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Cheesemaking at Home: Learn To Make Delicious Homemade Cheese

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Learn the joys of making cheese at home.

Mozzarella. Ricotta. Cheddar. You can make all of them at home! If you're a beginning cheesemaker, you'll find tips and secrets to making your own homemade cheese.

Visit our website, www.learn-to-make-cheese.com for more cheesemaking information, tools and recipes.

What You'll Find In This Guide To Cheesemaking

Fun, delicious resources for cheesemaker beginners and hobbyists

  1. Learn To Make Cheese: A Cheesemaking Guide For Beginners
  2. Making Blue Cheese at Home - An Overview
  3. What To Look For In a Cheese Knife Set
  4. Cheesemaking Tutorials
  5. Why the Milk You Use In Cheesemaking Matters
  6. Learn To Make Homemade Cheese
  7. What is processed cheese anyway?
  8. Latest NYTimes Articles About Our Beloved Cheese
  9. Amazon Spotlight On Cheesemaking
  10. Watch Cheesemaking
  11. More Great Cheesemaking Lenses
  12. Tell us what you think!
  13. More From Farm and Dairy
  14. Cheesemaking in Southern Italy
  15. Behold the Cheese Slicer
  16. Where to find a cheesemaking class

Learn To Make Cheese: A Cheesemaking Guide For Beginners

Includes information on tools, recipes and the history of cheese.

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Making Blue Cheese at Home - An Overview

Blue cheese may not be the ideal cheese for someone new to cheesemaking because it is a relatively slow process that requires some special equipment. However, once you've mastered the basic concepts of ripening milk, renneting and working the curd, you should absolutely consider making it at home. There are several ways it differs from making a fresh cheese like ricotta.

In blue cheese, once the curds are formed, an inoculum is added to the mixture. This inoculum can be a solution of a small amount of blue cheese and water, or a penicillium. This will help initiate the ripening and blooming of the cheese. Of the many of penicillium types available, we suggest penicillium roqueforti, which is used in making Gorgonzola and Roquefort cheeses.

Next, the curds are loaded into a cheese press where they sit overnight. The next day, remove the cheese from the press to prepare it to aerate and ripen. Drill holes in the cheese to allow air to travel through as it ages. Place it in a 50F refrigerator with high humidity.

Over the course of the next two months, turn the cheese daily. You'll soon notice the formation of a white bloom on the surface of the cheese.

Finally, remove the round of cheese from the refrigerator and slice it open. You should see beautiful blue or green marbling throughout the inside of the cheese. The longer the cheese ages, the more marbling you'll see. This is the work of the penicillium that reproduced and facilitated the blooming of your wonderful homemade cheese. Enjoy!

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What To Look For In a Cheese Knife Set

For yourself or a friend...they make a great gift!

A typical cheese set contains a hard cheese knife for cheeses like cheddar, a cheese plane or shaver, a fork-tipped knife, and a spreader that works not only for soft cheeses but spreads, pates or cheese accompaniments. Cheese knife sets range in price from about 20 dollars to as much as several hundred dollars for a 4-piece Wusthof cheese set. You'll find some sets come with a case or cutting board, typically bamboo.

When shopping for a cheese set, look for stainless steel blades that are designed to keep their edge and have a lifetime warranty. If you have the opportunity to try out different knives, take note of the knife's balance and weight. Make sure it has a non-slip grip that feels comfortable in your hand. Many cheese knives have very small handles which are ideal for some hands, but not for others. If you're serving a lot of different cheeses to a group, it's important that you don't get hand fatigue from an uncomfortable cheese knife. Also, note that some cheese sets are dishwasher safe, but many allow only handwashing so read the accompanying instructions carefully.

Cheesemaking Tutorials

Learn to make cheese by watching the experts

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Cheesemaking Booksmarks From Del.icio.us

The latest and greatest information about cheesemaking and cheese-related supplies

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Why the Milk You Use In Cheesemaking Matters

Unpasteurized milk can be difficult to find, but worth it.

While it may seem obvious, cheesemaking starts with milk. High quality, fresh milk is key to making any cheese. Cheesemakers agree that unpasteurized milk produces the most high-quality, delicious cheeses. Also known as "raw" milk, care must be taken when transporting the unpasteurized milk to avoid its contamination. The pasteurization process in which milk is heated to remove bacteria and germs, can sometimes affect the enzymes of the cheese. It impacts the ability of cheese curds to form, as well as the taste of the final product. If you don't raise cows, goats or sheep, or live near people who do, unpasteurized milk can be difficult to procure. In that case, any type of milk may be used to make cheese. This includes whole, 2% or skim milk.

Learn To Make Homemade Cheese

What is processed cheese anyway?

(not to be confused with the real thing!)

Every country has its own legal definition of processed cheese, its classifications and standards. Fat and moisture content help determine the category of a cheese. For example, in the U.S., the substance known as "pasteurized processed cheese food" has a maximum moisture content of 44% and a minimum fat content of 23%. This is not to be confused with "pasteurized processed cheese spread" which has a lower fat and higher moisture content, making it more spreadable.

Processed cheese originated in the early 20th century when factories would purchase large quantities of leftover or defective cheese to package and redistribute. Since then, it has become an enormous industry, but no longer begins with substandard cheese. However, it is still not comparable to real cheese.

Latest NYTimes Articles About Our Beloved Cheese

A great way to learn about cheeses from around the country and the world.

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Amazon Spotlight On Cheesemaking

What Cheese-lovers Should Always Have On Hand

The Cheese Knife

The Cheese Knife

Amazon Price: $15.95 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

The Cheese Knife is made of a revolutionary new material that keeps the cheese on the plate, not on the knife. Originally designed as a soft-cheese knife, the technology also works with butter, fois gras, boiled eggs, cake, or any substance that typically leaves a residue on ordinary blades.

Watch Cheesemaking

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More Great Cheesemaking Lenses

The Best of the Best!

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Tell us what you think!

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More From Farm and Dairy

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Cheesemaking in Southern Italy

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Behold the Cheese Slicer

Determine the best cheese slicer for your needs. (also makes a great gift!)

For serving nice cheeses at home, having a proper cheese slicer or cheese knife is essential. A cheese slicer is a nice presentation piece, helps keep your cheese cool, and you can slice off as much or as little as you want. Slices are always neat and consistent. Plus, cheese slicers make a great gift!

Cheese slicers with a plastic base tends to be dishwasher-safe, lightweight and more sanitary than wood.

Marble base cheese slicers have a nice presence and help keep the cheese cool and look fresh. They are also sanitary and usually have rubber pads on the bottom to keep it from sliding. Marble cheese sliders enhance any decor.

Wood cheese slicers are fairly light and often have recesses to organize fruit and crackers. A nicely finished wood piece becomes more beautiful with use and can last for decades.

Hand-held stainless steel cheese slicers are also long lasting and don't rust or crack. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to store.

Where to find a cheesemaking class

Learn cheesemaking by taking a cheese making class in your area. Beginners and advanced cheesemakers have many cheesemaking course options.
  • Visit Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org), a great resources for cheesemaking classes and many other fun ones like beekeeping, hydroponic gardening, farmers' markets, cook-offs, pierogi making, sewing and breadmaking. These classes tend to be for beginners and there are kid-friendly options too.
  • Cheese stores are a great place to take cheesemaking classes in a relaxed environment. For example, the reknowned Murray's cheese offers a nice cheese class schedule. Most classes have to do more with learning about and tasting cheese, but they do offer a mozzarella making class. Another wonderful option is the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company who offers cheesemaking workshops for both beginners and advanced students.
  • Cheese-related organizations such as the Artisanal Cheese Center based in New York City offer both cheese tasting and cheesemaking courses in one-time sessions. They have also partnered with the Viking Cooking School to offer classes throughout the country in places like Atlanta, Bryn Mawr, PA, and Memphis TN.
  • Many states have their own artisan cheese guild, a group of artisan cheesemakers who adhere to certain requirements in making artisan cheeses in order to be accepted as members. Artisan cheese guild websites usually include a member directory of dairies and farms, and cheese and cheesemaking-related events open to the public.
  • The adult education class programs of community colleges often offer one-evening or multi-session cheesemaking classes.
  • If you're more than a hobbyist, universities with food studies programs, such as the University of Washington, offers cheesemaking classes. Also, the University of Vermont is home of the Vermont Institute for Artisan Cheese.
  • For serious cheesemakers, there are destination cheesemaking courses such as the 3-day workshops through Three Shepherds Cheese in Vermont.
  • Ask around. Ask the sellers at your local farmer's market if they are aware of any cheesemaking class opportunities. If your dairy and cheese vendor doesn't currently offer cheesemaking classes, they might consider starting if the interest is there. (and is it ever!) You can also join in cheese discussion forums to find out about local and national cheesemaking courses and events.

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sarahohn

I'm a trained chef and writer on subjects on food and nutrition.

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