More Cheese Making

For my second attempt at cheese making I used a recipe called Super Easy Basket Cheese for Children. I had a spare gallon of raw milk that I had to use very soon before it expired. I could have froze the milk but I really didn't want the stress of knowing I had to eventually use up the frozen milk. I just wanted to use it while it was still fresh. I also kept the whey from my first batch of cheese. Some articles I read about cheese making stated that adding the whey made better cheese. So for this batch I used a gallon of raw milk and a quart of whey.

My first cheese making experience made me much more confident for this time. I poured the milk and whey into the pot and turned on the heat. I also added a teaspoon of salt right off the bat. My first batch was not salty enough. I wanted to fix that. So as the milk cooked I prepared the bowl for the curds and got ready to scoop them out. I got the baskets cleaned and ready - no cheesecloth this time! I have the real cheese making equipment!

Once the milk reached 86 degrees I added the rennet, stirred and turned off the pot. I waited minutes to find perfect curds. I turned the pot back on while removing the curds from the whey. I filled the basket to the very top. I squeezed and squeezed until more whey came out. After a few hours, I removed the cheese from the basket and put it in the fridge.

By dinner time the cheese was ready and we had it as an appetizer before dinner. It was squeaky like cheese curds when biting into it. It was fantastic. Much better than the first batch. I can't wait to try another recipe - it sure is fun to make this wonderful food from scratch.