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Cheese Making Instructions
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Cheese Making Fundamentals
The basic steps in cheesemaking are listed
here. While some cheese styles will use all of the steps, others
may use only a few. Within each step there will be variations in
ingredients, time and temperature depending on the cheese being made.
| Pasteurize |
The sterilizing of a dairy milk by
indirectly heating to 161oF. |
| Ripening |
The acidification of milk by means of a biological
process using a starter culture. |
| Renneting |
The addition of an enzyme called rennet which causes coagulation of
milk protein into cheese curd. |
| Cutting |
The uniform breaking up of a curd mass done to
facilitate the release of whey which is trapped in the mass. |
| Cooking |
The heating of cut curd which forces moisture
out of the curd and causes it to firm up. |
| Draining |
The removal of whey by means of gravity usually
done by hanging the cheese in a cheesecloth bag. |
| Salting |
The addition of specialty grade pure salt to
season, aid in drying and help preserve the cheese. |
| Pressing |
The removal of whey by means of regulated pressure
using a mechanical cheese press. |
| Drying |
The air drying of the cheese which allows the
protective rind to develop. |
| Waxing |
The air tight sealing of a cheese in melted wax
to protect the cheese during aging. |
| Aging |
The resting period during which the character
and flavor of the cheese develop. |
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 PASTEURIZATION
We have found that pasteurizing
your milk regardless of it's source will produce a better cheese.
The use of indirect heat via a double boiler will prevent the milk from
scolding. Stir frequently until the temperature of the milk reaches 161oF.
Once the milk has reached 161oF it must be cooled to the ripening
temperature required by the recipe. This is usually between 85 and
95oF. Place the pasteurized milk into a sink of warm water and
stir gently until the desired temperature is reached. Add hot or
cold water to the sink as need to adjust the temperature.
 RIPENING
Cheese starter culture is added
to the milk and allowed to acidify the milk for a period of about 45 minutes
or according to the recipe. This period is referred to as ripening
the milk. Add the starter culture and gently stir it in with a ladle
by slowly pumping the milk up and down. Be careful not to pump a
lot of air into the milk. It will take about 2 minutes of gentle
stirring to mix in the starter. During the ripening stage the bacteria
in the starter culture will consume the lactose (milk sugar) in the warm
milk and produce lactic acid. The lactic acid will then begin the
separation of curds and whey. To maintain the proper temperature
during ripening you can add hot water to the sink.
USING CALCIUM CHLORIDE
Using Calcium Chloride is optional.
If you are using store bought milk you may want to add calcium chloride
to the milk prior to the next step. Pasteurized milk has it's milk
protein altered and if calcium chloride is not added to the milk a poor
quality curd will develop.
RENNETING
Cheese rennet is added to the ripened
milk in order to coagulate (solidify) the milk protein into a solid curd.
Rennet is always diluted in cool water before adding to the milk.
When adding rennet to the milk, stir gently in up and down motions for
one minute. Do not stir vigorously.
 CUTTING
& COOKING THE CURD
The curd is ready to cut when it
shows a clean break. Test for the clean break by inserting your thermometer
into the mass at an angle then lifting it. The curd should separate
and leave an open scar on the surface. If the curd takes longer than
45 minutes to show a clean break, you should add slightly more rennet the
next time you make your recipe.
Once the rennet has coagulated the
milk into a solid white curd it is ready to cut. The purpose of cutting
the curd into equal sized pieces is to drain the whey from the curds.
The whey is mostly water and milk sugar (lactose), while the curd contains
coagulated milk protein and butterfat.
The curd is cut to increase the surface area of the curd and this increases
the movement of whey out of the curd. Cut the curd with a long bladed
stainless steel knife which reaches easily to the bottom of the pot. Slice
the curd from left to right into 1/2 inch slices as if cutting a cake.
Turn the pot 90o and once again cut the curd from left to right
in 1/2 inch slices.
Now take a stainless steel ladle and sink it 1/2 inch into the pot and
move across the pot at that level. Sink the ladle another 1/2 inch
and repeat the process. Keep doing this until you are at the bottom
of the pot. Obviously this is not an exact science so now you can
use your ladle and knife and gently cut up any oversized pieces.
After cutting the curd into equal sized pieces the curd is ready for cooking.
The curd and whey are warmed by placing the pot in hot water and increasing
the temperature of the curd according to the recipe. The curd should
be heated gradually, no more than 2oF every five minutes.
To insure even heating and prevent matting together, the curd should be
stirred frequently and gently. If the curd is heating too rapidly
simply take the pot out of the water for a while.
 DRAINING
& SALTING THE CURD
After reaching the proper firmness,
the curds and whey are poured into a colander lined with cheesecloth.
The colander should rest in a sink or large container to permit the collection
of the whey. The curds are properly firmed when they have shrunk
in size, are quite shiny, and are firm to the touch and when pressed between
thumb and forefinger. They no longer split open with soft curd coming
from the interior.
After sufficient draining, the curds are placed in a bowl and one tablespoon
of salt is added for each gallon of milk used. A coarse flake salt
is better than fine table salt and should be sprinkled on the curds and
then gently mixed in. Salting both enhances the cheeses flavor and
aids in draining whey from the curd and in the final preservation of the
cheese. For people on a salt free diet, however, the addition of
salt can be can be omitted and the cheese will still have a fine flavor.
At this stage you can also add dried herbs if you like such as caraway
seeds or dried sage (as in sage cheddar).
PRESSING
Making hard cheese requires the use of mechanically applied
pressure to compress the curd. You may think that the cheese press
is used to remove whey from the curd but, most of the free whey must be
drained off prior to pressing. The press is used to cause the curd
to mat together. This process is called knitting. Cheese curds
have a thin membrane of fat on their surface. This prevents the curds
from joining together on their own. As pressure is applied, the individual
curds are squeezed causing the fat membrane to open and expose the interior
of the curd. When the exposed curds touch each other they bond together
creating a single block of cheese.
When the time comes to press your cheese you will first line the mold with
a 18" square piece of sterile cheesecloth. Prepare the cloth by placing
it into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the cloth with tongs
or a spoon and rinse it with cold water. It should then be wrung
out and snapped dry. The curd is then placed into the lined mold
and the excess cloth is folded over top of the curd. Avoid bunching
up the cloth or the cheese will have an irregular surface which allows
for the formation of surface mold. The cloth lining will hold the
cheese curd together as it is removed from the mold and turned over.
 
As you load curd into the mold be aware that some whey will begin draining
so place the mold where the whey will not run out on the counter or floor.
The whey that is pressed from the cheese must have a place to collect.
The whey catch is placed under the press mold for this purpose. A
catch can be any vessel which is made from non reactive materials such
as food grade plastic or stainless steel. A more complex whey catch
can include a drain spout which removes the whey from around the cheese
into a collection vessel. Since there are holes in the bottom of
the press mold, you will need to set the mold on sticks or a mat in order
to keep it out of the whey. Please note that whey collected from
your cheese press should be discarded.
The follower, sometimes called a lid, is placed flat side down, on top
of the wrapped curds. Slight adjustments may be necessary to assure
that the curd is level and the surface is flat. You should press down lightly
on the follower to make sure that everything is stable.
The amount of pressure and time
of pressing will depend on the type of cheese being made. Most recipes
will start the pressing with a few pounds of pressure and then increase
the weight over time. It is also important to note that the cheese
must be turned over during the pressing process. This provides for
an even pressing and even distribution of moisture remaining in the cheese.
The simplest of all weight systems is water. For the needs of the
home cheese maker it is fine to say that a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds.
Therefore a pint, 16 ounces, equals one pound. This method works
fine for pressures up to 8 pounds or 1 gallon of water, providing that
the vessel containing the water can be balanced in place safely.
A more workable weight system can be found at a local
garage sale or flea market. A collection of weights used for body
building will provide all that you need for accurate pressing. Additional
weights can be added to the set as necessary. This method lowers
the overall height on the assembled press, which makes the whole press
more stable.
DRYING & AGING
After pressing, remove the cheese
and place it on a clean surface to air dry. The cheese should be
turned twice each day until the surface is dry. It can take 1-3 days for
a cheese to dry. Be sure to keep the cheese away from any flies that
may be in the kitchen during the summer by covering the cheese loosely
with a clean cheesecloth.
 Waxing
Cheese wax gives the best results
for waxing although paraffin may be used if cheese wax is not available.
The wax must be melted in a double boiler to reduce the danger of fire.
With a small real bristled paint brush used exclusively for this purpose,
paint on the wax to cover the cheese completely.
It is a good idea to take a small piece of paper and write down the type
of cheese, the date and any other useful information and then wax the piece
of paper right onto the cheese. This will give you an accurate record
of what each waxed cheese is and when it was produced.
Aging
Once waxed, the cheese should be
aged at a temperature between 40oF and 60oF.
Turn the cheese over daily or moisture will accumulate on the bottom of
the cheese. If using raw milk (milk not pasteurized) age the cheese
for at least 60 days at a temperature above 35oF and preferably
close to 50oF. |
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copyright
2007 J.R.Leverentz
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16
QUART WITH LID (4 gallon) $34.95