Adventures in Cheese Making - Walk this Whey

I've had homemade cheeses before and lovedsimple, buttermilk and yogurt. In the same pot as
how they tasted, but I never got around tothe milk, I poured a half-gallon of milk, one quart
making cheese myself. So one day recently, Iof buttermilk, and a whole container of yogurt. I
mustered up the courage and began the processput in half a pint of heavy cream for good
of learning how to make a simple cheese.measure. I let this sit for a good two hours and
Making cheese is a lot simpler than one mightguess what? It began to curdle. I wanted thicker
think - at least when it comes to making a simplecurds though, so I poured a half-cup of my
cheese. You can make it just by heating milk andhomemade rennet in and the curds got thicker in
adding vinegar, which is fairly similar to the way Ijust a matter of minutes. To promote the growth
improvise on a recipe requiring buttermilk. When Iof the bacteria in the yogurt, I let it sit a while,
make imitation buttermilk, all I do is add lemon towarming it slightly over the stove, careful to not
the milk until it curdles, the only difference is thateven bring it to a simmer.
when it comes to making cheese, you harvestI could now see the curds and the whey. The
the curdled part. The solid substance is called thewhey was a pale yellowish hue and the curds
curd, the leftover liquid is called whey - the samelooked a little bit like scrambled egg whites. I then
curds and whey Miss Muffet enjoyed.lined a colander with cheesecloth and proceeded
This seemed a little too easy and this type ofto filter the curds from the whey. I put the curds
cheese is fairly soft, with an almost cottageinto a bowl and added salt to further help the
cheese-like consistency. I researched a littleremoval of excess liquid. Next, I returned it to the
further to find a way to make a firmer cheese?colander lined with a fresh layer of cheesecloth. I
The answer came... Rennet! Rennet is traditionallywas anxious to taste it, and wow, it actually
made from the stomach of a calf, it is saltedtasted like cheese!
after the beast is slaughtered. You can buyThe next step is optional - putting your cheese in
rennet easily through various cheese-makinga mold and pressing it. To make my press, I
supply websites. I was too impatient to wait torummaged around the kitchen to see what I
get the real stuff, but I found out that therecould use. I took an old plastic sherbet container
were other forms of rennet that would give theand put a bunch of holes in it. I then placed my
same results. After looking for what seemed likecheese curd filled cheesecloth inside and placed it
an eternity, I found a recipe for vegetarianin a large bowl and but a plate on top of my
rennet. I took about a pound of nettle leaves, acurds. Now the problem was having enough
couple of ounces of hops, and some yarrowweight to press it. I placed two big cans of
flowers, put then in a pot and covered it with justtomatoes on top and, voilà, it worked.
enough water to immerse the plants. I brought itAfter pressing it, I put the cheese into the
to a simmer and then let it sit for a while torefrigerator and let it set. It tasted a lot like
steep. I then drained it and added about a cup ofcheddar.
salt.Next time I try to make cheese, I probably use
Another thing that helps in cheese-making isthis same recipe but will try to improve upon it.
conditioning the milk. Through my research IWhen I master this one, then I think I'll feel a little
found that I had to add live cultures... but wheremore like trying a different style of cheese.
to get them? The answer ended up being ratherHappy cheese making!