We haven’t been able to keep up with the demand for our soft cow cheese, so we decided to make a big batch this week. It’s bigger than we realized! We’ve used everything we can think of to drain it in. Yes, those are (washed and sanitized) pillow cases. Lol! The good news is, we’ll [...]
Posts under ‘Cheesemaking’
Of Rennet and Fine Cheese
Last year we received several inquiries (and at least one complaint) about the rennet we were using. Rennet is the compound that contains the enzymes that coagulate the milk, which allows the curds to be separated from the whey. Typically, rennet comes from one of three sources: the traditional veal rennet, which is extracted from [...]
Cheese Cave Envy
We’re planning a new cheese cave, so we’re exploring how others do their cheese caves. Check out this beautiful cave (one of five) at the world-famous Artisan Premium Cheese specialty store in New York City! Ours won’t be as grand (we’re on a smaller budget), but we do hope to create some impressive cheeses when [...]
Meeting A Pioneer
One of the highlights of our vacation was meeting with Courtney Haas in Sutton, NH. When I was a kid, Courtney moved to town and began raising goats and making cheese. This was back in the 1970s, when there were few artisan cheesemakers. She struggled, she became successful, and she shared her experience with an [...]
Wisconsin recommends waiving storage temp requirements for hard cheese
When we make hard cheese, we process the curds at about 95 degrees, then we handle and press them at room temperature. Cheddar (shown above during the Cheddaring process) spends 24-48 hours at room temperature before it goes to the cave. The law requires our cave to be above 35 degrees – most caves are [...]
Getting Into Her Work
Our production manager really gets into her work! Here she reaches to the bottom of the vat for the last of the cheese…
Making Goat Cheese in Spain
I found this very cool article on the Mother Earth News website. Originally published in 1975, it offers recipes and insight into the traditional art of making goat cheese in Andalusia – complete with the making of traditional rennet. We’ll stick with non-animal rennet, thanks… but the observations on making cheese are fascinating and inspiring. [...]
Buttermilk as Cheese Culture
CheeseForum.org offers instructions on how to use fresh buttermilk as a mesophilic culture for making cheese. Mesophilic cultures are used for many cultured cheeses, from Queso Blanco to Chevre, Jack to Tome. We offered a simple recipe for making cheese from buttermilk here.
Q&A: Does Goat Cheese Contain lactose?
Q: Does Goat cheese have lactose in it? A: Goat milk has about the same amount of lactose as cow milk. However, the cheese making process converts lactose to lactic acid, which is what gives cheese its flavor. The longer a cheese is aged, the less lactose it has – and this is true of [...]
Tips on Sanitation for Home Dairying
If you want to make great cheese, you have to start with good, clean milk. When we first started milking for our own use, we used a simple wood milking stand and mostly plastic equipment. This would never pass inspection for a licensed dairy, but works well for home dairying. The main thing is, anything [...]
