Making some cheese

[valley ranch]

I brought 2 gallons of fresh milk slowly up to 88 degrees. While the milk was heating I stirred in tablespoon of salt. At 88 degrees I added 1/4 tablet rennet that had been dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Checked the curd, had a clean break at 20 min, sliced to 1/4 inch cubes, allowed the curd to set for 20 min.

Raised the temp to 104 degrees stirring curd so it didn't clump, cut curd that was too large as I stirred. Allowed curd to rest for another 20 min, Strained in colander. allowed time to drain.

Broke curd again as I filled the mold. Will press for 45min each side with light weight about a quart in bottle attached to handle of press~Oh! I made a press, nothing fancy but bigger and better that the arbor press I was using and less trouble assembling. This should be a nice semi hard ring.

 

[valley ranch]

By the way, after the cheese has been pressed with light weight it will be pressed with the bottle 1/2 or 3/4 full. That might be 40 lbs, I haven't scaled the press yet.

 

[Smart Red]

Hum. I wonder what happened to my two cheese presses?

I haven't made cheese in years. We used to 'whip' up a batch every year as we studied the Dairy Industry in Wisconsin. Mostly we made a soft cheese that hang over the sink and drained through cheese cloth, but once I had Spouse make the two presses, we tried a harder cheese as well. I don't think it went over as well as the soft cheese.

 

[dickiebird]

If you can make some Velveeta I'd buy it from you!!!!

THANX RICH

 

[Smart Red]

Processed "cheese product" is not cheese. Ya'll can't make Velveeta because you can't find all the chemicals needed for its production.

....."While Velveeta used to be made of (from leftover bits) real cheese, today, Velveeta cheese is made with whey protein concentrate and milk protein – meaning that it is not technically cheese.

The FDA noticed this in 2002, when it sent Kraft a warning letter asking the company to take “cheese spread” off its packaging and replace it with something a bit closer to the truth. While there are elements of real cheese in Velveeta – like, you know, milk – to call it actual cheese is a bit of a stretch. Which is why it is now labeled as a “Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product.”

The official list of Velveeta ingredients is as follows: Milk, Water, Whey, Milk Protein Concentrate, Milkfat, Whey Protein Concentrate, Sodium Phosphate, Contains 2% or less of: Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Alginate, Enzymes, Apocarotenal, Annatto, Cheese Culture.

Meanwhile, the ingredient list for most cheeses is milk, rennet, and maybe a little bit of salt. But the longer ingredients list isn’t the most startling element here.

Here’s the thing: you shouldn’t need to add whey to a cheese, because whey is actually produced during traditional cheesemaking (it’s the liquid that’s left after the milk has curdled and been strained).

While many varieties of supermarket cheese do have preservatives, true cheese doesn’t actually need artificial additives, because the cheesemaking process actually creates natural preservatives.

Non-starter (NS) bacteria are the second wave of bacteria that appear in cheese during the cheesemaking process. Mainly made up of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria, these naturally occurring organisms contribute to the flavor and storage ability of different cheeses.

Velveeta, on the other hand, contains quite an array of distinct coloring and preserving agents.

Basically it can’t be called real cheese because it has so many additives in it."

 

[dickiebird]

Looks like cheese to me.
And I love it!!!!

THANX RICH

 

[ninnymary]

I've never made cheese but you make it sound so easy. I'm sure it's going to taste so good.

Mary

 

[Smart Red]

Not a problem for me, dickiebird. You are in good company, I'm sure. Even with taking the name cheese out of the advertising, it is still a top selling product. I seldom use it myself, but have to admit it does one great job of melting smoothly.

 

[ninnymary]

Looks like cheese to me.
And I love it!!!!

THANX RICH

That's all that matters.

Mary

 

[valley ranch]

Here she be, a nice ring of cheese.

That is a good description of items sold at one time under the name of cheese. There is another, wish I had it here to post, if I find it I will.: The ingredients were protein along with a number of ingredients we would recognize as food. It was a old leather work boot complete with coloring, flavoring and preservatives.


Milk is the same after what is done to " Make it safe to drink" it should be called something that describes what it is, instead of a title given for marketing.