More Cheeese

I'm enrolled in a year-long seminar to help me improve my productivity and figure out who I want to be when I grow up. The people in this group encourge me to make time to do things that I want to do and I do the same for them. So, I'm back to making cheese again. I shared the cheddar I made a few weeks ago with the leader of the group which resulted in much encouragement as she thought it was a pretty tasty cheese. Toay I will see her again so I made her a mozzarella. Lest you think I am some sort of strange dairy stalker, The Wife and I were invited to said persons home for a casual get-together as said person is also a friend. Mozzarella can be made quickly (about 30 minutes) so yesterday I stopped at the dairy and picked up 2 gallons of milk and today I made 2 batches of mozzarella. I'm always very proud of myself when I make cheese if I can beat the expected yield in the recipe. This recipe says that you should get a yield of about 3/4 lb or 12 oz. My yield was 17 oz. The Wife thinks that perhaps I am a little more patient than your average 30-minute mozzarella maker. But I still never get the really nice stretchy mozzarella that Ricki Carrol gets.

Cheese Success

Last weekend I peeled the wax off the cheddar cheese I made about a month ago so we could try it. It's pretty good. I'm never satisfied with the things I make so I always give chunks of the cheese to friends and co-workers. So far, the response has been really positive. It's pretty cool. The good thing is that it makes me want to make more cheese. The bad thing is that I feel like I have to find the time to make more cheese. We are seeing some friends tonight so I'm going to take them a chunk of cheese too (one of them has made cheese in the past) and get their opinion.

Cheese, Glorious Cheese

I've finally gotten back to making cheese. I bought a new cheese press recently and made a point of using it the weekend after I got it. I made a farmhouse cheddar using the home cheesemaker's bible. The cheese took a few days to develop the necessary rind (and I made the mistake of leaving it uncovered overnight once and one of the cats made quite an indentation with her tongue). I was finally able to wax it on Sunday. We can try it in about a month. I had to move The Wife's meds into the regular fridge so I could reclaim the "cheese fridge." The cheese fridge has a separate external thermostat so I can get any temp from freezing to about 70. Most cheeses need to age at 50-60 degrees (ie, too cold for a regular fridge and too warm for room temp) so if you want to make cheese at home you have to make your own "cheese cave." My first cheddar was disastrous (tried to age it in the basement during the summer). We also tried to make an italian table cheese but we were never thrilled with it. My co-workers thought it was pretty good though. The Wife wants me to make a gouda next. I also want to try to make a provolone for my dad - I tried once but it never came together. Any other home cheesemakers out there?