Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Learning to Crawl - My First Attempt at Making Cheese

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It started out well enough, but then things quickly began to fall apart. Not too long ago, I tried my hand at making cheese for the first time. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way I would have wanted.

When we were in Vermont this summer, I decided to buy Ricki Carroll's (the self-described 'cheese queen') mozzarella and ricotta cheesemaking kit at Shelburne Farms to take home with me. Recently, I picked up a gallon of pasteurized whole milk from our local dairy farm in order to make mozzarella cheese. Ricki's recipe seemed simple enough - I slowly heated the milk to the desired temperature, then added the citric acid and eventually the rennet.

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Unfortunately, I was never able to get the curds to form properly. I could tell shortly adding the rennet that something was wrong. Two possible explanations for this could be that either I stirred for too long when mixing in the rennet (which is highly doubtful) or the milk was pasteurized at a higher temperature by the dairy (ultra-pasteurized), which would render the milk unsuitable for cheesemaking. I guess the only way to find out for sure is to get another gallon of whole milk from the same dairy and try again.

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I felt terribly disappointed. My initial thought was to dump everything down the drain. Fortunately, my frugal side prevailed and I decided to collect and press together the curled bits with some cheesecloth. To my delight, it was more than edible. It was actually pretty good. Granted, the texture was more like a stiff cream cheese than a mozzarella, but it still had that fresh cow's milk cheese taste.

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I ended up using it in a lasagna in place of the usual ricotta cheese. To our delight, it melted into an rich and creamy consistency. It was goooood.

Hopefully my next attempt at cheesemaking will yield better results. However, it's nice to know that all is not lost even when you screw up royally.

17 comments:

  1. Never having made cheese, I think even the not-quite-perfect results look pretty good. But the taste is everything! If it was yummy in the lasagna, it was a success.

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  2. I bought a cheese kit years ago, intending to make raw milk mozzarella. It just has not happened. And it probably never will, lol. I am glad you were ale to turn your cheese into something delightful, better luck next time- and if you can find raw milk give that a try on your next batch.

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  3. I called our creamery and made sure the heavy cream was pasteurized and not ultra. I'm going to make cultured butter!

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  4. So did it end up like a fromage blanc? (I love that stuff!)

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  5. Wow, I'm impressed! Would love to do that some day!

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  6. I make cheese every year at this time using rennet. I actually think it is faulty rennet tablets because I make it exactly the same each time, using the same milk and sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. One trick that I have found works well is actually placing the pot in a oven that has been slightly warmed after you stir the rennet. Worth a try.
    Good luck!

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  7. Well if it tasted great, then you did a great job. Congratulations!
    Good luck with your next try, too, Thomas. :)

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  8. Contrary to common opinion, Moz is NOT the easiest cheese to make, especially for a beginner.

    Try a Camembert instead. You'll feel like a master!

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  9. This is too much fun not to try it! Definitely a project we'll be doing soon!

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  10. Well, that lasagna looks cookbook delicious.

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  11. Looks great. I use the same process to make paneer (cheese).

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  12. I'm impressed! Looks wonderfully melty and delicious!

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  13. Thanks for the comments everyone! And the encouragement. Baby steps, am I right?

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  14. I too have recently purchased the same kit and made my first batch of mozzarella. I used pasteurized whole milk from a local supplier (Oakhurst). I was surprised at the results. I went light on the cheese salt, but will add the recommended amount next time. I can't wait to try it again and to experiment with different types of milk.

    I even made 8 oz of ricotta with the leftover whey: http://www.instructables.com/id/Great-Ricotta-Cheese-From-Whey/

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  15. However it turned out, you're still an inspiration!

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  16. Making homemade mozzarella is one thing I've been wanting to learn! My neighbor across the street makes his own. I'll have to get the recipe from him.

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  17. I bought the same kit! My mozzerela was good but I had trouble getting it hot enough to stretch properly. Time to try it again!

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