How to make your own cheese?
If you’re like us, you drool every time you pass the cheese stalls. But did you know that you can make your own cheese, very quietly at home? It’s not that difficult! All you need is the right ingredients, the right tools, and a bit of time and patience.
Are you tempted by the experience? Here are our tips and tricks for a successful homemade cheese.
1. Equipment for making homemade cheese
Although there are on the market cheese yogurt makers machines to make good homemade cheese, it is quite possible to do without them. To make homemade cheese you need:
- A cauldron
- A thermometer
- A large deep bowl
- A colander
- Gauze bandages
- A skimmer
If you prefer simplicity and speed, then the cheese yogurt maker is a good solution for you. You will find in the following point a model of yogurt maker to make homemade cheese that we particularly like.
I suggest this other article: How to make homemade bread? You will discover all the necessary cooking steps and ingredients.
2. What is a cheese yoghurt maker?
This electric appliance will allow you to easily make homemade yoghurt or cottage cheese. Its great advantage is that it keeps the milk at the ideal temperature, around 40 degrees Celsius, which is very important for a successful homemade cheese recipe.
Some yogurt makers even come as a kit, including pots and skimmers. If you like the idea of making your homemade yogurts and cheeses, this device should be part of your cookware. Here is a yogurt maker model with many positive reviews but also offered at a great price.
This device allows you to make yogurts, drinking yogurts, cottage cheeses and homemade strains.
3. Ingredients for making homemade cheese
For a simple cheese, you will need whole milk, as fresh as possible, or raw milk. Next, you will need rennet, which you can buy at a pharmacy. Rennet is used to curdle milk.
If you want to make a good fresh cheese with a firmer consistency, you can add Petit-Suisse to your mixture. Well now that you know the basic ingredients how about trying a first homemade cheese recipe?
I can already hear you say, but what is rennet and above all, where do you find it? Well, rennet is the product that transforms the liquid into a solid state, hence the importance in many cheese recipes.
4. Basic homemade cream cheese recipe
To get started in the wonderful world of homemade cheeses, here is an easy-to-make homemade cheese recipe. You will love!
Here are the steps to make this first cottage cheese a success:
- Start by heating 1 liter of milk until it reaches 35 degrees Celsius.
- Then pour the milk into the bowl and add 3 drops of rennet. If you have opted for the addition of petit-suisse, now is the time to include it in the recipe, stirring gently.
- Then cover the bowl with a clean cloth, and let the mixture ferment for 24 hours at room temperature.
- After 24 hours, square the curdled milk with a knife. Press your strainer over a bowl, and cover it with gauze strips.
- Using a slotted spoon, gently drop the curd blocks into the strainer. Then let drain for at least 3 hours, depending on the desired consistency.
And there you have it, fresh cheese made entirely by hand! All you have to do is flavor it with the ingredients of your choice: garlic, herbs, etc. Good tasting.
5. Fresh cheese recipe without rennet
Here is an equally easy recipe for making homemade fresh cheese, and without rennet. The ingredients for this cheese are:
- 1 liter of whole milk
- 1 petit-suisse of 60 grams
- The juice of a lemon
- 5 grams of fine salt
Here are the steps needed to make this good rennet-free cheese:
- In a small bowl, mix the petit-suisse with 5 cl of milk. Pour the rest of the milk into a cauldron, and add the salt.
- Heat until the milk reaches the temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. Remove the pan from the heat and pour in the petit-suisse mixture and the lemon juice.
- Mix quickly but delicately using a wooden spatula. Let cool for 15 minutes.
- Place a colander over a large bowl and cover it with muslin or gauze strips. Add the curdled milk, cover the bowl with a cloth and let the mixture drain for 12 hours at room temperature.
The recipe for making a good dry cheese is the same as for fresh cheese, the same ingredients and the same preparation steps.
So what’s the difference with dry cheese? Then you have to refine it. To do this, you must start by letting it drain for 3 days. Then, we turn it out and salt it with a fine salt on top, then we turn it to salt the other surface.
This step will have to be repeated every day, until your cheese is ready. Know that the longer a cheese dries, the more flavor it will have.
7. Homemade mozzarella recipe
Why spend a fortune on quality mozzarella when you can make it in your own kitchen? Here’s how to make a good homemade mozzarella cheese:
Ingredients for the mozzarella recipe:
- 2 liters of raw milk
- Fresh lemon juice
- 15 drops of rennet
The steps to make a success of your homemade mozzarella:
- In a deep saucepan, pour the milk and heat until it reaches 34 degrees Celsius. Remove from the heat, and add about ten teaspoons of lemon juice, as well as the rennet.
- Mix gently. Cover the preparation with a cloth and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Once the milk has curdled, cut it into cubes and turn the heat back on until the temperature rises to 40 degrees Celsius.
- With a skimmer, gently pick up the pieces of curd in order to drain them and place them in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in the microwave for one minute on maximum power. Empty the whey, and knead the pieces of curd with a spatula.
- Return them to the microwave for 30 seconds, and start kneading again.
Repeat these steps until the curd has the desired consistency. Then, make balls of mozzarella and keep them in cold, salted water.
8. Homemade Goat Cheese Recipe
Do you have a weakness for goat cheese? Here is how to easily make a good homemade goat cheese:
Ingredients :
- 1 liter of raw goat’s milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt
The preparation :
- Heat the milk to a temperature of 35 degrees Celsius. Remove from the heat, and add the lemon juice. Cover, and let curdle at room temperature overnight.
- Then drain the curd in a colander lined with strips of gauze or muslin. When this is done, salt the cheese and mix gently.
- Place your cheese in a mold or in a strainer for at least 24 hours in the fridge, for a fresh goat cheese.
If you want to refine the goat cheese, you can leave it longer and salt it every day.
Now that you know how to make homemade cheese, come and discover this other article on the same subject: Recipe with cottage cheese.