Making Cheese

[sherribabee]

I make mozzarella all the time and would be happy to get together somewhere with whoever, whenever, and make some. It's pretty easy.

So I think you should definitely plan this...I'm in!

Jamie

Cool Jamie!

So what type of stuff/facilities do we need for the cheesemaking? Would we have to take this adventure into someone's kitchen?

[chromedome]

The CIA course is heavily slanted to promoting California cheese, but tuning out advertising is second nature to me so I'd forgotten about that. The explanation of the process is very decent and the videos were interesting (to me, anyway) but the best part of the whole thing was the links at the end of each module.

Here are a couple of them:

A detailed article from a homesteading magazine

Cheesenet

[sherribabee]

Cheesenet

OMG! This is one of the greatest sites EVER!

*drool*

[picaman]

So what type of stuff/facilities do we need for the cheesemaking? Would we have to take this adventure into someone's kitchen?

Definitely in someone's kitchen. To make mozzarella the way I do, we'd need:

--a stove

--a microwave

--a big cooking pot and a bowl

--a gallon of milk per person

--a wooden spoon

--a thermometer

--cheesecloth

--a large strainer/colander

--Junket rennet tablets

--citric acid

--buttermilk powder/buttermilk

--salt

I think that's everything. I have plenty of all the odd ingredients like rennet etc. The best milk, of course, would be buffalo milk, which is available at Gourmet Garage and other places, but it's relatively expensive. To be honest, when I make it, I just use a gallon of whole milk from the grocery store. I made bocconcini in olive oil for holiday presents that way this year, and no one complained

Jamie

[sherribabee]

I made bocconcini in olive oil for holiday presents that way this year, and no one complained

Man! how do I get myself on your holiday list for next year?

[sherribabee]

OK, so it looks like it's just a small handful of us that want to do this. Would anyone be interested in offering up their kitchen for this little experiment? I would -- if I actually *had* a kitchen.

If we do this, we should consider the logistics -- how long will this take? Do we each come with our own ingredients/equipment or do we designate someone to get all the ingredients and such and then just fork over money?

Ideas? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

[picaman]

Would anyone be interested in offering up their kitchen for this little experiment?

Kirk and I will be happy to host, if everyone doesn't mind the schlep to Inwood (upstate Manhattan @ 207th St.: ~1/2 hour from midtown on the A.)

If everyone brings their milk, I have everything else.

Jamie

[JosephB]

I'd be happy to host the cheesemaking session. West 70th near West End.

I'm away this weekend. How about next Sunday, 1/15? If the weekends are not good for folks, we can do a weekday evening.

Of course, we want Sherri's great photos!

What about doing this on eGCI? We should certainly copy it to the Cooking Forum.

[JosephB]

Actually, 1/15 won't work. Let's try for a weekday.

[sherribabee]

What about doing this on eGCI? We should certainly copy it to the Cooking Forum.

Ooooo...good idea.

I'll be out of town on the 15th, but can do either a weekend or a weekday evening.

How long does it take to make cheese?

[slkinsey]

I'm interested too! Making mozzarella does not take long. Other cheeses, needless to say, take a lot longer.

Might be fun to make some cheese and then make some pizza with the cheese right away. Mozzarella starts to decline in quality almost from the very moment it is made.

Might also be interesting to try it with different milks. Goat mozzarella, anyone?

[picaman]

I'd be happy to host the cheesemaking session. West 70th near West End.

Sounds good to me--I don't have to clean I can still bring some of the harder things to find if necessary--rennet especially. I have two kinds of rennet, so we can experiment with that a bit if we want.

slkinsey Posted on Feb 4 2004, 12:28 PM

Might also be interesting to try it with different milks.

I like this--maybe everyone could volunteer to bring a different kind of milk. Regular whole milk from the grocery store is fine, but I made it once with milk from the Union Square greenmarket (the purveyor escapes me at the moment: R-something Dairy?) to very good effect--their milk is not homogenized which makes a difference. Goat milk would be fun to try too, as would raw milk if anyone knows where to get some--the ideal is supposedly milk that is neither homogenized nor pasteurized.

Anyway, how about the evening of the 17th?

Jamie

[slkinsey]

Ronnybrook is the place from the Green Market. Their milk is so superior to regular mass-produced milk that it is hardly the same product.

[picaman]

Ronnybrook

That's it. There was a noticeable difference in the taste of the final product.

Jamie

[sherribabee]

Buffalo milk?

Goat milk?

Buttermilk?

(I imagine we'll want to keep human milk off the list )

[picaman]

Buttermilk?

Not sure how this would work as there's not as much fat content (I think...) but we can try it!

Jamie

[Katherine]

Buttermilk?

Not sure how this would work as there's not as much fat content (I think...) but we can try it!

Jamie

Buttermilk doesn't contain enough fat to make a yummy cheese, and it's already too ripened, so the cheese you make will come out oddly too sour, and rubbery in texture. If you want, you can use it as a starter, instead of purchasing starter.

[LDLee]

My wife started cheesemaking two years ago. She primarily makes goat cheeses. The ricotta is so much better than any you can buy. Chevre is outstanding as well. There are several books on Amazon.com. When I get back to Houston, I will find out from her what the best book is.

[JosephB]

Any interest in reviving the plan to get together to make cheese?

[picaman]

Any interest in reviving the plan to get together to make cheese?

Count me in.

Jamie

[JosephB]

We're planning a mozzarella-making session on next Sunday(4/18) at my place. Anyone interested?

[jogoode]

We're planning a mozzarella-making session on next Sunday(4/18) at my place. Annyone interested?

I am! And my job ends Thursday!

[alacarte]

Wish I could make it -- will be out of town. But I'll be looking forward to the discussion and pictures. What a great idea!

If the mozz experiment is successful, will you be making other cheeses in the future?

Look out Artisanal, here comes eGullet.

[JosephB]

Wish I could make it -- will be out of town. But I'll be looking forward to the discussion and pictures. What a great idea!

If the mozz experiment is successful, will you be making other cheeses in the future?

Look out Artisanal, here comes eGullet.

Darn! I forgot that you were away next weekend. Don't worry, we'll do it again - projects like this require several sessions to perfect the product.

Did I mention that I'm getting raw, grass-fed milk from PA to make the mozz? Should be good.

[docsconz]

Sounds awesome. When I get home tomorrow I should post my pics frm making mozzarella di bufala in Campania this past November. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one to make it. I just observed and ate it Man, was that good. That is where I got my avatar.