I started making cheese several years ago. I began with the soft fresh cheeses like cream cheese, queso blanco, and mozzarella, but after a while I wanted more. I began to research the hard cheeses like Cheddar, Gouda, Jack, and Swiss.
The main differences between the soft and hard cheeses is that hard cheese require a cheese press and cultures.
Cheese making is a commitment and requires a lot of patience. It's also an investment that requires several specialty items not available at your local store. Be prepared if you want to attempt it. If you try to take shortcuts you could end up with an inferior product.
It's also very fun and rewarding, especially with the high cost of specialty cheeses.
The main differences between the soft and hard cheeses is that hard cheese require a cheese press and cultures.
Cheese making is a commitment and requires a lot of patience. It's also an investment that requires several specialty items not available at your local store. Be prepared if you want to attempt it. If you try to take shortcuts you could end up with an inferior product.
It's also very fun and rewarding, especially with the high cost of specialty cheeses.
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Here are some links I found to be helpful and informative.
This is a great forum with very experienced members. You'll find a lot of answers to your questions here.
http://www.rickandlynne.com/rick/go/forums/viewforum/7/
A good site for a beginners. You can get recipes, ingredients, and equipment here.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/
I have this book, it's very good.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/HomeCheeseMakingbook.html
I buy my cultures here. You have to buy more culture but its cheaper overall.
http://www.dairyconnection.com/default.jsp
Good site with info and recipes.
http://fiascofarm.com/dairy/index.htm
A google search of cheese making will give you a ton of information.
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I just wanted to add that I was recommended by a cheese maker to use these tablets you can buy to sterilize baby bottles. They dont leave any taste, so might be preferable to anyone considering a bleach solution.
http://www.milton-tm.com/sterilising_tablets.html
I know you can buy them in the baby aisle here in NZ for a couple of bucks, and Im thinking there is probably a product similar in other parts of the world.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/LiquidVegetableRennet.html
I've never used it but I've heard they work just as well.
To our author, I question the statement that milk loses calcium during the pasteurization process. Where does it go? All store-bought milk is pasteurized and most is also HOMOGENIZED (to prevent the cream rising to the top). It is the homogenization process that does something to the calcium that necessitates the addition of Calcium Chloride. Whatever this something is I am sure the calcium doesnât float off into the atmosphere. The homogenizing unit is just like a glorified blender that reduces the size of the cream particles. Nowhere have I seen an adequate and convincing explanation of what happens to the calcium (if anything) during the homogenization process, nor the real reason for the need to add calcium chloride. It is a mystery.
"Firstly I don't believe the millions of gallons of homogenized milk that are being sold every day is all useless as far as uptake of the calcium is concerned."
Several years ago, my physician was discussing the results of some lab tests with me. One of his question surprised me: "You don't drink much milk, do you?" I told him that I drink at least a quart a day, at every meal and an afternoon snack of milk and cookies. He replied, "Your body isn't using it very well, then." Since then, on doctor's orders, I take a daily supplement of 1000 mg of calcium because a quart of milk a day for some reason isn't providing me with enough calcium.
http://drlwilson.com/Articles/calcium.htm (Under cows milk and milk substitutes)
http://drcate.com/raw-milk-why-mess-with-udder-perfection/ (has a great graph)
Also, the cheese making bacteria don't need the calcium to culture the milk, but to make it congeal and form a clean break
http://www.cheesemaking.com/store/pg/239-FAQ-Cheesemaking-and-Milk.html (point 7, under "raw milk", and point 4 under Pasteurized/Homogenized milk).
There are more resources on this, but it's getting late (for me). I will however say that there is some level of controversy over why it's harder to absorb calcium from pasteurized homogenized milk. While fat-globule size is generally sited as a major problem, many people argue that the enzymes and vitamins destroyed in pasteurization are the problem. And to add to it all, goats milk is naturally homogenized and cheese makers don't seem to have any problem getting a clean break with that. So there is some mystery involved. I encourage you to do some of your own research, as I have only scratched the surface of this subject, and am by no means an expert. This is simply the explanation that seems most likely to me.
Do you use calcium chloride in your cheese?
Are you a real beekeeper? Beekeeping is one of my next ventures.
And yes I am a beekeeper. I started when I was about 15 (now 69) and have had up to 200 hives producing 40,000 lbs of honey in one season. Keeping bees has been my passion for all my adult life and I consider myself an expert, though no university degrees to show you. I have approx 400 books on beekeeping dated from the 1600s to modern times which I I find fascinating as they plot the development of beekeeping over time. Ask me any beekeeping questions you like. Which part of the world are you in? Unfortunately the widespread use of agricultural chemicals as well as cosmetic lawn care products and insecticides in urban areas have all contributed to huge declines in all insects including honey bees. As an example, the seed of most corn grown in the USA is coated with a neonicotinoid insecticide (related to nicotine in cigarettes). The amount of chemical applied to ONE seed is enough to kill 80,000 bees!! And the stuff takes years to break down in the soil. The coating on the seed gets into the plant and into the pollen, and when the bees collect the pollen and take to back to their hives it kills the baby bees in the hive.
Oh, and you can add images to the comments. There's a button on the bottom left of the reply window that says add images.
Thanks for the info.
As for getting a hive next year, never do today what you can put off til tomorrow. This time of year is the ideal time to start.
I'll try adding a photo of some of my cheeses (waxed with yellow wax). I've tried this before and it doesn't seem to work for the comment section - only the original bile, but miracles may happen. No, it won't work. Perhaps you would give me instructions.
alternatively, home brew supply store, and get some Iodaphore. That's what we use in the brewery for holding solution. Its a blend of Iodine and Phosphoric acid.
considering all the handling procedures are the same? and bleach is far cheaper?
go with the bleach.
http://www.allqa.com/aqa1627-1628.htm
It's $30, but should last forever in a home situation.
Great Instructable by the way! really clears up a lot of my questions.
How good does that organic straight-from-the-farm milk work in comparison to standard Vitamin D milk?
If you can, try to use goat or sheep's milk depending on the cheese.