Bondon Cheese

I had some milk left over from the yogurt, so I decided to try a new cow's milk cheese called Bondon. This is a fresh French cheese that's similar to the Neufchâtel that I've previously made. (According to Ricki Carroll from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co., Bondon can also be made using goat's milk, which I might try later.) Recipe:

1. Let 1 quart pasteurized whole milk sit out until it warms to 65F.
2. Add 1 packet direct-set mesophilic starter culture and mix thoroughly.
3. Dilute 1 drop of liquid rennet in 2 tablespoons of cool, unchlorinated water and add to the milk/culture mix. (I use vegetable rennet.)
   
4. Let the mixture sit at 65F for 24 hours.
5. Ladle the curds into butter muslin, tie a knot, and hang it to drain for 8 hours (or until it has stopped dripping).
6. Press the cheese in a cheese press at 15 pounds of pressure for 8 hours to squeeze out extra whey. (Cheese presses are ridiculously expensive, so I stole mine on Ebay. I imagine you could also just place something that weighs about 15 pounds on top of the cheese to get the same results.)
7. Remove from the press and, if grainy or lumpy, force it through a strainer. (I pushed it through 3 times because it was pretty lumpy.)
8. Add salt to taste (if desired).
9. Shape the cheese into a disc (or any shape you like, if you're anti-disc for some reason), wrap in wax paper, and you're done!

I added some thyme to add a little extra flavor and to make it prettier. Here's the finished product:


PS - I just figured out how to add links to my posts, so forgive my overly-enthusiastic linking. The excitement will wear off soon, I'm sure....