How to Make Homemade Cheese

You can make your own cheese at home.

Cheese is an extremely versatile ingredient in the culinary world. It can be used to add flavor to sandwiches, to create rich sauces for entrees, or to complement a bottle of wine. But cheese can also be a pricey item at the grocery or gourmet store. Fortunately for your taste buds and your wallet, you can make your own cheese at home by using a traditional farmer's recipe.

Things You'll Need

• Stainless Steel Pot
• Milk
• Wooden Spoon
• Candy Thermometer
• Rennet Tablet
• Warm Water
• Cultured Buttermilk
• Knife
• Colander
• Cheesecloth
• Ladle
• Bowl
• Salt
• Airtight Container

Instructions

1. Pour 2 gallons of milk into a stainless steel pot.

2. Heat the milk over low heat until it reaches approximately 70 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring the milk occasionally with a wooden spoon. Clip a candy thermometer to the pot to easily monitor the temperature of the milk. Remove the milk from the stove once it reaches 70 degrees.

3. Stir 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk into the warm milk, mixing thoroughly.

4. Dissolve half a tablet of rennet in 1/4 cup warm water, stirring it lightly to help it dissolve.

5. Stir the dissolved rennet mixture into the milk mixture, stirring thoroughly.

6. Cover the pot and allow it to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.

7. Check the cheese for a "clean break," which means that you when you press your finger into the cheese, it should come out almost clean. Allow the cheese to sit for a couple more hours if it is still too loose.

8. Cut the curd into half-inch cubes by cutting parallel lines both vertically and diagonally approximately half an inch apart.

9. Line a colander with cheesecloth, then use a ladle to scoop the curds into the lined colander.

10. Suspend the colander over a bowl inside the refrigerator and allow the whey to drain for 24 hours.

11. Remove the drained cheese, salt it to taste and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Tips & Warnings

• Add spices, such as garlic, pepper and other herbs, to your cheese to give it extra flavor.

• Farmer's cheese will only keep in your refrigerator for up to two weeks; it will spoil thereafter.

References

• How to Make Farmer's Cheese