The Cheese Thread

[agraham]

The parmalat organic milk is available as unhomogenised.

I will be using some of the low fat variety to make my romano cheese this weekend

 

[brendanos]

I still haven't run into any unhomogenised milk in WA! I've tried a few Woolies/Coles, Fruit & Veg stores and health stores but to no avail. (Cheers for all the tips though kaizer, will report back if I find some!)

I made 3 types of soft cheese (aka bag cheese) tonight to give to my mum tomorrow. A light buttermilk cheese (half whole milk), whole-milk ricotta, and panir.

The buttermilk was made by leaving 600ml of buttermilk at room temperature for a day, then mixed with 600ml whole milk and heated directly til it curdled (at 50-60C) then bagged and sieved. From 1.2L I got about 200 grams of cheese. It's soft like cream cheese and pleasantly tart.

The ricotta failed on first attempt, as I added cream before heating, rather than after draining of the curds, and it never curdled. Second attempt I used 1.5L of whole milk, 1/2tspn citric acid, and some cheese salt. It curdled just short of 80C. I mixed a bit of the failed batch (which was creamy and sour) into the finished ricotta (as i'd ran out of cream) and it tastes great. Approx 325mls/375grams yield.

For the panir i added 50ml lemon juice to 1.5L whole milk once boiling, flameout, stirred, let sit for a while then bagged, rinsed and drained. Yielded approx 350grams. Despite rinsing I still ended up with a pretty obvious lemon flavour in the cheese. Pretty bland otherwise, I guess it was boring milk.

 

[benno1973]

I still haven't run into any unhomogenised milk in WA! I've tried a few Woolies/Coles, Fruit & Veg stores and health stores but to no avail. (Cheers for all the tips though kaizer, will report back if I find some!)

Hey brendanos,

Yep, I've looked long and hard in Coles/Woolies/IGA etc and found nothing. Although my sister-in-law rang the other night to confirm that Fresh Provisions in Mt Lawley stock 2L cartons of unhomogenised milk, which isn't tooooo far away from you.

 

[brendanos]

Oh yeah I went there yesterday, and found 2L organic unhomogenised whole milk from busselton ($5.79), 1L avon valley cream line ($7), 1L frozen unpasteurised goats milk from busselton ($4.50) and some unhomogenised skim milk (1L) that i guess would be great for hard cheeses. Thanks!

 

[KHB]

Well, even though the Linz is waiting eagerly for the camembert to ripen, I don't think it's gonna do so well......once I wrapped them everything went south - they got too humid and turned on me...... any ideas? Can you just turn up the cheese cave (fridge) temp once they're covered in mould and leave them unwrapped? I'll post a picture once I get up the courage....

I spoke to a local cheese maker as i am getting a kit for my bday and she said they basically wrap them once the mould is developed after about a week and store @ 1-4 degrees

 

[Cummins]

So how long does this cheese last? I did one.. well cant be bothered reading up in this thread... but i think it was last october. It is still in the fridge! I never wrapped it or anything. Is it time to chuck it out or what? Tried it a few months ago and it was ridiculously bitter and strong tasting in a good way. Is is still ok?

 

[ibast]

Hi guy,

thought I'd drop you a note to let you know I've kicked off my first cheese. I got the Camembert kit from Country Brewer. The only variation I did so far was was use some bean cans on top of some aluminum discs to press the cheese.

How do you guys go about aging? Controlled fridge, standard fridge or in the bottom of a cool cupboard or similar?

Danny

 

[AndrewQLD]

Hi guy,

thought I'd drop you a note to let you know I've kicked off my first cheese. I got the Camembert kit from Country Brewer. The only variation I did so far was was use some bean cans on top of some aluminum discs to press the cheese.

How do you guys go about aging? Controlled fridge, standard fridge or in the bottom of a cool cupboard or similar?

Danny

Hi Danny,

I have a small counter top fridge I use for maturing my cheeses, the Camembert sit in there in a container with the temp set at 12 for about 4 weeks, I then wrap them and store in a normal fridge until ready to use.

I just finished my last camembert that was probably about 2 months old, this cheese was fantastic, when it was taken out of the fridge and brought back to room temp, it started to flow when it was cut. Very creamy with a strong camembert flavour.
By the way, you don't need to press your soft cheese styles such as camembert and Blues.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[ibast]

By the way, you don't need to press your soft cheese styles such as camembert and Blues.

Thanks, I'll try that next time. I was more trying to reduce the 5 hrs of turning and waiting.

Does anyone know what happens if you substitute some of the milk (say 600ml) for cream? do you get a creamier cheese or more curd or both?

So many questions.

 

[Kai]

You'll get a creamier cheese, yes. But you'll need to be a little more careful with the set and draining the curd, higher fat can make the whole process a little more fickle.

 

[brendanos]

You'll get a creamier cheese, yes. But you'll need to be a little more careful with the set and draining the curd, higher fat can make the whole process a little more fickle.

I'll second that notion. I decided to "improvise" on a ricotta recipe (the recipe was quite vague as to when to add cream) by adding the cream before coagulation........... turns out it never coagulated. I learnt the same lesson as I did with beer, which is, follow recipes until you really understand what's going on!

 

[bL@De]

Hi Guys,
I am starting my cheese making hopefully over the weekend (Camembert for starters), a few questions have come up after reading the Country Brewer instructions and from reading the few threads which are around here.

1- Is a starter required? can't the Culture / Mould blend be put into the milk once bought up to 32C?

2- Calcium chloride is this still required if using non homogenised milk?

3- When putting the milk in after the mould blend heads in it would be ideal to leave the temp at around 32C? This looks to be the case right up until you are ready to put the curds in the moulds.

4- Aging can be done 15C for 8 - 10 days in a cool humid environment, what is the best way to get the humidity up? A bowl of water inside the box keeping it at the desired temp? I did get the ripening container with the kit does this need to be completely sealed or left slightly open with a bowl of water near the container?

I reckon that's about it for the time being, will keep you all updated when I finally get started

Thanks

Cheers
Darren

 

[ibast]

I'd be interested in the answers of 1-3, but I can help you with 4. The excess whey and the paper towel in the bottom of the container provide enough humidity for aging. Not need fro a container of water. Also the standard container was fine with the clips done up.

 

[capretta]

Hi Guys,
I am starting my cheese making hopefully over the weekend (Camembert for starters), a few questions have come up after reading the Country Brewer instructions and from reading the few threads which are around here.

1- Is a starter required? can't the Culture / Mould blend be put into the milk once bought up to 32C?

2- Calcium chloride is this still required if using non homogenised milk?

3- When putting the milk in after the mould blend heads in it would be ideal to leave the temp at around 32C? This looks to be the case right up until you are ready to put the curds in the moulds.

4- Aging can be done 15C for 8 - 10 days in a cool humid environment, what is the best way to get the humidity up? A bowl of water inside the box keeping it at the desired temp? I did get the ripening container with the kit does this need to be completely sealed or left slightly open with a bowl of water near the container?

I reckon that's about it for the time being, will keep you all updated when I finally get started

Thanks

Cheers
Darren

1. a starter isnt neccesary, just helps the cheese develop flavour, which you may or may not prefer..
2. why not chuck it in? cant hurt, but i am of the understanding that cacl is there to reverse the effects of homogonisation..
3. not sure of question
4. i put my cheese in a large tupperware container, on a plastic rack ,then put 1/2 inch of water under the cheese with the lid of the tupperware slightly open..

happy cheeseing

 

[bL@De]

Thanks for the help guys, nice and quick too

Re question 3 what I meant was is it ideal to keep the temperature 32 degrees right up until the cheese goes into the moulds, after reading the instructions again it seems this is the case.

What temperature would you generally try and keep it at capretta when maturing?

 

[capretta]

oh i think i get it, the temp is best kept at 32 right up until you remove the curds. 32 is for the mesophilic cultures and i think it assists the rennet in forming a tight curd, so after removing the curd i just leave it at room temp, whatever that happens to be.. check out andrewqld s photo session at the start of this thread for handy tips.. good luck

 

[RobB]

I still haven't run into any unhomogenised milk in WA!

I have heard that there is a source of unhomogenised and unpasteurised milk in Perth, and it's pretty close to you Brendan!

Organic on Charles (on Charles Street, strangely enough) sells "Cleopatra Milk", so named because you're meant to bathe in it. After all, it would be illelgal to sell it for human consumption, right? It sounds a bit like the stills which are sold in homebrewing shops but which are only meant to be used for extracting essential oils.

I haven't seen it with my own eyes and I have also heard it gets snapped up pretty quickly, so ring ahead before you go.

Cheers,

Rob

 

[braufrau]

Oh yeah I went there yesterday, and found 2L organic unhomogenised whole milk from busselton ($5.79), 1L avon valley cream line ($7), 1L frozen unpasteurised goats milk from busselton ($4.50) and some unhomogenised skim milk (1L) that i guess would be great for hard cheeses. Thanks!

Holey moley! I think we must be spoilt here! $3.90 for 2l of biodynamic jersey milk. :icon_drool2:

 

[RobB]

I have heard that there is a source of unhomogenised and unpasteurised milk in Perth, and it's pretty close to you Brendan!

Organic on Charles (on Charles Street, strangely enough) sells "Cleopatra Milk", so named because you're meant to bathe in it. After all, it would be illelgal to sell it for human consumption, right? It sounds a bit like the stills which are sold in homebrewing shops but which are only meant to be used for extracting essential oils.

I haven't seen it with my own eyes and I have also heard it gets snapped up pretty quickly, so ring ahead before you go.

Cheers,

Rob

An update on this one - If you go to this shop to buy their unpasteurised milk, keep your mouth shut! SWMBO went there yesterday and asked about the milk, but the owner suddenly became very shy. Yes they stock it, no they don't want to talk about it.

Once you announce your intentions to consume the stuff, they're almost obliged to not sell it to you. So just buy your 'bath milk' and leave with a nod and a wink.

 

[brendanos]

Holey moley! I think we must be spoilt here! $3.90 for 2l of biodynamic jersey milk. :icon_drool2:

This is at a 24/7 continental convenience store though, not particularly known for competitive prices. But if it means I can buy organic veges and a lentil bonda at 3am then I don't mind paying for it!

An update on this one - If you go to this shop to buy their unpasteurised milk, keep your mouth shut! SWMBO went there yesterday and asked about the milk, but the owner suddenly became very shy. Yes they stock it, no they don't want to talk about it.

Once you announce your intentions to consume the stuff, they're almost obliged to not sell it to you. So just buy your 'bath milk' and leave with a nod and a wink.

Thanks for the tip off Rob, I'll be sure to make that my next milk stop. I wonder if they expect you to buy 120L, or if a 1:10 diluted milk bath is believable...