Making cheese...

I am prayerfully considering starting a small business by making cheese. I don't know if it will work out or not, but if it does it would be so exciting!! Mom and Dad said we made cheese when I was little but I don't remember it at all.

So here is my first try at making cheese, that I remember.  :)

The recipes came from:

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2008/05/24/how-to-make-paneer/

I can't remember the name of the other place I got the vinegar version from. If I find it I will post in on here. :)

Recipe:

Paneer/Chevre Cheese

1/2 cup vinegar, white or apple

1 gallon milk (whole, 2%, skim, your choice)

or

1/2 cup lemon juice

1 gallon milk (whole, 2%, skim, your choice)

1. Mix lemon juice in half cup of hot water and put aside.

2. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.

3. As the milk comes to a boil, add lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.

4. Once the milk fat separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer lined with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.

5. Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. this process takes out the sourness from the lemon.

6. Take out excess water, press the wrapped Paneer under a heavy pan for about 1 hour.

ps. manjulaskitchen has tips and variations on her website. So be sure to check them out!

I had read on a blog that you can use hot nails to punch holes in plastic containers to make a cheese press or colander. My little brother (he is almost 6') Caleb helped me. :) It worked really nice! Smelled really bad, but worked!

There were a few pieces of plastic inside that Caleb cut off with a razor. 

I used nylon pantyhose to strain the cheese and my colanders. :)

2% milk

Apple Cider Vinegar

Heating the milk

Look at the curds!!

It worked!!

Pressing the cheese with my cast-iron pots.

This cheese was my first one (vinegar). Pressed for 2 hours. It was quite dry because I squeezed out too much water when I was rinsing it. It was seasoned with a garlic and seasonings mix. I thought this one was really yucky! Even though I rinsed it.

This cheese (lemon juice) I pressed it for 2 hours. When I was rinsing it I did not drain as much water out first one. Seasoned with just salt. This one was really good!

Sorry I didn't get all of the steps photographed. Some steps require two hands, and because I only have two hands... no pictures.

I think my next challenge is to make this cheese out of whole milk and rennet. :) We'll see.