Hi fellow cheese making enthusiasts. Pat L. got me interested in cheese making and also informed me about this forum. So far I have made only 6 batches of two l.b. cheeses ,2 soft and four hard and I have found this forum interesting and friendly. My hard cheeses are aging and I hope to start enjoying them around x.mass time.
I plan to make cheese about every two weeks. The last one I did is a raw milk Colby and I found a discussion about Colby on here that was very useful.
R-dub
Welcome to you both. I’ve been making cheese for only a little over a year and its a hobby I have thoroughly enjoyed - and so have a lot of my friends. I admire your patience - waiting til Christmas to eat your first cheese! How about a suggestion? Next cheese you make needs to be a short term cheese, so you can enjoy it fairly soon. I’d suggest a Manchego Fresco. Its ready in only a week, and it tastes good. Nice firm texture too.
I met up with my local “raw milk co-op” this afternoon and got 2 more gallons of very fresh raw milk. looks like over a half quart of cream in each gallon.
Now I have to decide what recipe to do??????
R-dub
I met up with my local “raw milk co-op” this afternoon and got 2 more gallons of very fresh raw milk. looks like over a half quart of cream in each gallon.
Now I have to decide what recipe to do??????
R-dub
Go for a Cotswold - it is so aromatic that you’ll enjoy even the drying phase. A gorgeous cheese! I’m anxiously awaiting the cutting of my first one; but will most likely make a second before then for a longer age.
I met up with my local “raw milk co-op” this afternoon and got 2 more gallons of very fresh raw milk. looks like over a half quart of cream in each gallon.
Now I have to decide what recipe to do??????
R-dub
I met up with my local “raw milk co-op” this afternoon and got 2 more gallons of very fresh raw milk. looks like over a half quart of cream in each gallon.
Now I have to decide what recipe to do??????
R-dub
I think I decided on the cotswald this time.
I want to add a little salt to it I think.
The last batch of cheese I made was a raw milk colby and I did not pasturize.
I decided to do this for 3 reasons.
I read in Ricki Carrolls book that raw milk flavors were very good.
And the dairy that the milk comes from is legally allowed to sell raw milk in my state because they are U.S.D.A. inspected once a month and have a raw milk permit.
The third reason was that the book did say that if you use raw milk you have to age the cheese at least 60 days. For what ever reason ,wasn’t too clear to me.
But I decided to take my chances.
The Cotswold is a great choice; and I think you’re right about adding salt. For my 4 Gal batch I used 3 Tbsp each of diced onion tops (I was out of chives), dried onion and salt. I just mixed all three together and added them to the drained curd. It worked out real well.
...if you use raw milk you have to age the cheese at least 60 days. For what ever reason ,wasn’t too clear to me.
But I decided to take my chances.
It is not a matter of taking chances, it might be harmful. So, we pasteurize milk at 72 deg C for 15 sec in order to destroy all pathogens regardless of your milk supplier standards. It is supposed (actually tested) that after a 60 days period, those harmful pathogens will be destroyed.
Now you can make your decisions based upon facts.
O.k.
The milk is in the double boiler and I think I will take your advice and pasturize.
My book says 145 f for 30 minutes then cool quickli in a sink with ice water.
Well, pasturizing took longer than I thought so I washed the milk containers out and sanitized them with Idophor and then rinsed them out and returned the milk to the refrigerator until tomorrow afternoon.
I has disolved a packet of mesophilic starter in distilled water this eve.
Do you think it will keep until tomorrow eve in the frige if I cover the container with cling wrap?
