Our Fabulous Moosletter
August, 2016
Recipe
Recipe of The Month

Cotswold Cheese     
cotswold cheese
This recipe travels back in time to the 16th to 17th century and most likely predates the modern cheddar.

By adding bounty from his early summer garden, Jim created a unique and flavorful seasonal specialty with this cheese.

After a short aging time of 1-3 months, your  Costwold will be the perfect addition for a harvest feast. 
Congratulations to our July winner: 
Carol Bernice from Brewster, NY!
 
And to our Grand Prize winner:
Ray Seifer from Sutherland, NE!


Thank you all for participating in the 2016 Cheese Give-A-Whey!
We had lots of fun sharing amazing cheese with you and are already looking forward to the next fun Give-A-Whey...
Beginner
Beginner Cheese Maker
This guide will walk you through the process from start to finish.
  Beginner FAQ's
From milk and cream to rennet and aging, the answers are all here.
Learn how to make a brine, your own cheese cave and more. 
  Cheese Making Workshops
New dates posted for beginner and advanced workshops. 
Questions and Answers Questions
 Q    Hold the Lactose - Will lactose-free milk work for 30 Minute Mozzarella

 A   It's Iffy Normally, lactose-free milk will not work for cheese making, but since our 30 minute recipe is not based on live culture, it should theoretically work. The problem is that most of the lactose-free milks we have worked with (such as Lactaid) are high-temp processed and the proteins have been damaged to the point where the milk will not make a good curd. We have had only marginal success with this.

 Q   Sticky Situation - My gouda seems to always stick quite badly to the cheesecloth after the final pressing. This rarely happens with any other cheese I make (cheddar, colby, parmesan, derby, manchego, etc.).  Although I am trying to be as sanitary as possible, it keeps sticking.

 A   Moisture Helps - This may be a case of not developing enough acid before molding the cheese, or the cheese just not being dry enough when going into the mold. A solution for this is to soak the cheesecloth in brine before molding the cheese. The salt will slow down the bacterial activity near the cloth and not drag it into the curd, as you have found. 

 Q    Light vs Heavy Cream - I have a Jersey and I do not pasteurize my milk. What can I do to have a choice of either heavy cream or light cream? The only difference I have noticed is the older the cream, the thicker. I want to make mascarpone, so I need light cream.

 A   Skimming Technique - Your choice (of Jerseys) is great for cream since they have the largest fat globules and thus, their milk will rise better than other milks (goat milk is darned near impossible to skim).

In noting the difference between older cream for skimming and fresh, what you are seeing is the bacterial activity, since it tends to thicken as the natural bacteria begin working on the cream.

You can see this in Europe with both the Parma makers and the folks on the mountain making aged cheese. In the morning, when they skim the milk, it just ripples because it is already ripening. One family takes this off as creme fraiche into a wooden bucket for everything from breakfast to dessert (they work so hard they are not worried about the fat).

For skimming, we recommend using a large, flat spoon about 3-4" in diameter but only about 3/4" deep. Simply dip the leading edge of this into the cream until the cream flows into the ladle and then move the ladle forward until most of the cream is off the surface. If you want a lighter cream, just allow a bit more milk to flow in. You will be hard pressed to determine the actual fat but that never bothered our grandparents and after a while you just figure out what works.
Do you have a question about cheese making?
Send it to info@cheesemaking.com 
Spotlight
In the Spotlight
Bob Albers
Mandeville, Louisiana

We all know busy people who become even busier when they retire, and Bob is certainly one of them.  He has a LOT of hobbies, including, of course, making cheese.

Five years ago, when he was clearing out his mother-in-law's house, he found her molds for making Creole cream cheese. Bob decided to carry on her tradition and a cheese maker was born. He shared her recipe with us at our fabulous blog (click here).  
News
Cheese Making News
Mozzarella w_herbs
All About the Milk
I tried your recipe ( 30 minute mozzarella). I had the wrong kind of milk. At first, I was a bit disappointed, but after reading your directions, examples and all the tips, I wanted to knead some cheese!

Well, I would not let it bother me. I used my cheesecloth, and continued with your directions. Used the microwave and continued to extract whey. I added 1 tsp of cheese salt and 3 tsp of herbs. It was hot, but I managed to knead me some mozzarella cheese. It wasn't  as rubbery as in your photos, but it came out good enough for my first time:)

I attached a picture. I am picking up some cow's milk next week.

Thank you so much for the easy and informational recipe. And, thanks for the products that I purchased earlier in the month to help get me started.
Christina Walters, Placerville, California
cheese curds
Provolone/String Cheese Curds

I came up with this version of provolone during the latter part of my pregnancy, as I had little energy to spend on making cheese (but had lots of milk to use up from our goats). The results are cheese curds that have the flavor of string cheese, and melt well in dishes (but are equally delicious eaten as a snack!)
Note:  We have not tried this, so let us know how it works for you.

Ingredients:
4 gallons raw milk
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon thermophilic culture or 4 prepared frozen cubes of the Italian thermophilic culture (about 1/4 cup un-frozen)  (Directions for making a mother culture are on page 22 of Home Cheese Making.)
1/32 tsp mesophilic culture (I used the large pack)
Scant teaspoon liquid rennet diluted in water
3-4 tbs non-iodized salt (I use kosher salt)

Directions:
Begin by heating the milk to between 86-90F. Add the cultures and stir until the frozen cubes melt. Let sit for 30-45 minutes.

Add the rennet and stir. Let sit for 45 minutes.

With a balloon whisk, cut the curd. Try not to stir too much as you get the larger pieces cut on the bottom of the pot. Leave the curds to rest for 15 minutes (I find this helps the curds retain their butterfat).

Now is the cooking phase. You want to heat the curds to 118F within 45 minutes while stirring. If standing for that long is too much on you (as it was on me), stir for 2 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. This amount of time was just right, and I found the curds did not mat together.

After 45 minutes, check the curds by grabbing a handful and lightly squeezing together. They should hold, but come apart rather easily. Alternately, you can check individual curds by breaking them apart. If they are not ready, continue the cooking process for another 5-15 minutes.

Once the cooking process is done, cover the pot (take off of the heat) and allow the curds to rest for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This produces the right acidity and keeps the curds from forming into a large wheel. You can stir occasionally if you find them beginning to mat (I have never had this problem). During this time you can taste a curd at each hour interval until it's acidity is satisfactory to your taste.

Now that the acidity is reached, it is time to drain the whey. A colander with smaller holes does not have to be lined with cheesecloth (though you may do so if you wish). We feed the whey to our pigs, but there are many other uses for it besides pouring it down the drain.

Put the curds back into the pot and add salt (3-4 tablespoons). Stir and let sit for 30 minutes so the salt has time to be absorbed. Mix often during the 30 minutes, so no matting occurs.

At this time, the cheese is ready to eat! We tend to store ours in large zip-top bags, often freezing the excess for later use.

I hope you enjoy making this cheese!
Julie Ott, North Berwick, Maine
We'd love to hear from you!
Please send news & photos to moosletter@cheesemaking.com 
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Classifieds
Cheese Classifieds
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Announcements
Beginner and advanced cheese making workshops (and singing workshops) at the cheese queen's palace in Ashfield, MA, Sarah Carroll's home in Williamsburg, MA and Jim Wallace's home in Shelburne Falls, MA - (click here) 

Check out our fabulous blog with 513 posts (so far). Includes recipes, tutorials, interviews and all kinds of useful cheese making information (click here) 
For Sale
Everything you need to run a Grade B (or A) micro goat dairy. We milked between 25 to 35 goats, and made cheese. Includes a 52 gallon vat pasteurizer from C. van't Riet. Would like to sell as packaged deal. Located in Northern Idaho. Call Susanne for details. (208) 597-0557
Jobs and Opportunities 
Advanced Cheesemaking Class , August 16-18, 2016. The PA Cheese Guild will sponsor an advanced cheesemaking class. Jim Wallace, consultant and technical expert at New England Cheesemaking Supply will be the instructor. $950 members, $1050 non-members. Includes lodging and meals. Ag-Connect will partially fund PA cheese makers. Additional information- visit www.pacheeseguild.org 
  
Events
Cheese Events
Click on one of the event names below for more information
 
 8/13   Mac & Cheese Festival / Aztec, New Mexico

 8/20   Mac & Cheese Festival / Albuquerque, New mexico

 8/20-21   Cheese & Chilli Festival / Winchester, England

 9/10   Cheese & Sausage Fall Family Fest / New London, Wisconsin

 9/10   The Cheese Fest / Cincinnati, Pennsylvania

 9/10   Monroe Cheese Festival / Monroe, New York

 9/10   Mac & Cheese Festival / Aspen, Colorado

 9/10-11   Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival / England

 9/16-18   Green County Cheese Days / Monroe, Wisconsin

 9/17   Cream Cheese Festival / Lowville, New York

 9/17   Vermont Mac & Cheese Fest / Barre, Vermont

 9/17   SF Cheese Fest / San Francisco, California

 9/24   Massachusetts Cheese Festival / Somerville, Massachusetts

 9/30   The Cheese Fest / Atlanta, Georgia

 10/1   Apple & Cheese Festival / Canton, Pennsylvania

 10/8   Atlanta Mac & Cheese Festival / Atlanta, Georgia

 10/8-9   Riverbank Cheese & Wine Exposition / Riverbank, California

 10/14-15   Watonga Cheese & Wine Festival / Watonga, Oklahoma

 11/4   The Cheese Fest / Houston, Texas

 11/5   Mac & Cheese Festival / Chicago, Illinois

 11/7   Mac & Cheese Festival / San Diego, California

 11/28-29   New Wine & Cheese Festival / Vajdahunyadvár, Budapest

 12/10   Wine, Chocolate & Cheese Festival / Ouray, Colorado

 12/11   Memphis Grilled Cheese Festival / Memphis, Tennessee

Good Milk List Milk
New England Cheese Making Supply
(413) 397-2012
info@cheesemaking.com
www.CheeseMaking.com

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