Cheese

[brew.exe]

Anyone had a go at making their own cheese. I am thinking of maybe trying to make some bocconcini found a good Link with some kits and other things needed for making cheese.

[Chris]

Yep. Making your own cheese is great. I picked up a great book on it years ago (50c at a garage sale).

[KEG]

i've made my own cottage cheese before, it's great fun. i'm wanting to get hold of some rennet so i can try my hand at proper mozzarella and cheddar. if that works out, then perhaps i'll move on to soft cheeses like brie.

[ryan]

S`pose what I make occasionally is a form of cottage cheese. I make our own fresh yoghurt and when it`s done, put it into a cheesecloth bag and let it hang about 12 hours or so. That drops all the moisture out, you finish with a consistency of cottage cheese then you can mix seasoned pepper, garlic chives, chopped spring onions or whatever thru it. Not bad on a rye or wheatbread cracker with a cold beer.
{1 litre longlife milk makes 1 kg. yoghurt}

[Chris]

The book I picked up had a whole lot of fliers in it- for cheese-making supplies (like rennet). Made my life a lot easier.

For a really easy starting cheese without any hassel, try paneer or halumi (sp?)

[Old Gil]

KEG, you don't need rennet to make a good mozzarella. My Missus is a Vego and the mozzarella we get is very nice. I'm not sure what they use as the setting agent, but I will ask her and let you know.

[Chris]

Vinegar or lemon juice work. It's citric acid for many cheeses I believe. You can also use tartaric acid.

And mozz uses rennet...

[Old Gil]

The mozzarella I have at home doesn't have any rennet, can't remember the brand name but we get it from Coles, I'll have a look when I get home if I remember I probly wont

[James L]

Its the acids which denature the milk proteins (caesin) causing it to separate or go chunky. When/If you leave the milk out on the window sill for a couple of days, you'll find the acids already in the milk will cause it to do it itself. But i dont think it would be too nice to eat..

I remember this from Food Chem...

[Chris]

My recipe for mozz has rennet, but it probably varies from brand to brand. And yeah, you can have the curdled milk all to yourself...

[brew.exe]

Rennet is a type of enzyme that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids and liquid, you can also use citric acid. From what I understand it does not give you the same result that using rennet would, for cheese that would normally use rennet. The link above has few different rennet including a non animal rennet.

[Old Gil]

My appologies Chris our Mozz does have what it calls rennet, but it's not the proper type from a cows stomach. It's a synthetic version, I don't know how they can call it rennet if it's not. But then again they call VB beer

[Chris]

fair point on the VB

[bottle top]

There's a good thread about cheese making at AHB. The results of my cheese experimentation here -

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/i ... t&p=271019

Turned out really nice. I used the Camembert kit from cheeselinks.

[dirtdetective]

Hello all, from my understanding nearly all cheese made in Australia is made using 'vegetarian rennet' which is a synthetic enzyme grown on a yeast of some kind. It's actually cheaper than 'real' rennet but has identical qualities, which i'm guessing is why people use it. Home cheesemaking is a really rewarding and enjoyable pastime, but don't just stop at cottage cheese, camembert is really easy too! I recommend visiting cheeselinks.com.au which has home cheesemaking supplies and loads of information. Happy cheesemaking!

[Kevnlis]

Hello all, from my understanding nearly all cheese made in Australia is made using 'vegetarian rennet' which is a synthetic enzyme grown on a yeast of some kind. It's actually cheaper than 'real' rennet but has identical qualities, which i'm guessing is why people use it. Home cheesemaking is a really rewarding and enjoyable pastime, but don't just stop at cottage cheese, camembert is really easy too! I recommend visiting cheeselinks.com.au which has home cheesemaking supplies and loads of information. Happy cheesemaking!

Anyone else think that sounds like self advertising?

[Chris]

Hmmm... probably.

The country brewer also has cheese stuff now.

[lob]

I got this recipe from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything":

"Fresh Cheese, the Easy Way
MAKES: 6 to 8 servings
TIME: 2 hours, largely unattended
The recipe—and all the variations except for the cream cheese—work with 1 percent, 2 percent, or whole milk,
which of course makes the richest cheeses. If you live near a farm and can find raw whole milk, you’ll get the best
flavor.

1/2 gallon milk
1 quart buttermilk
Salt (optional)

STEP 1. Put the milk in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to keep it
from scorching, until the milk bubbles up the sides of the pot, about 10 minutes.

STEP 2. Line a strainer with a triple layer of cheesecloth or a piece of undyed cotton muslin. Have a long piece of
twine ready.

STEP 3. Add the buttermilk to the boiling milk all at once and stir constantly until the mixture separates into curds and whey; this will take just a minute or so. It will look like cooked egg whites suspended in a slightly thick yellowish
liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in a large pinch of salt if you like.

STEP 4. Carefully pour the mixture through the cloth and strainer so that the curds collect in the bottom and the
whey drains off.




Gather up the corners of the cloth and twist the top to start shaping the curds into a ball. Run
the bundle under cold water until you can handle it. Keep twisting and squeezing out the whey until the bundle
feels firm and dry. Don’t worry about handling it roughly; it can take it.




STEP 5. Tie the string around the top to hold it tight, then tie the string around the handle of a long spoon or a stick to suspend the cheese back over the pot to drain. Let it rest, undisturbed, until cool and set, about 90 minutes. Remove the cloth and serve immediately or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or freeze the cheese for up to 3 months.




Variations:

Fresh Cottage Cheese. Incredible stuff; drain as dry or as moist as you like: Follow the recipe through Step 3. In
Step 4, after you pour the curds and whey through the cheesecloth, simply leave the curds loose in the
strainer until they’ve drained the amount of moisture you desire, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Then
scoop the curds into a container and store in the refrigerator.

Fresh Ricotta. Also unbelievable, especially with top quality milk: Reduce the amount of buttermilk to
1 pint (2 cups) and proceed with the recipe through Step 3. The mixture will look like thickened buttermilk.
In Step 4, after you pour it through the cheesecloth, simply leave the ricotta in the strainer until it
has reached the texture you like, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Then scoop the ricotta into a container
and store in the refrigerator. Fresh Cream Cheese. So rich, you won’t believe it: Use 1 quart of heavy cream instead of the milk and reduce the buttermilk to 1 pint.

Fresh Cream Cheese. So rich, you won’t believe it: Use 1 quart of heavy cream instead of the milk and reduce
the buttermilk to 1 pint.

Fresh Goat Cheese. Tangy and creamy and cow’s-milk free: Substitute goat’s milk for the cow’s milk and
1 pint goat’s milk yogurt for the buttermilk."

[bullfrog]

My wife has made mozzarella from ingredients bought at the Country Brewer. Went wonderfully on the homemade pizzas that she knocked up (entirely from scratch.)

Those that meet me now would never guess that I used to be somewhat svelt!