Yogurt, Part Deux

Yesterday I made my second batch of yogurt, using 3 tablespoons of the previous yogurt batch in place of a starter culture. It worked beautifully! I also decreased the amount of milk from 2 quarts to 1 quart and the end product was significantly thicker. I still used whole milk, though, and eventually want to experiment with lower milk fat. Next time, I will try straining the yogurt through muslin to try for Greek yogurt. Regardless, I'm hooked! Infinitely better than anything store-bought!

How to Make Your Own Cheese Press

Cool link for handy people who want to make their own cheese press:
http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/cheesepress.html

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....

Yogurt

I've been terribly busy for the last few months and haven't had much time to make any cheeses. But yesterday I had an extra hour or two, so I made fresh yogurt! It's incredibly easy to make, keeps for two weeks in your fridge, and tastes worlds better than any store-bought yogurt I've ever had. I plan to make it on a regular basis. Here's the how to:

1. Heat 1-2 quarts of any type of milk (I used 2 quarts of pasteurized whole cow's milk) to 185F.
2. Remove the milk from the heat source and let it cool to 112F.
3. Mix in 1 packet of yogurt starter culture. (I used the Y5 culture from New England Cheesemaking Supply Co., which is supposed to yield a rich, creamy, sweet yogurt. Click HERE for the link.)
4. Cover and keep the temperature at 112F for about 10 hours.

I was a little stumped about how to do #4, and read that some people put the milk/culture mix into the oven, keeping the door closed and the oven light on -- which keeps the interior at about the right temperature. Others place the mixture on an electric heating pad on the low setting. In the end, I decided to purchase a "Yogotherm" unit. This is nothing fancy -- just a bucket inside a bigger bucket with styrofoam in between -- but it does the trick. (WAY overpriced, but apparently it lasts forever and pays for itself in saved yogurt bills in no time.)


I just had some for lunch drizzled with Blueberry Blossom Honey from Red Bee, and it was truly fantastic!!! Here's the finished product:


A couple of additional thoughts:
The yogurt is a little thinner than store-bought varieties, but you can add 1/4 cup dry milk powder or 1 tablespoon of gelatin to make it thicker. I'll try this next time just to see how it works. I'm also going to try it with 2% and maybe even skim milk, as I plan to eat a lot of this and don't want to have to do extra miles on the treadmill to make up for it. Finally, once you have made your first batch, you can save 2-3 tablespoons of the yogurt to use in lieu of the starter culture for your next batch. Once this stops working, use a new packet of yogurt culture and start again.

I also plan to try to make Greek yogurt, which I love! Apparently, this involves hanging the yogurt in a muslin bag to let it drain and thicken. I'll try it soon!

Goat Milk Ricotta with Fruit and Honey

Hi! I've been making a variation of my goat milk ricotta recipe for dessert. The recipe is very easy and the end result is wonderfully light, creamy, and not too sweet. I made this recipe up and each time I make it, I do it a little differently. Basically, just wing it and make it to your individual tastes and preferences. Here's how:

• Make the goat milk ricotta following the recipe I previously posted (May 31).
• After draining and while the cheese is still warm, whip in 3 tablespoons of honey and between 0 and 2 tablespoons of sugar, depending on how sweet you'd like it to be. I've been using Red Bee Artisanal Honeys based in CT (http://www.redbee.com). I particularly like the Blueberry Blossom Honey, and I have a friend who favors the Pumpkin Blossom. They're all wonderful!
  
• If, at this point, the cheese isn't as creamy as you'd like, you can blend in some cream cheese or sour cream, to your liking. Then refrigerate for an hour or more to set.
  
• For the topping, mix together about 3 cups total of berries (I've been using a mix of blueberries and raspberries, and sometimes halved strawberries), some fresh lemon juice, and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar. Let marinate for about an hour, then spoon over the cheese and you're done!

If anyone actually reads this and tries it, let me know what you think! (This is my first, and to date, only original recipe!)



Lisa

Soft Goat Cheese

I just finished making 2 varieties of soft goat cheese, and both turned out great! I'm working on a 3rd type right now. All of these cheeses can be refrigerated and eaten for up to 2 weeks, and all of my ingredients and supplies were purchased on line at the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company (http://www.cheesemaking.com). Here are the recipes:

Plain Soft Goat Cheese
This is a nice, tangy cheese that tastes great on toasted bread!

1. Heat 1/2 gallon pasteurized goat's milk to 76F.
2. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon Flora Danica starter (a mesophilic type culture that adds a buttery taste to soft cheeses).
3. Add 1 tablespoon diluted rennet (1 drop diluted in 5 tbs unchlorinated H2O) and stir. (I use vegetable rennet).
   
4. Cover and let sit for 12-18 hours (the room temperature should be about 70F).
5. Scoop the curds into a goat-cheese mold (a plastic woven basket that lets the whey drain freely) and leave the mold to drain for 2-3 days.
6. Remove the cheese from the mold and lightly salt.

Herbed Soft Goat Cheese
The 2nd variety is an herbed goat cheese. Use the same recipe/process as for the plain cheese, but when scooping the curds into the cheese mold (Step 5 above), sprinkle in layers of the herb (or herbs) of your choice. I used an Herbs de Provence blend, which turned out to complement the tangy goat flavor really well.

Saint Maure
The final variety is called Saint Maure, which is a soft, mold-ripened goat cheese. (My very first moldy cheese!!!!) For this I made a wheel of the plain (unherbed, but salted) goat cheese as described above, then sprayed all surfaces of the wheel with a light mist of a Penicillium Candidum suspension. PC is a white mold that, theoretically, is supposed to grow on the surface of the cheese to give it a white, bloomy rind. To make the suspension, I used 1/8 tsp of PC mold powder suspended in 1 quart of tap water with 1/4 tsp salt. Then shake it up and let the powder rehydrate for 12-18 hours in the refrigerator. (The suspension can keep for up to 60 days.) Now I just have to let the cheese age for 2 weeks at 45F in my old college dorm fridge. The humidity should be around 95%, which is (again, theoretically) accomplished by placing an open pan of H2O in the fridge next to the cheese. Hopefully this will work.....

Goat's-Milk Ricotta

Today I made Whole Goat's-Milk Ricotta for Phil to put in the lasagna he was making for dinner! Very easy and fun! Here's a pic of the ingredients:

And here's the recipe:

• Heat 1 gallon whole goat's milk to 195F, making sure not to boil - which will give the cheese a "cooked" flavor. I did this on the stove rather than in a sink of hot water because the required temp was higher than for the other cheeses I've made and I didn't have to be quite as careful.
• Once the milk hits 195 degrees, slowly stir in 1/4 cup white vinegar. The acid causes the milk to curdle. (This is pretty much what happens when milk spoils, caused by the build-up of lactic acid as it ferments.) You'll see the curds separate from the whey.
• With a slotted spoon, ladle the curds into a colander lined with butter muslin and drain for 1 minute.

• Put the curds into a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda and mix well.

That's all! The whole process took about 30 minutes. Here's the cheese in the lasagna (delicious!):