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Recipes for Homemade Cheese
Easy Soft Cheese
Yogurt Cheese: This is a simple overnight cheese with a surprising flavor. Use it like cream cheese or as desert ingredient. You can use store bought yogurt or fresh yogurt you make yourself using our yogurt making supplies.
Mascarpone: Mascarpone is a double or triple cream cheese made from cow’s milk. It originated from the Lombardy region of Italy in the late 16th or early 17th century. It’s ivory-colored and ranges in texture from thickened cream to softened butter. It can be used in sweet and savory dishes, but is best known as an ingredient in tiramisu.
Semi Hard Cheese
Cottage Cheese: Cottage cheese is a mild flavored cheese product. It is drained, but not pressed; so some of the whey remains with the curds. The curds are generally washed to remove acidity which provides a sweet curd cheese. It is not aged or colored. Different styles are made from different milk with various fat levels. Pressed cottage cheese is farmer cheese or queso blanco. Cottage cheese may be eaten straight or with fruit, or as an ingredient in recipes.
Feta Cheese: Feta (slice in Greek) cheese is a classic Greek curd cheese whose tradition dates back thousands of years. It was originally made with goat's or sheep's milk; however, today it is often made commercially with pasteurized cow's milk. The milk, curdled with rennet, is separated and allowed to drain in a mold or a cloth bag. It is then cut into large slices that are salted and then packed in barrels filled with whey or brine.
Mozzarella: Traditional mozzarella is made from water buffalo (not North American buffalo or bison) milk, and its flavor is highly acclaimed and sought after. Water buffalo milk is more expensive than cows milk and it is costly to ship, so expect a corresponding high price tag on imported buffalo mozzarella. Mozzarella cheese is not aged like most cheeses and is best when eaten within hours of making.
Squeaky Curds: Everyone in Wisconsin and anyone who lives near a cheese factory knows the joy of freshly made, squeaky cheese curds. These salty little cheddar-style gems are a great snack food.
Aged Hard Cheese Recipes
Monterey Jack: Jack Cheese is believed to be created by David Jacks near Monterey, CA in the 1890s. It is a soft, white, slight tangy cheese. Authentic California Jack cheese has a tiny eye structure throughout while Jack cheese made elsewhere has no eyes. It is ready to eat after a month of aging unless you prefer more of an acidic tang in which case you may age longer.
Farmhouse Cheddar: Farmhouse Cheddar is a hard cheese made with a few shortcuts to produce a cheese that is a little rustic in appearance but is similar in flavor to cheddar. It’s a good choice for the first time hard cheese maker since it won’t take as much time as a traditional cheddar, yet allows you to eat it after it is made and will also improve with age.
Yellow Colby Cheese: Colby was invented in Colby, Wisconsin in the late 19th or early 20th century. Its flavor is similar to cheddar but is milder and softer. This is due to a difference in the cheese making process in which the curds are washed with cool water which increases the moisture content. May be eaten right away or aged 2-3 months.
Baby Gouda: Gouda belongs to a category of washed curd cheeses that also includes Edam and Havarti. The names are derived from the locations where they were sold. Gouda and Edam are named after towns.