Old World Wisdom ~ Cheese-Making

I spent last week learning how to make cheese: Researching procedures, talking to the folks at the health-food store about goat's milk, and experimenting with a variety of recipes.

Only a few basic ingredients are necessary, and the procedures are very simple: A gallon of milk, a quart of buttermilk, and vinegar or rennet. Have some cheesecloth and a candy-thermometer on hand. That is all!

Place the milk in a non-reactive kettle, which is then placed in another kettle filled with water. It will act like a double-boiler. Slowly, the milk is heated almost to boiling, then removed from the heat-source. This can be done visually through experience, or with the use of a candy thermometer. I use the thermometer, and prefer to work with pasteurized milk. (Raw milk is available at most health-food stores and makes a better cheese, but there are risks involved that are not worth the worry.)

When the milk has cooled down to 100 degrees, add the rennet or vinegar, and the separation of curds and whey is almost immediate. A thin layer of yellow-green whey remains at the top, and the white curds settle at the bottom. Let this remain undisturbed for several hours on the kitchen counter.

Then place a sterile, double layer of cheese-cloth in a strainer. Pour off the whey and save the curds. They settle into a nice wad in the bottom of the strainer. Pull the cheesecloth ends together and tie up into a bundle. The whey will drain out, leaving the most wonderful curds. This is a time-consuming process, so it is done in the refrigerator - I hang my curds from a spoon handle propped in the refrigerator.

Be sure to save the whey. It is excellent for soups, sauces and gravies. It can be frozen if not immediately used. I used some of mine as the base for a 3-Bean Soup.

At some point you'll want to start twisting the cheesecloth, which extracts more whey. This can be done a number of times, then the soft cheese is ready to be 'seasoned'. Place it in a bowl and cut it up, if necessary, and add salt and seasonings, like chives. Mix it up. Place the cheese back into the cheesecloth, twist it shut so it molds into a shape, and let it cure for several days in the refrigerator. This last step can be fun, if you want to use cheese-molds for a particular design.

My 'Goat Cheese' is seasoned with chives throughout, with a thin scattering of caraway seeds on the outside. It is very rich and creamy, and crumbles like a Feta cheese. I've used this cheese on salads and on bruschetta toasts.

This 'Neufchatel Cheese' has dried, minced apricots throughout and finely crushed walnuts rolled on the outside. This cheese is good on oatcakes and crackers, a beautiful holiday cheese.

My third batch, 'Queso Blanco', is a mild fresh-flavored Latin American cheese. I'll use it with ricotta inside crepes when it has finished curing. (BTW, there are recipes online for ricotta made from left-over whey.)

My sister recently sent me a link featuring well-known chef and scholar Dan Barber. He presents a fascinating challenge to global food production. He not only strives to learn the best ways to grow, harvest and cook food, but contrives to feature old world wisdom with new world technology. Co-Owner and chef of Blue Hill Restaurants, he also owns

Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture. He speaks provocatively about the bland taste of many super-market foods:

"...after the uprooting of a thousand years of agrarian wisdom, we chefs have discovered something really terrible — no, not that the agricultural system we help support hurts farmers and devastates farming communities, or that it harms the environment and our health. What we’ve discovered is that the food it produces just doesn’t taste very good. "

I've noticed this when I grocery shop. So many fresh fruits and vegetables just don't have any flavor. Food is packaged and over-handled, tasting like chemicals. When I decided to make cheese it was because I wanted to learn how to do it, but also because I wanted natural cheese without any xanthan gum, locust bean gum, guar gum and other stabilizers...or artificial colors or flavorings. I just wanted simple fresh cheese made 'the old world way'.