Cheese

When we got back from spring break, my friend Emily was excited about having learnt how to make cheese. She was super excited and wanted to get together to make some. Before we knew it the quarter system had swallowed us both. So week 8 and we're supposed to meet up Sunday to make the cheese, but I jumped the gun. I started making feta tonight so that when she's over for lunch we can cut it and brine it. Emily's leaving for Colorado to join her bf as soon as school gets out, I'd like to send her off with something. (She's responsible for putting ideas into my head!)

I found a great recipe for feta on the University of Cincinnati Clermont College site. Click here for site> I'm trying to make feta with 2 gallons of fresh goat's milk and a liquid rennet instead of the tablet rennet. I went to four different stores before finally finding the rennet at Whole Food's in the baking section.

Homemade Feta

1 gallon fresh goat's milk

1 Tbl fresh yogurt

20 drops of liquid rennet

1+ gallon pot with lid

1 long blade knife

cheese cloth

strainer

cheese mold

1. Warm the milk to 30C or 86F, stirring regularly to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.  I put my pot inside a bigger pot with some jar lids under it to create a large double boiler and it worked really well
2. Mix 1 tbl of yogurt with equal parts of milk to blend, stir the mixture into the warm milk.  Cover and let the inoculated milk sit for an hour at room temperature.
3. After the inoculated milk has sat for an hour, stir in the rennet.  Mix throughly.
4. Let the inoculated, renneted milk sit overnight at room temperature.
5. The next morning, the milk should have gelled.
6. Cut the curd by starting in the middle and cutting it with a sharp knife from one side to the other.  Continue to put parallel to the first line in 1/2in intervals slightly cutting larger towards the base.  Then rotate the direction 90degrees and repeat.  Rotate and repeat again if the curd pieces are not at least 1/2in small.
7. Allow the curds to sit with occasional stirring for 10-15 minutes until the curd is somewhat contracted.
8. Decant the whey into a jar for brine.  Wrap the curds in a cheese cloth or napkin and allow it to drain.
9. Break up the curds and place them into a bowl, mix in a 1/2tsp of salt.
10. Press into the mold overnight.
11. Prepare pickling whey brine (12.5% salt) 20oz of whey + 5 tbl salt.  Stir to dissolve.
12. Cut the cheese into cubes and place into a wide mouth jar.  Pour brine over the cover.  Let it cure in the fridge for several days.  Rinse before use to remove excess salt.