MAKING CHEESE
My goats keep producing and I used to have about 5 gallons to process once a week or so. I don't waste a drop of milk, the cheese is yummy and the milk is valuable, since I put a lot into the goats. So, I have my own version of making cheddar and Jalapeno cheddar cheese, to cut some corners and save time and effort. I'm not going to stand around stirring curd for 1 1/2 hours slowly raising the temperature like the books say. When the curd is cut and it's ready to slowly heat the curd, I heat it up half way, and let it sit for a half hour, then heat it up to 98 or 100 and let it sit about an hour. I stir to break up the curd that's in the whey 2-3 times if I remember, to prevent matting.. It's a process and I have to be around but I can do other things and have a timer going for each step. After the cheese is pressed I trim it and have some squeaky cheese. After pressing I put the 4-5 lb. pressed cheese in a brine to develop the rind and also more whey comes out of the cheese. This takes about 2-3 days. Then I dry it a couple more days on a rack till a nice hard rind has developed. I then seal it in an air tight Foodsaver bag. Since I get so many I slow down ripening and store many in the cold fridge. I have so many that I don't need them all ripening at once. This makes a nice hard cheddar. I put Jalapeno in some of them. I also keep it simple and just use yogurt and Junket rennet. The Junket has never let me down. It has to be dissolved in distilled water. I use 1- 2 tablets to 4 1/2 to 5 gallons, depending on how quick I want the curd to develope. Any water with chlorine will prevent it from working. This is just an overview, so here are the details for Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheddar.
Put an inch of water in a 5 gallon stainless stock pot. Put curd cutting knife and long handled spoon inside and steam sterilize with the lid on for 8 minutes. Empty water out.
Put the stock pot in a large stainless bowl with some water in it to be a double boiler. Enough water to go about 1-2 inches up the stock pot.
Put on burner on high heat. Add the milk, 4-5 gallons. Stir this till it reaches 80F on your cheese thermometer. Now I lift this out of the double boiler and sit the stock pot on the counter on a towel. I don't want the milk to heat over the 80- 83F. This can weigh over 40 lbs., so beware, you'll need some muscles.
I only use raw milk. I have used milk a week old with no problems and I have used frozen milk. My LaMancha milk doesn't get goaty even a week old.
Add 1- 1 1/2 cups of active plain yogurt at the 80F mark. I use Trader Joes organic yogurt as a starter. I used to make my own yogurt but got lazy. Put the yogurt in a bowl with some milk and whisk it up, then add to the milk and stir a couple minutes. Put the lid on and wrap a couple towels around the whole stock pot to keep it warm. The milk will now sit for a 1/2 hour. Even an hour won't hurt.
Now take 1/4 cup of COLD distilled water or filtered water and add 1 Junket Rennet tablet and sit it in the fridge and let it dissolve.
After 1/2 hr. or so, stir while slowly pouring the dissolved Junket Rennet tablet in the water, into the pot of milk. I also stir the dissolved rennet in the water before pouring into the milk. Stir the rennet and milk well for about 2 minutes. Now wrap it all up again to contain the heat. I use 1 tablet for 5 gallons, generally. If I want the milk to set up in and hour I use up to 2 1/2 - 3 tablets of Junket.
After about 4-8 hours check to see if the curd breaks clean. If not let it sit longer. Check every 1/2 hour. A clean curd won't stick at all to your well washed finger. I use a spoon to check the curd. More Junket rennet tablets will curd the milk faster but it takes about 3 tablets to curd it in an hour.
When the milk has solidified cut it into 1/4 inch cubes. let this sit for 10 minutes. You'll have to have a book to see how it is cut. I always have uncut pieces so after I cut the curds and they sit for 10 minutes I go through it stirring and cutting the curds that need it, to around the 1/2 " or less size, with the large stirring spoon.
Now put the stock pot back in the large stainless bowl with the water and heat it up to 90F, put it back on the counter and wrap it up again with the towels for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, stirring a couple times to prevent the curds from sticking together. Put it back in the large stainless bowl with water in it and heat it to 98-100F. Now let it sit for about an hour. Try to break the curd up a couple times again during this time, since it will want to mat, but this mat can always be broken up I've found.
I now pour the curds and whey into a clean boiled pillow case, I set the pillow case in a large plastic basket strainer from the Asian store to do this, in the kitchen sink. After the curds drain I put the curds back in the stock pot and add sea salt to the curds. Probably a couple tablespoons, this is where I'm careful to not over salt and taste it to make sure. I put the stock pot back in the waterbath and heat it up some to keep the curds warm as I stir with my carefully washed hand. They need to be warm to press together at about 100 F. Too much heat in the water bath and they will melt together, so watch the heat. If it seems there is too much salt, I have added some boiled cooled to 100F water and drained it off to dilute the salt. I don't like a cheese that is too salty.
Stir the salt well with the curds. At this time is when the chopped Jalapeno's or Jalapeno pepper flakes, are added. I have also used chipotle pepper flakes, black pepper, Saffron.
I now dump the curds back in the pillow case and form into a ball twisting tight the pillow case. I have an 8 inch diameter plastic basket strainer from the Asian store that this ball fits in nicely. This size works well for 4-5 gallons of milk. Those curds are yummy and squeakey and are great with pineapple chunks.
Now I take this tight ball of cheese in the pillow case and put it in the small basket. I have a stainless steele plate that is out of my pressure cooker that fits on the top and I put this all back in the stock pot and put a 20 lb. flat ended barbell on it for 15 minutes. I stuff towels in the pot to stabilize the barbell so it doesn't get lopsided and fall sideways or tie it to a chair. After that I put a 10 lb. barbell on top for 30 lbs.pressure, then after 1 hour I put another 20 lb. barbell on top of the 20 lb. barbell with the 10lb. barbell going on it. I tie it all to a chair for stability with some heavy elastic. Someday I will get a proper cheese press. But this works fine.
The 50 lbs. of weight will stay for 10-12 hours.
Now take all of the weights off and unwrap the cheese. Trim off sharp edges and it will be more squeakey cheese.
Put a bunch of salt in a deep bowl big enough to hold the cheese and add about 1/2 - 1 cup of water. Put the cheese in it and more salt on top. In about 24 hours more whey will have come out of it. Turn it over a couple times and do this for about 3 days. Use lots of salt.
This salt doesn't seem to soak in the cheese it just draws water out of it developing a rind. I have found that this really speeds up the drying process and with my cold temperatures in the hourse it works better than letting it air dry.
After brining the cheese put the cheese on a rack to air dry for a couple to a few days, possibly a week, and it will get a slight yellowish hue. I then put the cheese in a Foodsaver bag, suck the air out with the Foodsaver machine and then a double seal.
Jalapeno cheddar uses about 6-7 fresh jalapeno peppers for 4-5 gallons of milk. I boil the whole peppers for a couple minutes to sterilize them. Then with rubber gloves I take the seeds out and stem, then whirl them in the food processor. If you really like it hot, leave the seeds in. Update, I am using dried jalapeno flakes and they work fine also.
I wash my hands a lot when making cheese and make sure everything is steam sterilized. Any bad bacteria or yeast can ruin all of your hard work.
I also start the cheese about 12 noon. It needs to be started by this time to get through all the steps and get it in the press for the 12 hour final pressing overnight.
This looks like a big daunting process but once you get the hang of it, it is simple and easy. Just getting the timing down for each step.
When the cheese is aged which is 4 mos. or longer for my liking at about 48- 50 degrees, a year aging is best though. I keep in the fridge after opening and it is a hard type cheddar that doesn't mold easily while you enjoy it for a couple weeks.
You can age at 35 degrees in a refrigerator for a couple years and it will even taste better since a different mold will grow at that temperature rather than the mold that grows at around 50 degrees.
Since this is a low moisture cheese it would be good for long term storage in the Foodsaver bag.
This cheese cuts and tastes better at room temperature. It is softer and doesn't flake as much as when cold.
Put an inch of water in a 5 gallon stainless stock pot. Put curd cutting knife and long handled spoon inside and steam sterilize with the lid on for 8 minutes. Empty water out.
Put the stock pot in a large stainless bowl with some water in it to be a double boiler. Enough water to go about 1-2 inches up the stock pot.
Put on burner on high heat. Add the milk, 4-5 gallons. Stir this till it reaches 80F on your cheese thermometer. Now I lift this out of the double boiler and sit the stock pot on the counter on a towel. I don't want the milk to heat over the 80- 83F. This can weigh over 40 lbs., so beware, you'll need some muscles.
I only use raw milk. I have used milk a week old with no problems and I have used frozen milk. My LaMancha milk doesn't get goaty even a week old.
Add 1- 1 1/2 cups of active plain yogurt at the 80F mark. I use Trader Joes organic yogurt as a starter. I used to make my own yogurt but got lazy. Put the yogurt in a bowl with some milk and whisk it up, then add to the milk and stir a couple minutes. Put the lid on and wrap a couple towels around the whole stock pot to keep it warm. The milk will now sit for a 1/2 hour. Even an hour won't hurt.
Now take 1/4 cup of COLD distilled water or filtered water and add 1 Junket Rennet tablet and sit it in the fridge and let it dissolve.
After 1/2 hr. or so, stir while slowly pouring the dissolved Junket Rennet tablet in the water, into the pot of milk. I also stir the dissolved rennet in the water before pouring into the milk. Stir the rennet and milk well for about 2 minutes. Now wrap it all up again to contain the heat. I use 1 tablet for 5 gallons, generally. If I want the milk to set up in and hour I use up to 2 1/2 - 3 tablets of Junket.
After about 4-8 hours check to see if the curd breaks clean. If not let it sit longer. Check every 1/2 hour. A clean curd won't stick at all to your well washed finger. I use a spoon to check the curd. More Junket rennet tablets will curd the milk faster but it takes about 3 tablets to curd it in an hour.
When the milk has solidified cut it into 1/4 inch cubes. let this sit for 10 minutes. You'll have to have a book to see how it is cut. I always have uncut pieces so after I cut the curds and they sit for 10 minutes I go through it stirring and cutting the curds that need it, to around the 1/2 " or less size, with the large stirring spoon.
Now put the stock pot back in the large stainless bowl with the water and heat it up to 90F, put it back on the counter and wrap it up again with the towels for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, stirring a couple times to prevent the curds from sticking together. Put it back in the large stainless bowl with water in it and heat it to 98-100F. Now let it sit for about an hour. Try to break the curd up a couple times again during this time, since it will want to mat, but this mat can always be broken up I've found.
I now pour the curds and whey into a clean boiled pillow case, I set the pillow case in a large plastic basket strainer from the Asian store to do this, in the kitchen sink. After the curds drain I put the curds back in the stock pot and add sea salt to the curds. Probably a couple tablespoons, this is where I'm careful to not over salt and taste it to make sure. I put the stock pot back in the waterbath and heat it up some to keep the curds warm as I stir with my carefully washed hand. They need to be warm to press together at about 100 F. Too much heat in the water bath and they will melt together, so watch the heat. If it seems there is too much salt, I have added some boiled cooled to 100F water and drained it off to dilute the salt. I don't like a cheese that is too salty.
Stir the salt well with the curds. At this time is when the chopped Jalapeno's or Jalapeno pepper flakes, are added. I have also used chipotle pepper flakes, black pepper, Saffron.
I now dump the curds back in the pillow case and form into a ball twisting tight the pillow case. I have an 8 inch diameter plastic basket strainer from the Asian store that this ball fits in nicely. This size works well for 4-5 gallons of milk. Those curds are yummy and squeakey and are great with pineapple chunks.
Now I take this tight ball of cheese in the pillow case and put it in the small basket. I have a stainless steele plate that is out of my pressure cooker that fits on the top and I put this all back in the stock pot and put a 20 lb. flat ended barbell on it for 15 minutes. I stuff towels in the pot to stabilize the barbell so it doesn't get lopsided and fall sideways or tie it to a chair. After that I put a 10 lb. barbell on top for 30 lbs.pressure, then after 1 hour I put another 20 lb. barbell on top of the 20 lb. barbell with the 10lb. barbell going on it. I tie it all to a chair for stability with some heavy elastic. Someday I will get a proper cheese press. But this works fine.
The 50 lbs. of weight will stay for 10-12 hours.
Now take all of the weights off and unwrap the cheese. Trim off sharp edges and it will be more squeakey cheese.
Put a bunch of salt in a deep bowl big enough to hold the cheese and add about 1/2 - 1 cup of water. Put the cheese in it and more salt on top. In about 24 hours more whey will have come out of it. Turn it over a couple times and do this for about 3 days. Use lots of salt.
This salt doesn't seem to soak in the cheese it just draws water out of it developing a rind. I have found that this really speeds up the drying process and with my cold temperatures in the hourse it works better than letting it air dry.
After brining the cheese put the cheese on a rack to air dry for a couple to a few days, possibly a week, and it will get a slight yellowish hue. I then put the cheese in a Foodsaver bag, suck the air out with the Foodsaver machine and then a double seal.
Jalapeno cheddar uses about 6-7 fresh jalapeno peppers for 4-5 gallons of milk. I boil the whole peppers for a couple minutes to sterilize them. Then with rubber gloves I take the seeds out and stem, then whirl them in the food processor. If you really like it hot, leave the seeds in. Update, I am using dried jalapeno flakes and they work fine also.
I wash my hands a lot when making cheese and make sure everything is steam sterilized. Any bad bacteria or yeast can ruin all of your hard work.
I also start the cheese about 12 noon. It needs to be started by this time to get through all the steps and get it in the press for the 12 hour final pressing overnight.
This looks like a big daunting process but once you get the hang of it, it is simple and easy. Just getting the timing down for each step.
When the cheese is aged which is 4 mos. or longer for my liking at about 48- 50 degrees, a year aging is best though. I keep in the fridge after opening and it is a hard type cheddar that doesn't mold easily while you enjoy it for a couple weeks.
You can age at 35 degrees in a refrigerator for a couple years and it will even taste better since a different mold will grow at that temperature rather than the mold that grows at around 50 degrees.
Since this is a low moisture cheese it would be good for long term storage in the Foodsaver bag.
This cheese cuts and tastes better at room temperature. It is softer and doesn't flake as much as when cold.
The end result, cheese!
Cream separating using a DeLaval electric cream separater.
I now just let the cream rise for a few days and siphon the skim out of the bottom of the jar of milk.
I now just let the cream rise for a few days and siphon the skim out of the bottom of the jar of milk.
Actually letting the cream rise for a few days and siphoning the milk out from the bottom of the jar is much easier then using the cream separator. I have about 3 feet of silicone rubber dairy hose that works really good for this.
Finally I put together a cheese cave. This is a picture of the temperature controller. I bought this off of Amazon.com. It is sold for making a kegerator for beer. It has a long copper wire with a probe that is put in the freezer or refridgerator to act as the thermostat. Then the fridge or freezer is plugged into this unit. This controller is about $60.00, including shipping.
This freezer died and the neighbors gave me a free freezer.
I keep the cave at 35 degrees to slow aging since I have enough cheese to use. A lower temperature will make a different bacteria inoculate the cheese than a higher temperature. I like the taste of the low temperature bacteria.
You can faintly see the cream line in this jar of milk, after sitting in the fridge for about 4 days. I was amazed that it was half the jar. If you don't have a cream separator you can use a dairy hose. It is actually less hassle than using a cream separator. I use a larger diameter silicone rubber dairy hose and I have a brush with a long wire to clean out the hose. I then boil the hose to further sanitize it.
A lovely mold growing on this future Blue Cheese.
I have way too much cheese so now I am making Ghee or clarified butter. It can be canned to keep a long time and is great for cooking. I also make drained yogurt which I use like Chevre.
I let the milk sit till the cream rises, about 4-7 days then siphon the skim out the bottom with a 36" silicone rubber dairy hose. Then I let the left over skim milk sit till it turns into Bonny Clabber to feed to the chickens.
I use a Vitamix to make butter with the cream.
I let the milk sit till the cream rises, about 4-7 days then siphon the skim out the bottom with a 36" silicone rubber dairy hose. Then I let the left over skim milk sit till it turns into Bonny Clabber to feed to the chickens.
I use a Vitamix to make butter with the cream.