Cheesemaking Trials

Reader Contribution by Ilene White-Freedman
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I pulled two gallons of goat milk out of the deep freezer with cheddar cheese on my mind. It’s winter and I have time to dedicate a day to cheesemaking. I milk a goat from May to October. I have enjoyed making easy goat milk products — yogurt and chevre. This spring I may have two goats to milk, so I want to be prepared with extra ways to use the milk. I want to try out cheddar, feta, soft cheese and mozzarella. This begins my cheesemaking trials.

During the busy farming season I froze extra milk, preparing for this day. I spent all day heating to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, add enzyme, let it sit. Add rennet, let it sit. Cut curd, let it sit. I liked this one: Raise the temperature of the curds slowly, increasing temperature no more than two degrees every five minutes. Maintain 95 degrees, letting it sit. Fill the plastic mold with the curds and press for 15 minutes at twenty pounds pressure; an hour at thirty pounds pressure; 12 hours at fifty pounds pressure, gently peeling off the cheesecloth and flipping the cheese in between each. Amazingly, at the end of the day, I had two pounds of pressed curds that looked impressively cheese-like. My little cheddar in the making.

Cheesemaking seems like magic. I know it is a science and an art.

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