Cheesemaking

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You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own cheese! Shauna took a cheesemaking class a while back and now that she’s taught me to make Queso Fresco, next I can’t wait to try making mozzarella! She said there’s only a little more to it, but assured me that it’s still very easy and fast, too. (I’ll let you know.)

This cheese crumbled like feta, but tasted very mild like mozzarella. I only added sea salt and then crumbled it into a Mexican Lasagna, but Shauna said you can do anything with it. You can add garlic or other herbs and use it like you would a Boursin cheese. You could add jam or a little sugar and some cranberries for a sweet spread for bagels. It’s very versatile.

Here’s how I did it:

Begin with a half gallon of raw milk – gently heat in a saucepan until it reaches 160*. Turn the heat off and stir in 3/4 – 1 t. powdered citric acid. (I got mine at a health food store.) As you stir, it will begin to separate and curdle, and will take less than 2 minutes or so. (At this point I think this is cottage cheese, based on what the Wikipedia link above says.)

Once it’s mostly all separated and clumpy, pour the cheese onto a cheesecloth that is draped over a collander which is setting over a bowl. Tie the corners of the cheesecloth up and hang them onto a knob and let the whey continue to drain into the bowl.

After about 45 minutes or so, it will be dry enough to crumble into your recipe, or add herbs or do whatever you’d like with it.

Isn’t that amazingly simple?

It only makes about 1 1/2 c. of cheese or so, you end up with a LOT of whey. Shauna has used it in her homemade bread (to replace the water) and said it turned out great. If you can drink it, it’s very good for you. Or if you’re using whey that hasn’t been heated (like the whey in this recipe has), it is used to make lacto-fermented foods.

What else can we do with all the whey we have now? Also, let us know what are some other easy types of cheese to make?

I don’t know when I’ll make the mozzarella, but soon I’ll tell you how to make cream cheese – it is also very simple, but there are a few more steps. (Maybe when I get my new computer I can finally, after almost a YEAR, figure out how to get the video podcast onto here that SHOWS you how I make cream cheese! I doubt it, but maybe…)
Easy, soft homemade bread recipe (it’s also organic and “soaked”)
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Coming later this week: a guest post from Kristen at Food Renegade on successfully cooking grass-fed beef!
Don’t forget about Real Food Wednesday this week at Cheeseslave’s blog. The topic: Share Your Real Food Testimonies – how has real food changed your life?
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