Cheesemaking, Glorious Cheesemaking

It seemed to me that making cheese was just the sort of indoor sport engaging and comforting enough for these cold, horrid Alaska winters. (Why do I live here again?) Anyway, if there's cheese to be had from the long, dark days then, tally ho, cheese there shall be.

I bought myself what is apparently known as the "bible of cheese making books" - in American anyway. I believe they call it the "koran of cheese making books" in other geographic areas - it's called Home Cheese Making and is written by Ricki Carroll, a woman who as far as I can tell thus far (1 day) into (what may become) my cheesemaking obsession (and life's purpose which I might only now be discovering), is the home cheese making guru, replete with her own line of home cheese making products.  I went to Arctic Brewing Supply where they sell cheese making stuff, too, and got a long thermometer, calcium chloride, lipase powder, cheese cloth, butter muslin, and three kinds of starters - mesophilic, thermophilic and fromage blanc - only one of which I was remotely familiar with. Then, on to Fred G Meyer's where I secured 4 gallons of organic whole milk and 2 quarts of low fat goat's milk (which doesn't work, don't buy, zero stars). Homeward!

I flipped through my book to see what I could make with my ingredients, and turns out like 80% of the recipes want some rennet in them and silly me, I plumb forgot the dried calf's stomach. (Actually, you can now buy in tablets, at any rate, I didn't get any - stomach lining or otherwise.) Fortunately there are recipes that don't require this, so I began with a very simple Fromage Blanc: 

First you warm the milk to a comfy 86 degrees which is best done in a warm-water bath in the sink. Then you pour in a packet of "Fromage Blanc" starter, stir and let it sit for 12 hours. Easy. 

Or, 10am. Whenever I wake up...

So, that was as hard as making hot cocoa, so I decided to try another recipe since I still had 3.5 half gallons of milk staring at me. Next up: Queso Blanco.

This one needs to get all the way up to 195-200 degrees F, so it went on the stove. It took a surprisingly long time to heat that high. 

I added - calcium chloride once the milk reached temp (because it puts calcium back in that was taken out during pasteurization? I think, according to science.) Then I slowly added vinegar to curdle the milk.

Voila and holy shit! Curds! I'm making cheese, OMG!

The curds get strained through butter muslin...

Then hung up to drip for "several hours" which could mean more than two but less than ten? I have no idea, but I'll keep poking at it...

Extra credit: the leftover whey can replace the liquid called for in bread recipes. How neato-farmy is THAT? Jim whipped up a double batch of the Jim Leahy/ Mike Gonzales bread recipe we all love. 

Tune in tomorrow for the resulting cheese (and bread)!