Finished curds, coagulated milk is cut into roughly 1/2 inch cubes.

The cut curd is warmed and stirred to allow it to contract, expressing the whey.

Cheese Making Stages

If this is the first time you are making cheese, check out Beginning Cheese Making.

Otherwise, here are the major stages of cheese making:

Stage 1 Action:
Inoculate, incubate the milk

Purpose:
Bacteria slightly acidify (ferment) the milk so that the rennet will act on the milk

Stage 2 Action:
Add the rennet, achieve a clean break

Purpose:
Rennet (a digestive enzyme) digests casein, causing it to become insoluble in water and coagulate.

Stage 3 Action:
Cut and set the curd

Purpose:
Coagulated milk is cut into cubes and warmed to contract the curds (“curds and whey”)

Stage 4 Action:
Separate and salt the curd

Purpose:
Whey is poured off the “curds and whey,” and the curds are salted to preserve them

Stage 5 Action:
Press the curds

Purpose:
Salted curds are loaded into a press which presses out the whey and gives form to the cheese

Stage 6 Action:
Cure the cheese, wax it

Purpose:
Cheese is dried out and bacteria act on the curds to change their taste and consistency. It may be waxed to prevent undesirable dehydration and excessive microbial growth.

One gallon of milk yields about one pound of cheese. You may use any kind of milk for this recipe. I primarily use my own fresh goats’ milk, but have made it quite successfully with cow’s milk from the grocery, and even better with raw cow’s milk from a local farmer.

Once you have mastered this one gallon recipe, follow the 5 gallon recipe to make a larger wheel of cheese.

Ingredients:

One gallon freshest milk (the fewer bacteria present, the more predictable the cheese)
2-3 teaspoonfuls buttermilk (or 1/3rd cup yogurt)
1/4 tablet rennet
Salt

Equipment:

Thermometer, reading -10 to 110oC (0 to 225oF) (I prefer centigrade, but have included Fahrenheit numbers as well)
Wooden mixing spoon, whisk or other stirring device
Stainless steel pot1 , 4-6 qt., with lid, with a thick metal bottom (Al or Cu) to spread the heat, sterilized2 .
8″ strainer or colander (A colander does not allow whey to flow through as fast as a strainer.)
Large handkerchief, sterilized by boiling
Cheese pressing frame (4″ diameter, 5″ tall can, about 20 oz, ends removed, save one end for a follower)

Procedure:

INOCULATE THE MILK: The evening before you plan to make cheese, warm 1 gallon of the freshest milk to 20oC (68 o F) in the sterilized pot. Thoroughly blend in the inoculum of 2-3 tsp buttermilk or 1/3rd cup yogurt as starter . Cover the inoculated milk with the sterilized lid. (The function of this inoculation with bacterial starter is to have the milk fermenting bacteria make lactic acid which lowers the pH so that the rennet will be able to act on the casein.) INCUBATE OVER NIGHT: Let sit at room temperature (R.T.) overnight (20-22oC).

WARM THE MILK: The next morning, warm milk up to 30 oC (take care not to burn it).

3. While the inoculated milk sits, dissolve 1/2 tablet rennet in fresh cool water.

ADD THE RENNET: Add dissolved rennet to the warmed milk , stir to mix thoroughly. Cover, let sit undisturbed for approximately an hour. Be patient. Do not disturb the milk until it has coagulated.

(If the milk is gelatenousand flows across your finger , let sit until a clean break is obtained. Do not stir. This may take as long as 1-2 hours.) Be patient, do NOT disturb the milk. (Here is a link to trouble shoot “clean break” failure .)

ACHIEVE A CLEAN BREAK: Test for completed action of rennet (“clean break “): Probe a clean finger into the (hopefully) gelled milk and lift. If the gel is firm enough to break cleanly as the finger is lifted, go to next step.

CUT THE CURD: Once a clean break is achieved, cut the curd with a long knife : begin at edge of pot, cut straight down to bottom. Cut repeatedly parallel to first cut, but increasing the angle of the knife until reaching other side of pot. Rotate the pot 90 degrees, cut as before . Rotate and cut two more times, yielding ½ inch cubes of curd .

SETTING THE CURD (RAISE AND HOLD THE TEMPERATURE): Place pot over a low fire, stir curd with cleaned bare hand by reaching down to bottom, gently lifting and stirring . Cut larger curds as they appear. Do not mash or squeeze. If you wish to save some soft cottage cheese, remove a portion of the curd at this step before you raise the temperature. Continue stirring for 15 min to prevent the curds from clumping together. Heat curds to 34oC (92o F) for soft curd cheese, or as high as 39oC (102oF) for very firm cheese. The setting temperature makes a great deal of difference in the consistency of the curd/cheese.

SEPARATE CURDS AND WHEY: Stir and maintain desired temperature until curd has contracted to consistency of firm scrambled eggs . Remove from stove. The curds should sink in whey. (Ops, did they float3 ?)

You may line the strainer with clean cloth if the curd is very fine grained. Save the whey for ricotta if you like. Place curds in a large bowl .

ADD SALT: Sprinkle two tsp. salt over curds, working with hands to mix . Pour off accumulated whey. (The salt is necessary so that the cheese will not spoil as it cures. I tried it without salt and it spoiled. However, unsalted, uncured cheese may be frozen until use.)

PRESS THE CHEESE : Use sterile large white handkerchief to line a smooth-sided 4″ x 5″ tin can from which both ends have been removed. Place still-warm curds in the cloth , cover curd with the corners of the cloth, lie the cut-out end of the can on top, and place heavy weight to press down. Let sit for 12 hours or so.

Curing the Cheese:

The next morning, remove from press, remove cloth, rub outside of cheese with salt and rewrap with fresh handkerchief. Place wrapped cheese on a rack in the refrigerator.

Replace the “bandage” daily (as long as it continues to become wet).

When a dry yellowish rind forms (about one to two weeks), dip in melted wax , store in refrigerator for about a month (if you can wait that long) or longer for sharper cheese.

Special Notes:

Avoid aluminum pots, the acid will dissolve them and possibly overload you with aluminum.

Sterilize the pot just before use by pouring ½ inch of water in the bottom, covering, and bring to a rolling boil for at least five minutes. Pour out the water, replace sterile lid, keep sterilized pot covered until you are ready to add the milk.

If the curds float, you have a gas-producing contaminant in your starter or your milk was contaminated. You need to pay closer attention to handling your milk, and/or purchase fresh starter. The bacteria which form bubbles may be a form of Escherichia. However, it does not necessarily ruin the cheese, but does make it iffy.

Many CO2 formers are non-pathogenic. Indeed, you might WANT bubbles in your finished cheese. Think about Swiss cheese… However, to be safe, age your cheese for at least two months because pathogens do not survive this extended aging. In addition, you will have a little more difficulty separating the curds from the whey if the curds float.

Related:

Home Made Cheese Press

How to Wax Cheese

Milk Fermenting Bacteria (Milk Fermenters)

Ricotta Cheese Making (Illustrated)

Troubleshooting a Clean Break

Introduction

Ricotta is Italian for “recooked” because it is made by “cooking” whey which is produced when the curds are separated for cheese (“curds and whey,” as in little Miss Muffet). The chemistry of ricotta is interesting. Its production relies on allowing the inoculated bacteria in whey to further ferment the liquid as it sits at room temperature for an additional 12-24 hours. During that time, the remaining sugars are converted to lactic acid which lowers the pH of the whey. The solubility of the protein in acidified whey is reduced. Heating the acidified whey denatures the protein causing it to precipitate out as a fine curd. This small-grained curd may be then dipped out or filtered out by pouring through a fine cloth. It can be used fresh or frozen until needed.

Equipment

1) Non-reactive pot, either stainless steel or enameled (I have a wonderful 5 gallon stainless steel pot with a thick aluminum pad bonded to the bottom to disperse the heat. It is made by Vollrath, and was, I recall, somewhat expensive ($50-60 ten or fifteen years ago). If you use a thin enameled pot, you should either heat the whey in it over boiling water, or stir nearly continuously.

2) Wooden spoon or long handled spatula (with square end to help to keep curd off the bottom)

3) Thermometer (0-110 °C) to monitor temperature of whey while heating

4) Receiving pot the same volume or greater as cooking pot (a clean plastic bucket will do)

5) A fine meshed strainer to dip out floating curd.

6) Large strainer to suspend over receiving pot

7) Fine cloth (I use a clean sterile handkerchief or a non-terry cloth dish towel)

Protocol

Whey left from turning five gallons of milk into cheese will make about 1.5 – 2 pounds of ricotta (a quart or so)

1) Save the whey from making cheese in a non-reactive pot. (Here you see curds for a basic cheese at the bottom of the pot, as the whey is being poured off). Filter as much of the curd particles out as you can since they would otherwise form tough “beads” in the final ricotta. Cover and let sit 12 to 24 hours at room temperature to develop sufficient acidity.

2) The next morning, heat the acidified whey with stirring taking care to avoid sticking or burning. Use either a double boiler, or a pot with very thick bottom which will disperse the heat well. This image shows that the temperature has risen to about 82 °C, and a white foam is appearing on the surface.

3) Continue heating with stirring until its temperature is near boiling (95 °C). Note that foam will build up somewhat. (Careful: if it boils, it can boil over…) Remove from heat. Cover and allow the “cooked” whey to cool undisturbed until comfortable to the touch. The curds should look like clouds suspended in the whey, while the whey appears clear and yellowish green. (Riboflavin in the whey gives it this color.)

4) DO NOT STIR UP THE CURD: Set up a receiving pot with a large strainer and a fine clean cloth on top. If the curd is floating, you may dip out the curd into the cloth. Alternatively, if the curd all sinks, pour as much of the whey through the cloth as you can without disturbing the curds. It will filter through MUCH faster if you do this carefully without sitrring up the curds.

5) Gently scoop out the curds. Because the curds are very fine and delicate, they can stop up the cloth easily. This will cause very slow draining if they are broken up.

6) You can see that much of the whey will drain out as you dip the curd.

7) After all of the wet curds have been transferred to the cloth, allow the whey to drain out through the cloth (be patient, it can take 2-3 hours). Then pick up the corners of the cloth, suspend like a bag over the drainage pot (or sink) to allow the last of the whey to drain out. It will take several hours, and can be done in the refrigerator over night. The whey remaining from ricotta is clear, and has a greenish-yellow tint from the riboflavin which remains. This whey has very little protein remaining in it, and I feed it to my chickens and my pig.

8) Remove the ricotta from the cloth, pack into a container, cover and store in the refrigerator. Use it soon after making. Alternatively, ricotta will freeze very well.

Related:

Ricotta cheese makes delicious lasagna, ravioli stuffing, gnocchi, (“Italian dumplings”) and the famous Italian dessert, cannoli, cheese-stuffed shells and blintzes, or a type of cheese cake.

Cheese Gnocchi Recipe