Cheesemakers In Here- Help! I Have A New Addiction

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shop-a-holic, Jul 15, 5:52am
Three weeks ago, for a birthday gift, I received a Mad Millie Cheesemaking Equipment Package and a Hard Cheese Making Ingredient Kit.
I've made two wheels of Cheddar, Haloumi, and today, I made a Colby-style wheel of cheese adding Liquid Smoke and Wholeseed Mustard.
This is very addictive.
So I was wondering, if anyone else out there has made their own cheeses?
davidt4, Jul 15, 6:14am
It's very addictive, isn't it.I have attempted various fresh cheeses in the past with mixed results, but have just started with a Mad Millie kit and I love it.So far I've made feta, haloumi and ricotta and they are all fantastic.

Does the hard cheese kit come with a press, or do you have to buy one separately?I'm keen to advance to hard cheeses once I get confident with fresh ones.
shop-a-holic, Jul 15, 6:23am
It didn't come with a press. They are out of stock at the moment, so advised buyers to become inventive. I placed a 1.5litre of preserved lemons (tall jar) ontop of the follower in the mold, then both choppingboards (one 4 kgs, the other 1.5 kgs) to press for the first 10 and 20 mins. Then I added a 12 litre bucket on top of the boards for the overnight pressings. It works a treat. I've looked at cheese presses here. And one guy is now making them for $100 less than the ceramic ones, and includes a pressure guage. Now that's kiwis for you! :-) My first wheels will be ready to crack open in two weeks. That's the test. I'll then probably need a cheese-press and I like the pressure guage one.

My next endeavour will be a Blue Cheese without buying the kit. Google advised me of some Americans who discovered "cloning" the cheeses, buy adding a teaspoon of their favourite blue cheese to the curds before pressing. Makes alot of sense. It's only going to multiply!!
davidt4, Jul 15, 6:44am
That's very funny.I used a jar of preserved lemons to weight my haloumi today!

Once I get on to hard cheeses (I want to start with Gouda) I'll consult with the rest of the household about building some kind of press.And a friend has built a cheese safe, which sounds like a good idea.
ashanti, Jul 15, 8:01am
use bathroom scales, it will tell you how much pressure you are exerting down on your follower.
shop-a-holic, Jul 15, 8:10am
Fabulous idea!! Love you ashanti!!
valentino, Jul 15, 8:14am
I use 1 ltr or 2 litr Milk bottles and the 2 and 3 litre Juice bottles filled with water as weights for pressing, a Litre is similar to a KG.

Anything heavier then will look at using paint pails.
babytears, Jul 15, 8:23am
Is the kit very expensive? How much, or there abouts to start out? What ingredients are needed? Thanks
shop-a-holic, Jul 15, 10:16am
I got a Basic Equipmentl set;has all the tools required to make cheeses from the BLUE CHEESE KIT; SOFT CHEESE KIT (ie Brie and Camembert) and HARD CHEESE KIT (ie: Cheddar; Parmesan; Ceraphilly; Stilton; Bra (any hard cheese not from Parma). Gouda is made from the same process as COLBY but just uses a different starter culture.

Basic Equipmnt Box: I got a cheese incubator (very large chilly bin to keep everything at constant temperatures when making your cheese. Means you don't need two 12 litres pots on your cooktop). I got a Cheese Vat, for heating in the mircrowave!!!!! and a Cheese Maturing Box;a temperature gauge; recipe book.

Hard Cheese Kit: All cultures and Rennet. Enough to make 50 cheeses. All You need Is MILK (must be farmhouse not homogenised). Hard cheese mold (for shaping your cheeses); Feta and Ricotta mold (Ricotta is made from the whey of your hard cheese curds); Waxing/Melting Bowl (for coating and preservating cheeses as they mature) and instructions/recipes, muslin for straining etc etc.

So easy!!

Other cheese kits are $39. Soft cheeses, or Italian cheeses.
Blue Cheese, Hard and Brie/Camembert around $72.
Very Addictive.

I'm currently researching to make a "Blue" by cloning Castello/Kikorangi etc.
ashanti, Jul 15, 10:21am
It's very easy to make your own culture for soft cheeses
donna23, Jul 15, 8:18pm
I brought the beginners italian kit for my mum for her b/day, we both had a fun afternoon making the mozarella, am keen to continue - what do you expert mad millie cheesemakers suggest next???
davidt4, Jul 15, 11:07pm
I'm working my way through the fresh cheeses at present and it's great fun.If you get the Fresh Cheese Ingredient Kit you will be able to make feta, haloumi, ricotta, cream cheese, cottage cheese and quark.
popelka1, Jul 15, 11:52pm
Not too sure how true this is and I haven't tried it myself, but I have heard if you mix a big wedge of your favourite blue cheese with a grated cheese you get more blue cheese...Not too sure how it would work but anything is worth tria; and error.
davidt4, Jul 16, 12:47am
Do let us know how you get on.Here's a link to some detailed instructions using an existing blue cheese to innoculate the curds.

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/blue_cheese/blue_cheese.htm
maximus44, Jul 16, 8:48pm
What a brilliant present. I would love a kit like that.
pom-pom, Jul 17, 9:07am
I have a friend from germnay who makes all their own cheese. They use an old garden seive, a bike inner tube and new jeyes cloths as part of their cobbled together kit. Fascinating and they make fabulous buffalo mozzarella!. Their are some excellent instructional videos on cheesemaking on youtube!!
davidt4, Jul 17, 9:15am
Where do your friends get the buffalo milk from?
kanoo, Jul 18, 11:06am
Mad Millie have some tutorials on youtube for making some of the fresh cheeses. I cheated a bit and just bought the essentials and then you can order the recipe books from their website without having to buy all the kits. The kits are fantastic, I just couldn't afford one outright. Now I would just love to know where I can buy fresh jersey milk from, apparently that makes the ultimate cheese!
valentino, Jul 18, 9:36pm
Have been doing Blue Stilton-type cheese now for quite a while.
Friends are now calling it Philton, these cheeses are so variable that one has yet made two exactly alike, (no matter how precisely one does this and please ensure all is steralised unless it is used only for this cheese) however each one so far has been superb and is sort after by friends every time they visit.

I do about 8 litres of unpasteurised full milk, add a cheese culture, then add some blue culture, bring it to 32C very slowly, add 0.8 to1 mil calf rennet and allow to set for 100 minutes, cut curds 10 to 12 mm cubes - leave for 10 minutes then into a cloth back into the whey for another 100 minutes. Then is lifted out of whey but curds in cloth, tie the top with a bit of string and hang this until the drips stop, then into a large bowl which has another bottom raised from the bowl bottom (to allow to collect more whey) and using an Ice cream container filled half with water (1KG) plus two 3 litre bottles half filled with waterplaced on top of ice cream container and leave overnight. Next morning, take the curds out of cloth, break into small(big Cherry tomato size) pieces, place into a cloth lined perforated Ice Cream container but with desertspoonful of salt added at quarterly layered sections, close the cloth over the top and repeat my weight combination of above on top. After about an hour, one then re-sets all to ensure a bit of nicety - levelness and leave for 3 days. Then, unravel the cheese, a brine of 25% salt is then rubbed all over the cheese ans set aside for another day. On this last day of prep, drill holes thoroughout cheese at 1 cm intervals then place in a cool spot (About 12 to 14C) for at least a week to 10 days then wrap in foil and refigerate for at least 4 to 5 weeks, then cut into large portions, into an ice cream container and allow to bloom further before eating.

Thoroughly delicious and better than most shop expensive Blue Cheeses.
valentino, Jul 18, 10:24pm
Oh, must add what one does when setting the cheese (the pieces part and setting for the cheese).

The pieces goes into a cloth lined perforated ice cream container then upon ready for final pressing - into another ice cream container with a raised bottom (to collect more excess whey) then that ice cream container with water in it with a lid placed ip position on top then a board sufficient size to hold 2 x bottles of water for a overall weight of about 4 to 4.5 kilos. When resetting, empty the weigh out of bottom container then should be okay to leave untouch for 3 days.

I do not use a drip tray method.

Cheers.
buzzy110, Jul 18, 10:35pm
You can get it from the people who make Buffalo yoghurts and cheese at Clevedon Markets. You have to order it. I usually go to the Parnel French Market on Saturday (they are there then) and place an order for the milk for next week. My girlfriend can't tolerate cows milk at all and has a standing 4 litre order weekly. However, be warned that sometimes they won't do it because they need all their milk for cheese and yoghurt and they make more money from that than the milk.

You can ring them up. I haven't got the number on me at present or I'd give it to you.
buzzy110, Jul 18, 10:40pm
I did a course with Kathryn Mowbray and she recommends Millies products. Reading this thread, especially the david, shop-a-holic and ashanti posts I am really keen to investigate the kit. I saw it advertised in the latest Cuisine Mag and got all excited. I would still like to make mine from unpasteurised milk though but have not come across a source close to where I live. I can go out to Helensville but would prefer to go with company making the trip more worthwhile. Pointless going all that way for 5litres when another cheesemaker could get 5 litres at the same time.
buzzy110, Jul 18, 10:41pm
I have several proper cheesmaking baskets and my very clever and technically minded son-in-law made me a press so I am even more keen to get started.
valentino, Jul 18, 10:55pm
My son goes to Helensville each week, he mainly goes for a Texas-holdem tounament but also gets my milk along with a few others.

There is a restriction how much one person is allowed and needs to sign a register and to be logged at all times. He is at his Max now but yeah, if a group of about 3 or 4 can get together and make the trip quite viable.

Oh, the farmer is bound to have this log and is open for inspection by the Dairy inspectors at any time, but at least it is a source.
dinky17, Jul 20, 5:38am
I grow a few veges to save a few bob,,,then I baked my own bread to save a few bob again,and boy does it taste beautifull too, so I thought I learn how to make cheese,to save a few bob and also I love cheese,,,I got a book from the library,Cutting the curd,on the second or third page it says,,,10 litres of milk makes 1 kg of cheese,,,wooaahhh,,,,a litre of milk in this green and pleasant land costs an arm and a leg...surely it would be cheaper to go to P&S and buy a kg of cheese? or am I going wrong here somewhere?