone out there would avail themselves to the fresh spinach and fresh ricotta...hmm...if only.



I know a manicotti recipe that uses mushrooms.... ..I'm just sayin..


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## CharlieD (Mar 9, 2011)

Mine is so simple, I do not have recipe. Warm up the milk, add lemon juice or yougurt/kefir. Keep it warm or warm up more. You'll see the curd starts separating. I use a knee high to dump the mixture. Hang it over the sink for overnight, or over day. Done. It is very-very plain. I like it served with some jam/jelly mixed together and a cup of tea.
Some times when I have time I'll bake the milk first and then make yougurt or farmers cheese. To bake milk i just use slow cooker, leave it overnight on low. Milk becomes, well, baked. It changes color to redish/brownish hue. Actually taste really good on it's own.


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## Kathleen (Mar 9, 2011)

DaveSoMD said:


> I know a manicotti recipe that uses mushrooms.... ..I'm just sayin..



Wow!  And I have some mushrooms leftover in the freezer!!!  



CharlieD said:


> Mine is so simple, I do not have recipe. Warm up the milk, add lemon juice or yougurt/kefir. Keep it warm or warm up more. You'll see the curd starts separating. I use a knee high to dump the mixture. Hang it over the sink for overnight, or over day. Done. It is very-very plain. I like it served with some jam/jelly mixed together and a cup of tea.
> Some times when I have time I'll bake the milk first and then make yougurt or farmers cheese. To bake milk i just use slow cooker, leave it overnight on low. Milk becomes, well, baked. It changes color to redish/brownish hue. Actually taste really good on it's own.



I'm definitely going to try baking the milk!  It sounds unique and tasty.


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## taxlady (Mar 9, 2011)

CharlieD said:


> Mine is so simple, I do not have recipe. Warm up the milk, add lemon juice or yougurt/kefir. Keep it warm or warm up more. You'll see the curd starts separating. I use a knee high to dump the mixture. Hang it over the sink for overnight, or over day. Done. It is very-very plain. I like it served with some jam/jelly mixed together and a cup of tea.
> Some times when I have time I'll bake the milk first and then make yougurt or farmers cheese. To bake milk i just use slow cooker, leave it overnight on low. Milk becomes, well, baked. It changes color to redish/brownish hue. Actually taste really good on it's own.



How warm do you keep the milk? Do you warm it on the stove? How long do you warm it.

What is a "knee high"?


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## Selkie (Mar 9, 2011)

Knee high stocking - nylon hose  - the bottom half of a full length stocking made to go as far up as the knee. It works as a fine mesh bag yet lets water drain through.


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## taxlady (Mar 9, 2011)

Selkie said:


> Knee high stocking - nylon hose  - the bottom half of a full length stocking made to go as far up as the knee. It works as a fine mesh bag yet lets water drain through.



 d'oh!

Thanks.

I hate cheese cloth. Can't reuse it; you have to be careful when you pour or the weave separates; gotta use several layers; ...


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## CharlieD (Mar 10, 2011)

Kathleen said:


> ...I'm definitely going to try baking the milk! It sounds unique and tasty.


 
Just do not over bake, so to speak. Keep om low overnight. Turn it off in the morning, I'd say about 10-12 hours is what I do. There might be a thin layer film formed on the top. My grandfather used to love it, I could not touch it with a 9 foot pool. Just dump it. Refrigerat, serve when cold.


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## CharlieD (Mar 10, 2011)

taxlady said:


> How warm do you keep the milk? Do you warm it on the stove? How long do you warm it.
> 
> What is a "knee high"?


, 

I used to make it in a jar, then put jar into a pot with water and then warm up the water. Forgeti it it is too long. I jus warm it up in the slow cooker now, on "low" then add lemon juice or existing yougurt. Mix well, and turn to keep it warm setting. There is no set time unfortunately, I just kind of see when it separates, the curd and the wey(sp?). Last time I used dry milk. I simply heat up the water mixed dry powder and water in the slowcooker and set it up on warm right away. I added the yougurt and left it on the whole night. I use the kneehight (you know the high thin soks, for ladies, you can buy them in a little plastic container in Wallmart for less than a dollar, like stockings) instead of cheese cloth. It hung draining when I went to work, when I came home it was already to for use.


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## CharlieD (Mar 10, 2011)

Oh, Selkie already answerd half of the question, thank you Selkie.


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## taxlady (Mar 10, 2011)

CharlieD said:


> ,
> 
> I used to make it in a jar, then put jar into a pot with water and then warm up the water. Forgeti it it is too long. I jus warm it up in the slow cooker now, on "low" then add lemon juice or existing yougurt. Mix well, and turn to keep it warm setting. There is no set time unfortunately, I just kind of see when it separates, the curd and the wey(sp?). Last time I used dry milk. I simply heat up the water mixed dry powder and water in the slowcooker and set it up on warm right away. I added the yougurt and left it on the whole night. I use the kneehight (you know the high thin soks, for ladies, you can buy them in a little plastic container in Wallmart for less than a dollar, like stockings) instead of cheese cloth. It hung draining when I went to work, when I came home it was already to for use.



Thanks Charlie. I'm going to give that a try. I'll have to use the jar method because I don't have slow cooker.


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## web-collage (Mar 22, 2011)

*Use good cheese starter*

I have made lots of cheese from raw goat milk. I have my own dairy goats and handle the milk and cheese making in a well-informed sanitary way. Chevre starter (from New England Cheese Company or Hoegers) makes an excellent fresh cheese to use within a few days. It also freezes well. I mix it with garlic and fresh herbs once the cheese has set up and drained. It is best to get packages of starter and follow the directions on the starter package. Great cheese on crackers with a glass of wine. My friends beg for it.

I recently made some batches of Feta, brined it, and marinated it in olive oil. There is a thread here about the Feta. It's terrific too. Made from Feta starter available at Hoegers.

Good luck. There are some good cheese cookbooks available. This is an ancient art and not as scary or difficult as one would imagine. In the spring when I have more milk I plan to make some pressed cheeses.


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