The first thing you need to make delicious cheese is milk. It affects both texture and smell. It is better to take sheep, cows, or goats. It is undesirable to use koumiss, making the dish bitter. It is recommended to add pasteurized milk. Suppose it was expressed at a 60-70 degrees temperature for about half an hour. Then all pathogenic bacteria are destroyed. Often manufacturers increase the time and temperature of pasteurization. Because of this, the product becomes unusable – it is no longer possible to cook delicious cheese with it. Such milk does not coagulate well.
Milk must be produced in environmentally friendly conditions. It is sweet, fragrant, high density. With a fresh product, you can save on making cheese because, in this case, you need less coagulant and sourdough.
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Also, for homemade cheese, you need:
Pure mold culture. This ingredient is essential for Roquefort, Camembert, Gorgonzola and Brie. There are three main categories: green, white, and blue. Each type is a powder. It should be stored in the freezer.
Leaven. It contains lactic acid bacteria, or instead, their pure strains. They make acid from milk sugar. The higher the acidity index, the less harmful microorganisms in the cheese. At the same time, starter cultures are monospecies (with one strain of bacteria) and polyspecies).
After fermentation, ethanol, acetic acid, and carbon dioxide can appear in the starter. Thanks to them, eyes, or holes, form in the cheese. This is a sign of a quality product, for the preparation of which heterofermentative bacteria were used. They hardly change the texture of the cheese. On the contrary, the dish only gets better: they acquire a pleasant aroma and taste.
Coagulant. This substance coagulates proteins and fats. Promotes the formation of a jelly-like clot. The latter is turned into cheese grain and pressed.
Food additive E509, or calcium chloride. She is not required. However, with it, cheese clots form faster. In addition, the amount of calcium in the product increases. The macronutrient is essential if pasteurized milk has been used.
Spices and salt. They do not need to be added only to soft cheeses, such as ricotta and mozzarella. Additives regulate biochemical and microbiological processes and improve the taste. It is advisable to put citric acid, spices, herbs, and natural dyes such as curcumin and pepper. Peoples also searching for wpc2021
Equipment for making cheese from milk at home
You need to take:
- A large saucepan in which the cheese will be cooked. To make 1 kilogram of product, you need a container of 5 liters. It is advisable to take a pan with a steam jacket because you need to heat the milk slowly.
- Special cheese knife. It has a rounded tip. A regular one will also come in handy, but it should be sharp enough, long, and thin. Otherwise, you can accidentally break the cheese clot.
- Several molds. Cheese grain is formed and pressed in containers. Fits both with and without a lid. The main thing is the size. It is selected individually, depending on the type of cheese.
- Press for making hard cheeses. These are four tracks on which the moving upper platform is placed. Water canisters, bricks, books are put on it.
- Plain fabric. For example, muslin. It will hold the grain while it is being pressed. It is advisable to use a special cloth, and not ordinary gauze from a pharmacy. The first is denser and more durable.
- Wax coated paper. Instead, you can take a shrink bag, latex, or foil. All this will serve as a coating for the maturation of the cheese. Thanks to them, the product does not get moldy and does not dry out.
- Drainage surface. It is used in molding, drying, and pressing with her airing the bottom of the cheese. Instead of such a surface, any sterile grid will do.
To simplify cooking cheese, you can use a measuring cup and a spoon, a perforated ladle, and scales.
The process of making homemade cheese step by step
The cooking technology is the same. Recipes differ only in nuances. For example, temperature conditions, the number of additives, drying, and pressing time.
The first one is preparatory. Sanitary procedures are carried out here. All surfaces and equipment must be sterilized. To do this, make a solution of household bleach from 3 tbsp. l. powder and 6 liters of water. You can replace it with special disinfectants.
After sterilization, it is essential to rinse the containers. Otherwise, the bleach will spoil the starter or rennet.
At the same time, dyes, calcium, and coagulant are prepared. They are dissolved in a container with water. It is necessary to check the instructions because due to incorrect proportions, the consistency of the cheese will be disturbed.
We hope that our recommendations, prepared with Royal Craft Wood, were useful to you!
