I actually made cheese.
This first batch is nothing fancy…just plain, soft white stuff.
I haven’t decided what to do with it yet, other than photograph it and show it to you. I think it would make a good filling for fresh pasta, but I have used up my creativity allocation for this week so I am not sure that’s going to happen.
I can’t deny I am a bit scared of it. It’s like some sort of witchcraft; the alchemy that goes on with just 2 litres of milk, a pot of yoghurt and a teaspoon of rennet. The process doesn’t feel natural to me yet. Although it’s reasonably simple there are a few rules to be followed and lots of waiting around whilst things ‘drip’. I’m not very good at either of those things.
Everything needs to be scrupulously clean, and boiled before use, you need to get things to exactly the right temperature – the digital thermometer helped with that. I did break two of the rules, and it still worked ok: I searched for milk that was not pasteurised but couldn’t find any, I just used whole milk; I also realised, in the middle of the process that the jam kettle I used was aluminium not stainless steel; another no-no, but no one died. (yet)
Pretty isn’t it?
I have fancied making cheese for a while, and I finally got around to it because Lakeland sent me their cheese-making set to try. There are some much more interesting cheeses in the book but I held myself back from diving straight into anything like Mozzarella. Although it would be a great to have homemade Mozzarella, I saw that even Kavey had a bit of a nightmare making it.
Baby steps.
The most exciting thing I have done with it so far is to pick some fresh wild garlic from the garden, shred it up and make my version of Garlic and Herb Boursin®. Oh and I wrapped some wild garlic leaves round it in a ‘you could serve it like this‘ stylie.
We have oceans of wild garlic in the garden. The chickens gorge on it at this time of year, so they constantly have a garlicy hum. If you stick your head into their coop at night (which I do…I count them to make sure they are safely tucked up) they smell like self basting chicken kievs. I used the leftover whey in the bread that you can see here, and Ernie the dog liked a bit on his biscuits too.
I might make the Halloumi next. That recipe looks nice and simple.
You never know, this sun might stick around and I can griddle some on the barbecue at the Weekend.
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Lakeland provided me with the cheese-making kit that included the soft cheese making book and some other cheese making paraphernalia. The kit came to £14, so not too expensive, but get some bigger muslins as the ones it comes with are way to small.
saucygander
April 30, 2013
Wow! I’ve only made cottage cheese (with lemon juice instead of rennet) so far. The cheer looks fantastic!
kzahm
April 30, 2013
You are quite brave. I love to make this but I don’t know if I would venture to make cheese. You’re photos are providing me the urge to try.
Nathalie
April 30, 2013
Your cheese looks so good and fresh ! Beautiful photos Claire ! 🙂
Louise at Cake and Calico
April 30, 2013
I’m pinning this – gorgeous photos and some beautiful looking cheese. I’m mighty impressed, although if Lakeland are offering kits, I’m pretty sure you are at the forefront of a bandwagon…
thelittleloaf
April 30, 2013
I want wild garlic growing in my back garden! I also want to make my own cheese – this looks fab and as for homemade halloumi and mozzarella? YUM.
gassengirl
April 30, 2013
I love making cheese. We have done homemade mozzarella at our restaurant before – its tricky, but when you get it right it’s so rewarding! I say go for it! 🙂
sensezia
May 1, 2013
I do tofu everytime i want with my super machine but your cheese seems delicoius!
Hugs, Kisses and Snot
May 1, 2013
Beautiful! I’m inspirited.
Kavey
May 1, 2013
Hey Claire, thanks for the shout! We googled for recipes for mozzarella and halloumi and so on, and they seem fairly straightforward, albeit with a few more steps than the recipes in the Lakeland book, which seem to have been over simplified at the expense of reliability. I know some folks have managed to make mozzarella using the book, so it must be possible! 🙂
kristapriest
May 1, 2013
I really enjoy making cheese I went to a short cheese making course in the Adelaide hills it was great really informative and helpful. So far I have made cream cheese, goats curd, chèvre, fetta and a creamy cambet lots of fun and a great feeling of satisfaction you get when you make your own. Have fun with your cheese making hope you enjoy it as much as I am.
Caroline Taylor
May 3, 2013
I have made cheese before and I really liked making it. I can imagine it’s great with the wild garlic.
Sally
May 3, 2013
Do the chicken’s eggs taste of wild garlic? I quite like a whiff of garlic in everything including custard. LIke the self-basting kiev analogy a lot!
audrygodwyn
May 4, 2013
Beautiful photographs!! I usually make lebneh/Greek yogurt cheese (which is just straining homemade yogurt, kinda looks like your cheese you made if I dry it out longer). The other day I got brave and used my precious raw milk to make a cheese with apple cider vinegar. It turned out good tasting, but not the shape, LOL. I’ll have to watch a tutorial of some sort, it takes practice 🙂
Again, beautiful JOB!!
xwaysseries
May 6, 2013
looks deliscious and the photos are very nice!
thefolia
May 6, 2013
If you attempt haloumi you can sell it in your neighborhood kiosks like they do in Cyprus. Congrats on trying something new! Happy Nesting.
lovinghomemade
May 7, 2013
Looks amazing! Well done. And I love the idea of your garlicky chickens.. Looking forward to hearing further cheese adventures!
coffeetablecookbook
May 8, 2013
Beautiful!! Would love to see how the fresh mozzarella turns out if you decide to attempt it, one of my favorite things when its made and eaten fresh. Yum.
Francesca
May 10, 2013
Congrats on your first successful forays into the cheese world 🙂 I’m super interested to hear how your halloumi adventures run.. there are so many great things (im thinking cheese-stuffed greek pastries) you can make with the biproduct of halloumi!
IshitaUnblogged
May 12, 2013
Congrats Claire! They look beautiful – it’s a very beautiful. We make cottage cheese – the Indian Paneer at home, and the entire process can be quite daunting. But the taste of home-made Paneer is something different!
Olivia
July 7, 2013
I made fromage blanc last weekend and have hardly used any of it. I served it with chopped herbs and crackers. Would love another idea. Any brilliant ideas?
Yours looks beautiful!
thingswemake.co.uk
July 7, 2013
It would make a good filing for some fresh pasta or perhaps crumbled/spread on a pizza.