Hello everyone. I am new to the forum and also making cheese. I have a question about using raw cows milk. Do you pasteurize it first ? and do you let the cream separate from the milk before attempting to make cheese from it ?

Welcome Misty, glad to have you aboard.  I too use raw milk.  I do not pasteurize, though some people do.  It’s a matter of personal preference.  However, if you do not pasteurize, it is generally recommended that you age your cheese for a minimum of 60 days.  With most cheeses that is not a problem.  A lot depends on how clean your dairy is.

As for removing the cream, don’t - unless you are making a skim milk cheese, or desire to use the cream for other purposes - like sour cream, butter or cream cheese.

So, what kind of cheese are you making?

Thanks for the information. I thought I would start with some of the easier cheeses such as ricotta, cottage, then mozzarella and a simple cheddar cheese. We usually pasteurize our milk before we drink it but I wasn’t sure if the same applied to the cheese making process. What do you use as a cheese cave to age your cheese ?

As far as “easier” cheeses; I don’t know that I’d recommend mozzarella - There aren’t too many of us that get really good results with that one.  When you break into hard cheese, you might think about a Manchego.  It’s easy to make, and it’s ready to eat in a couple weeks.  The sooner you can try your results, the sooner you can make whatever corrections you want. 

I am using an old refrigerator that I got for free when someone was going to throw it out.  You’re going to need a thermostat.  The fridge, or even a freezer, is plugged into the thermostat, which in turn is plugged into the wall outlet.  The thermostat will not allow the fridge to get colder than what you set it for.

Have fun.

Thanks again for the reply and great information

pasteurizeing can change the taste and style of the cheese. It boils down to do u trust the dairy and are they clean.

Welcome to the forum Misty, I too use raw milk, both goat and cow. Here in the Netherlands it’s fully legal to buy it at a farm, in contrast to the regulations from the FDA in the US. I don’t pasteurize the milk and I don’t skim the milk, although it’s recommended for e.g Leiden (with cumin). Whenever I offer some of my cheese to people, I always tell that it’s made from raw milk and (when it’s younger than 60 days) it might be a risk for pregnant women.

I use raw milk also and I don’t pasteurize it. Keep in mind that 60 day rule though. If you aren’t aging for 60 days you should pasteurize it. Home pasteurized milk makes a better curd than the store bought stuff. Of course store bought stuff is pasteurized and homogenized and you don’t know what temperature they pasteurized it at.

I have tried mozzarella a few times and have never made a good one. It’s easier and tastes better if I buy it. That 30 minute one that everybody always tries, has no culture in it, and no flavor. I am not a fan of that one.

Buy a book, make sure you read the procedure sections a couple of times, and get started. I have 4 books, and I love each one of them. There is book section somewhere on the forum.

Keep a good log, for reference when tasting the cheese. If something is wrong, or you want to change some characteristic the log is a good place to start. Some of it turns out to be trial and error, or the famous “I can’t believe I did that” but it’s always fun and interesting to see what you have in the end.

Thanks everyone for the wonderful information. I do trust the dairy I get my milk from, they are very clean. I am planning to purchase a book. I didn’t think of keeping a log, that’s a great idea. I can’t wait to start on this cheese making adventure. wish me luck

The Ricki Carrol book is the best basic starting book that I know of. She has good instructions for just starting, her recipes have always worked for me, and she has a log example as well.