Making Your Own Cheese at Home, Introduction
by Katie
Thear
Making cheese is not difficult as long as attention is
paid to the quality and handling of the milk, hygienic procedures are
followed and the appropriate equipment is used. It is appropriate to
look at what processes are involved and what equipment is needed.
If milk is left it will ripen and eventually turn sour. This is because
bacteria act on the milk sugar lactose, producing lactic acid. This,
in turn, brings about a separation of the milk into solid curds and liquid
whey. It is the curds that eventually form cheese. The problem with producing
cheese in this way is twofold:
- An extended period of natural souring encourages
the growth of unsuitable, possibly harmful bacteria.
- The milk may have become too acidic for the particular cheese
recipe.
The safest way of producing cheese is to first pasteurise the milk
by heating it to 66 OC for half an hour, so that any unwelcome bacteria
are removed. Then, the milk is cooled and a culture of appropriate bacteria
(a lacto-bacilli starter) is added so that the milk is ripened without
needing an extended period to do so. Finally, rennet is added. This acts
on the casein of the milk, making it coagulate and form curds and whey.
Traditionally, the evening’s milking was set aside to ripen and
then mixed with the morning’s milking, so that it provided a natural
starter. Many people still use this method and there is nothing wrong
with it as long as the quality of milk in its production and handling
are second to none. If there is any doubt about the quality of the milk,
it should be pasteurised before use.
Next In Making Cheese at Home
Next we look
at the Equipment for Cheesemaking >>
© Copyright Katie Thear 2006
Making Cheese Information
Katie Thear is the author of Cheesemaking
and Dairying which is available post-free (£7.95) from the
publishers Broad Leys Publishing Ltd, 1 Tenterfields, Newport, Saffron
Walden, Essex CB11 3UW or directly from this web site -Cheesemaking & Dairying
Sample
chapter from Cheesemaking & Dairying |
