Blessed are the cheese makers

Now that’s out of the way, are there any home cheese makers on here? Thinking of trying it out, I’ve got some cheese cloth, rennet and cheese culture, there’s a farm shop just up the road from me that sells raw milk, any tips or advice?

No advice, but it’s a noble pursuit!

Thanks, my two culinary extravagances in life are cheese and beer, often together, I have the beer sorted and now produce gallons of the wonderful stuff for mere pennies, now to crack the cheese 😀

‘Like’ 😀

Thought this would help 🙂

Do you have a wooden bucket thing with a plunger?

We used to milk a cow for our own milk (about 30 litres a day) and my partner would make a fair bit of cheese, quark and yoghurt (as in tonnes of it 🙂 ). Proper stuff mind, with a wax covering and all,. She was very good at it. Made it look very easy. If you have any specific questions just ask. I am sure I can get answers for you.

Not a home cheesemaker, but I do it for a living (farmhouse not industrial). I’d start of with pasteurised milk rather than trying to make a raw milk product first time round. If theirs a problem with the milk such as a high bacti count then it could cause issues with your starters not working and in this might just put you off if you’ve limited amounts of raw material. Keep it simple (Derby or Caerphilly to start off with) and move on to something more complex if you like, such as cheddars and blues.

I used to make quite a bit of cheese at home – small rounds make great gifts! No specific tips other than keep everything really clean.

I made a Cheshire type cheese mainly and then wax coated the small rounds (I used PVC drainpipe as a mould). Make sure you record every step and jot down the timings, so when you produce an exceptional specimen, you’ll be able to repeat it. As above, I’d start with pasteurised milk.

I’ve also had a go at a Brie (see below) and a Blue (although Bakey’s Blue Veiner didn’t really sound so appetising to some…)

Would like to give this a try. Can anyone recommend a good website with step by step instructions.

Home Chesemaking by Chris Ashby is a good place to start. Moorlands Cheesemakers are very helpful for ingredients and equipment.

http://www.cheesemaking.co.uk/

Shut up, big nose.

MMmmmmmm…. Cheeeeese 😀

I really fancy a nice wedge of stinky blue cheese now.

Cheese and ale on a summers day is a perfect combo

Thanks BenjiM and bakey for the tips, i hope to get the first batch on this weekend.

Well kicked this off a bit early as i think i may be busy at the weekend, ended up using pasteurized but not homogenized jersey milk from the supermarket, and followed a cheaty cheddar recipe from here,

http://www.theweekendartisan.co.uk/

Seems like a good resource. All went well and i made curds, but as i don’t have a proper cheese press i’m currently pressing it in bodget contraption, so we’ll see how it goes.