Making cheese 2016 into 2017

[mcrx]

Oh Man! Awesome!
So, where might one find this stuff in the States? I was just over watching Gavin soy yogurt recipe. Cool! Except I am not sure the sweetened yogurt will work with my savoring. :/ but it would still be great and possibly save significant money on the store bought soy yogurts!

 

[blissful]

Oh Man! Awesome!
So, where might one find this stuff in the States? I was just over watching Gavin soy yogurt recipe. Cool! Except I am not sure the sweetened yogurt will work with my savoring. :/ but it would still be great and possibly save significant money on the store bought soy yogurts!

There are a half dozen or more non dairy yogurt cultures available on Amazon. Another place I buy from is the New England Cheese Making Supply Company. Good Luck!!

 

[blissful]

There is a cheese available throughout Michigan that comes from a town named Pinconing. The cheese is called Pinconing, and comes in medium, sharp, and extra sharp. The extra sharp is aged just as you would cheddar, and has all the flavor and texture of a 5 to 7 year aged cheddar, even the mineral crystals.

Pinconing cheese is an aged Colby style cheese that was first made in Pinoning Michigan. It is a rich, semi-soft cheese that at room temperature will saturate you pallate with delight. The extra sharp is crubly though, and has to be sliced with a sharp knife, or cheese knife, as a wire cutter simply causes the cheese slice to disintegrate.

Three days ago, the cheese man in australia put out his video Ask The Cheese Man #19, at about 25 minutes (of one hour), he is asked, what is pinconing cheese and he says it is a colby that is aged for a longer time. I thought that was neat that he, like you, mentioned it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsmS92jxUvY

Well, I'm into the cheese tasting part of my cheesy adventure now.

Here is the guinness infused cheese. It turned out quite good. It has that slightly bitter beer taste which the salt balances, the texture is very solid, it was pressed quite hard at 50lbs, and it is drier but not crumbly. A slice holds together quite well. If I make it again, I'll boil down the guinness to a syrup so the curds will still be beige in the middle but the syrup will be more black coloring the outsides of the curds. The way mine turned out it was all the same beige and not as distinctive as I had hoped. The holes are mechanical, created when the curds are pressed.

We un-waxed this next cheese, 2 months old, Gouda1, last night. Delicious! Creamy with a tangy taste at the end, stayed in nice slices once refrigerated, had some cracks horizontally probably from gas produced. We are thrilled with this one, a good snacking cheese that won't last long around here. I'll be making some again right away because we just love it.

 

[taxlady]

Thank you for the update.

 

[skilletlicker]

I am mightily impressed. Not enough to follow you, but enough to wish a neighbor would so we could barter.

 

[blissful]

I am mightily impressed. Not enough to follow you, but enough to wish a neighbor would so we could barter.

I'm a fan of bartering too. Wish we were neighbors!

 

[blissful]

Since my last check in here...(my last confession, father, was 2 weeks ago...)

I made:
gouda3
gouda4
manchego1
manchego2 (that smells like a smelly parmesan, which I like)
orange cheddar curds
white cheddar curds
Another set of meso and thermo mother cultures enough for 32 batches of cheese.

Tomorrow I'm making some cheddar curds.

I caught up with a girlfriend from college days, way back when, and we have been emailing. She's in California, I told her a little about the cheese thing, and sent pictures. She says, "I'm on my way and I need to taste each one."

Does anyone know when a good time of year, is good for mailing cheese? With 80 to 100 degree F temperatures, I'm sure the cheese would be unhappy at those temperatures. Anyone have ideas?

 

[blissful]

Starting something new. There are the basic thermo and meso bacteria cultures, the propionic shermanii (for holes in swiss types), the blue cheese culture, flora danica (a type of meso culture for that aromatic buttery smell), and now finally I bought some b. linens type. The B. linens creates an orange or red mold that is found in tilsit, muenster, limberger and other cheeses that have that smelly socks type smell. (as if we don't have enough culture or stink!?!)

I'm making some tilsit, a washed rind cheese. After it is made pressed (?) and brined, it is washed with a salt solution for its life. This is a cheese that is not actually pressed with any weight, it compacts under its own weight. Washing it every other day to 2 times per week, this can be aged for 2 months to 6 months and a red/orange mold will color the outside rind. I'm looking forward to eating this cheese.

 

[bossman150]

Have you tried making cottage cheese? It seems like purchased cottage cheese is such a crap shoot. No matter what brand you buy you get a good container about 1 in 8-10 tries. When you get a good one it is so good, just perfect distinct individual curds, whether large or small, just enough moisture and good slightly salty taste. Most of them you get are mush with no distinct curds and almost paste like and tasteless. Sometimes you can rescue them by adding a bit of milk but I end up throwing so much of it away.

I have had homemade a few times at a restaurant and that is always good. I have heard its easy to make but have never been brave enough to try.

 

[Dawgluver]

You're right about store-bought cottage cheese, bossman. Most of what I can get around here is consistently inconsistent, though a local brand has a lesser chance of being swill, usually 1 time out of three. The other brands are indeed a crapshoot. The Amana Colonies have home-made, but it's a bit of a drive to get there.

 

[blissful]

I've only made the cottage cheese one time and it was delicious. I could see a big difference between the curds from the whole milk (less defined) in one pan and the 1% milk (much more defined) in another pan.

I used a recipe with a meso culture (culture 3 hours at 86 degrees F), a few drops of rennet, 1/4 t. calcium chloride/gallon. Cut the curds in 1/2 to 3/4 inch (and they shrink a lot when cooking and cooling). Then going from 86 degrees F and raising temperature over 60 to 90 minutes to 114 degrees F. (curds each form more of a skin on their outside giving them shape--think of a curd like a delicate water balloon, the balloon portion holding the shape and the inside being soft and creamy) Stirring very gently, very, the entire time. Then cooling by dunking in cold water and then in ice water. In the cooling time, if you are not very gentle, you will break up the curd.

Then I added salt and I add cream--but the cream is optional. Cottage cheese and all cheeses' curds are very fragile and any roughness in handling them does break them up, so I treat them like the most delicate things. I've ruined batches of mozzarella from rough handling. Just be patient and gentle.

There are also recipes for vinegar cottage cheese that I've never tried. Some recipes take 3 hours and some go overnight. If you google making cottage cheese, take a look at the curd to see if it turns out how you want it, with individual curds or mashed. I'm a fan of individual curds too.

I found that the cottage cheese was very refreshing and delicious. The skim/1% milk is a better milk to use (and just add the cream in later) because the curds are well defined and the remaining whey is clear. Using whole milk doesn't give me well defined curds and the resulting whey is milky (not clear).

This homemade cottage cheese only lasted about a week, first some whey came out (watery whey), and then it started to spoil, so I would only make 1 gallon batches at a time.

I hope you give it a try, no matter which recipe you follow, and try to get it to the consistency and richness that you like. Good luck.

 

[blissful]

I made the tilsit on 7-1 and then french muenster on 7-3 both use the smelly type bacteria b. linens. I wash these cheeses' rinds every 2-3 days in a salt brine, clean out their ripening boxes, put them back in the cheese cave. The rinds should turn to an orange/red color. The smell is like going to the cheese factory in mid-wisconsin where they make aged brick, a very distinctive odor. These will be edible in 6-10 weeks and we are really looking forward to them. Both recipes I used were the Gavin Webber recipes and methods. These would all be in the same family of using b.linens bacteria: tilsit, muenster, aged brick, Limburger.

 

[Dawgluver]

(Packs suitcase, heads to Blissful's house for cottage cheese)

 

[blissful]

Dawg! ha ha, I wish I had some in the house right now! I love cottage cheese in a bowl, dipped up with lay's potato chips, or spread on some hot buttered toast-the toast needs to be hot and the cottage cheese needs to be cold. A stuffed tomato with cottage cheese and french dressing on the top.
I haven't made cream cheese yet (because we seem to stockpile it) and that would be just as much of a pleasure to me as the cottage cheese.

 

[bossman150]

I've only made the cottage cheese one time and it was delicious. I could see a big difference between the curds from the whole milk (less defined) in one pan and the 1% milk (much more defined) in another pan.

I used a recipe with a meso culture (culture 3 hours at 86 degrees F), a few drops of rennet, 1/4 t. calcium chloride/gallon. Cut the curds in 1/2 to 3/4 inch (and they shrink a lot when cooking and cooling). Then going from 86 degrees F and raising temperature over 60 to 90 minutes to 114 degrees F. (curds each form more of a skin on their outside giving them shape--think of a curd like a delicate water balloon, the balloon portion holding the shape and the inside being soft and creamy) Stirring very gently, very, the entire time. Then cooling by dunking in cold water and then in ice water. In the cooling time, if you are not very gentle, you will break up the curd.

Then I added salt and I add cream--but the cream is optional. Cottage cheese and all cheeses' curds are very fragile and any roughness in handling them does break them up, so I treat them like the most delicate things. I've ruined batches of mozzarella from rough handling. Just be patient and gentle.

There are also recipes for vinegar cottage cheese that I've never tried. Some recipes take 3 hours and some go overnight. If you google making cottage cheese, take a look at the curd to see if it turns out how you want it, with individual curds or mashed. I'm a fan of individual curds too.

I found that the cottage cheese was very refreshing and delicious. The skim/1% milk is a better milk to use (and just add the cream in later) because the curds are well defined and the remaining whey is clear. Using whole milk doesn't give me well defined curds and the resulting whey is milky (not clear).

This homemade cottage cheese only lasted about a week, first some whey came out (watery whey), and then it started to spoil, so I would only make 1 gallon batches at a time.

I hope you give it a try, no matter which recipe you follow, and try to get it to the consistency and richness that you like. Good luck.

Thank you! I will try this sometime!

 

[bossman150]

You're right about store-bought cottage cheese, bossman. Most of what I can get around here is consistently inconsistent, though a local brand has a lesser chance of being swill, usually 1 time out of three. The other brands are indeed a crapshoot. The Amana Colonies have home-made, but it's a bit of a drive to get there.

The Machine Shed in Des Moines serves homemade cottage cheese and it is out of this world. I asked one time but I can't remember if they get it from the Amana Colonies or another local outfit.

 

[blissful]

Dawg, I think it might have been you that was also curious as I was about whether the sage/spinach derby would have rotted due to the spinach content.

Well, I did open it up and the spinach/sage was fine in it, so no rotting. The spinach/sage mixture went into the large curds with salt, so that may have helped. The only drawback is that the large cut curds were dry or on the dry side, so the spinach/sage stuff, doesn't make good glue, and the curds are prone to falling apart. The cheese smells wonderful, very cheddary with a hint of sage. Texture, not so great, falls apart easily. I can see shredding it and using it in casseroles but not on cheese platters.

The tilsit and muenster are still being washed and aging.

These are the dog days of summer. I'd sure like some cooler weather for putzing in the kitchen. I've been canning, and it's hot and humid. Not my favorite thing.

 

[blissful]

Made cheddar white curds on 8/1.
Havarti2 on 8/2.
Havarti3 today 8/4.
Some of the recipes for harvarti have them air dry and waxed instead of washing the rinds for weeks. That's the direction I'm going today.

 

[blissful]

I ground up the sage derby and used it on top of garlic, butter, crusty loaf, delicious.
Butterkase2 and butterkase3, today manchego3, tomorrow manchego4. These are gonna be gifts for christmas and trades. I'm all in favor of trades.

 

[blissful]

Two wonderful smelly cheeses 4 and 2 weeks from being ready.

Aging muenster:

Aging Tilsit: