The Home Creamery (2 page)

THERMOMETER.
There are special dairy thermometers, but a food thermometer that has a range from 0 to 220°F and can be inserted at least 2 inches into the milk will work. The kind that can clamp onto the edge of the pot is best because it will allow you to obtain an accurate temperature reading as you heat the milk without having to hold your hand over the hot milk.

LADLE.
A wide, perforated stainless steel ladle, also called a “skimmer,” works best for cheese making. You’ll use this to scoop the curds from the pot to the colander to drain.

KNIFE.
For some recipes, you’ll need a knife for cutting the curds. A “curd knife,” with a long blade and a flat, rather than pointed, end works well, but any long, flat-ended knife of this description is fine, as long as the blade is 10 or more inches, so that you can reach the bottom of the pot to cut the curds. Curd knives may be purchased from cheese-making supply houses. (See Sources,
page 209
.) If you can’t find a curd knife, use a long-bladed kitchen knife or a long cake-decorating spatula.

STRING.
For some of the recipes, you’ll need some kind of heavy-gauge string to hang the cheese to drain. New shoelaces work well also. If you tie the corners of the muslin into a knot, you can also use a bungee cord to hang the bag from a kitchen faucet.

CHEESE MOLDS.
Cheese molds come in a variety of sizes and shapes and are used to form the drained curds of many types of soft cheeses, such as ricotta and cream cheese. They’re available in stainless steel, food-grade plastic, and ceramic, and they have holes through which the whey drains as the cheese sets. Cheese molds are available at cheese-making supply houses and some specialty kitchen shops.

CLEANING YOUR EQUIPMENT

All equipment and utensils must be extremely clean before you use them in cheesemaking. Unclean equipment will invite unfriendly bacteria into the process. You can either thoroughly wash and rinse all equipment and utensils or sterilize them.

TO WASH:
Use hot, soapy water, rinse thoroughly in hot water, and then let air-dry.

TO STERILIZE:
Boil for no less than 10 mintutes in enough water to cover. Remove with tongs and then let air-dry.

Wash or sterilize all equipment and utensils after using them, and then again before using them. Also, it’s a good practice to rinse all utensils in hot water after they come in contact with ingredients during the dairy or cheese-making process.

THE BASIC STEPS

With the ingredients and the equipment described here and the mastery of a few easy techniques, you’ll be on your way to producing fresh cheese and dairy products successfully at home in no time at all.

HEATING THE MILK.
The first step in making all cheeses (whether soft or hard) and many dairy products is to heat the milk. During this process the sugar in the milk starts converting into lactic acid. The acid thickens, which helps with coagulation in further processing, and also helps the curd to separate from the whey. The acid also provides flavor.

ADDING STARTER.
Starters, such as vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt, and cultures (mesophilic and thermophilic), continue converting the lactose in the milk to lactic acid. The starter is stirred into the milk constantly for 30 seconds so that it will be distributed evenly. After the initial stirring, the milk is left undisturbed so that the coagulation can begin.

ADDING RENNET.
Rennet is used for making cheese but not for making dairy products. It’s added after the milk has ripened. The rennet causes the milk to coagulate and form curds. The right amount of rennet is needed: Too little and the milk will not set enough; too much and the curd will become too firm. Rennet usually must be diluted so that it can be distributed evenly throughout the milk. Stirring the milk constantly for 30 seconds after adding the rennet allows for this even distribution. After the rennet has been incorporated, the milk is covered and left to stand for the curd to fully form.

CUTTING THE CURDS.
After the curd has formed, it’s cut into pieces of about 1 to 2 inches. Cutting the curd allows the whey to drain out. The curd is ready to be cut when it has a clean break, meaning it separates cleanly and clearly: A knife or thermometer inserted into the curd at a 45-degree angle will separate the curd firmly and cleanly if the curd has reached a clean break. The best way to cut the curd is with a curd knife or a long-bladed stainless steel knife. Make uniform straight cuts through the curds to the bottom of the pot in a cross-hatch or checkerboard pattern. Then, with the knife at a 45-degree slant, cut the curd again and repeat, following the previous cut lines.

DRAINING.
The curds are drained so the whey can be removed. The curds can be poured into a butter muslin–lined strainer or scooped with a perforated ladle into a colander and left to drain for a specified period of time. The butter muslin holding the curds can also be made into a bag and hung over the sink to drain further.

TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• Before you start to make dairy products and fresh cheese, set out everything you need: thermometer, perforated ladle, and a butter muslin-lined colander or sieve that has been set over a large bowl.

• Always let the finished dairy or cheese product cool to room temperature (65 to 72°F) before refrigerating.

• Many of the recipes in this book call for ingredients to be at room temperature, which means between 65 and 72°F. When you make dairy products and soft cheeses, beginning with ingredients at room temperature will expedite the process. To bring refrigerated ingredients to room temperature, set them on a kitchen counter for 1 to 2 hours, or until they reach the desired temperature.

• If you plan to make several batches of cheese or dairy products, always clean the pot between recipes, and use a fresh piece of butter muslin (or a well-rinsed piece) for every batch.

PART ONE
CULTURED DAIRY PRODUCTS