Soap Nuts We have found a 100% natural cleaner which grows wild in the Himalayas and has been used for centuries in India, China, and Nepal ... Soap Nuts. We have road tested them on a truckies clothes, and delicate lingerie ... and they are great !!

We hope you enjoy these great
FREE
"Home Cheese Making"
recipes.

Lemon Cheese	Feta
Yoghurt Cheese, or Labneh	30 Minute Mozzarella
Haloumi	Quark

 

Lemon Cheese.   ©2004 (top of page) This is a soft cheese that you can do at home with what you can find in your kitchen. I started off making soft cheeses and this is still my favourite. I love to add herbs and eat it as a dip with crackers or use it as a spread on sandwiches. There are also plenty of recipes that call for soft cheeses. Ingredients 2 litres of milk 1/3 cup of lemon juice Directions In a large pot, heat the milk to 80 degrees C (175 degrees F). Add about 2/3 of your lemon the juice and stir well. Cover and let the milk set for 15 minutes. What you are looking for is a clear separation of the curds and whey. If the whey, the liquid, is still milky then add more of the lemon juice till it sets Pour the curds into a colander lined with cheese cloth. Tie the corners of the cloth together and hang the bag to drain for 1 to 2 hours, or until the curds have stopped draining Remove the cheese from the bag and add salt and herbs to taste. I have also used powdered milk and it works just fine, however the yield is less. From 2 litres of milk reconstituted from powdered milk I get just under 200 grams of cheese. From 2 litres of regular whole milk I get about 450 grams of cheese. This cheese will store in a covered container in the fridge for 1 to 2 weeks. I have however, never tested this time, as the cheese has always been eaten in my house before the first week was up.

 

Feta.   ©2008 (top of page) This is a semi hard cheese that can be made with ingredients from our Hard Cheese Kit, Soft Cheese Kit, Feta Kit, and milk. This is a beautifully textured Feta, that does not require aging for any length of time before eating, and is very easy to make. Ingredients 4 litres of full cream milk 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon Calcium Chloride diluted in 1/4 cup of un-chlorinated water. The addition of Calcium Chloride generally improves the rennet coagulation properties of your milk and this is particularly true when using pasteurised milk from the grocery store. 1 dose Direct Inoculation Mesophilic Starter Culture (a heaped ‘smidgen’ if you have our “Mini Measuring Spoons”) 1/4 Rennet Tablet or 1/4 teaspoon of Liquid Rennet dissolved in 1/4 cup of un-chlorinated water. 2 tablespoons of Cheese Salt. Directions Mix your Calcium Chloride solution into your 4 litres of milk. Slowly heat milk, using indirect heat, to 30° C Two stainless steel 'stock pots' with water in the large pot and milk in the small pot makes an effective double boiler, heating your milk indirectly. Add starter culture and stir well. Leave to incubate for 1 hour, maintaining the temperature at 30° C. Add rennet solution and stir in gently using an up and down motion for one minute to ensure that the rennet is evenly distributed. Allow to rest undisturbed for one hour, maintaining the temperature at 30° C. Check for a ‘clean brake’. If the curd is not firm enough leave for another 5 minutes and check again. Patience is the key here, wait for a clean break, and do not despair if this takes a while. If you do not get a clean break after several hours, do not throw throw your mixture out, but keep it warm overnight perhaps, and then drain it through a tight weave cheesecloth. Your end result might be a soft cheese, instead of feta, but it still is a cheese. Once the curd is firm enough and gives a clean brake, cut the curd into 1.5 centimetre cubes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Gently stir the curds for 20 minutes, being careful not to break them down. Gently pour the curds into a colander, lined with your cloth, to drain off the whey. Tie the corners of the cloth together to form a bag and hang to drain for 5 hours. The curds will knit together into a solid mass. Untie the bag and cut the curds into 2.5 centimetre cubes. Sprinkle with cubes with the salt to taste and store in the refrigerator and allow to age for 3-4 days before eating. I was going to show you this Decor box, available from Woollies for under $10, full of my Feta ... but I ate it ... LOL. Note the grid on the bottom which prevents the cheese from making direct contact with the bottom of the box. For a different flavour try adding 1/10 teaspoon of lipase dissolved in 1/4 cup of un-chlorinate water at the same time you add the starter culture. Allow the Lipase to set in the water for 20 minutes before using. Note; If using lipase, you will need to increase the amount of rennet used to achieve a good clean break.

 

Yoghurt Cheese, or Labneh   ©2010 (top of page) This is a soft cheese, also known as Lubneh or Laban, that can be made with a quality natural yoghurt. Ingredients 1 Litre of natural yoghurt One tsp of Cheese Salt (or to taste) Directions Line a colander with tight weave cheesecloth and transfer the yoghurt into it. Gather the four corners of the cloth to make a bag and suspend over a bowl to catch the whey which drips through. This whey may be used for bread making, or other cooking. Drain for 12 to 24 hours, or until the whey has stopped dripping from the bag. Remove the cheese from the bag and place it into a bowl and mix in your salt. Store in the refrigerator in a air tight container for up to 2 weeks. This is an excellent cheese for savoury dishes, and I use this when making stuffed capsicums. Try mixing this cheese with chopped, roasted garlic and piping it into mushroom tops, which are then grilled.

 

30 Minute Mozzarella   ©2010 (top of page) Mozzarella in a moment:- Mozzarella is a fantastic cheese for just eating by its self or for cooking with. Who could have a pizza without it? While we are probably able to make our own pizza dough, did you know you could make your own Mozzarella in your microwave in about 30 minutes? Full instructions, ingredients and any specialised equipment, such as a thermometer, are available in the Mozzarella & Ricotta Kit. Here's the short version: Ingredients 4 litres full cream milk. One and one half teaspoons of citric acid powder diluted in ¼ cup of demineralised or non-chlorinated water. 1/8 teaspoon of Lipase dissolved in ¼ cup of demineralised non chlorinated water. (This is optional for increased flavour) ¼ rennet tablet or ¼ teaspoon liquid rennet diluted in ¼ cup of demineralised or non-chlorinated water. Important note: If you are using Lipase, increase the rennet to ½ a tablet or ½ a teaspoon of liquid rennet, as the addition of Lipase makes for a softer curd and the increased rennet will counteract this. One to one and a half teaspoons of cheese salt. Equipment: Large pot; Cheese thermometer; Stainless steel slotted spoon Long bladed stainless steel knife for cutting the curd Microwave safe bowl large enough for your curds, (if using the microwave method). Rubber gloves; Directions Pour your milk into a large stainless steel pot and add your calcium chloride, mixing in well. If you are going to use Lipase for additional flavour, add this now and mix it in well. Stir in your citric acid solution. Using a low setting on your stove, gently heat your milk to 32 degrees C. As the milk heats it will start to curdle. Stir gently while the milk heats through. Once your milk has reached 32° C, add the rennet solution and stir gently but thoroughly, in an up and down motion, to ensure that the rennet solution is evenly distributed throughout your milk mixture. Remove your pot from the heat and allow to set for five to ten minutes, or until you have a clean break. The curds will begin to form and appear to be shrinking and pulling away from the sides of the pot. If the curd is not firm enough to brake cleanly as you move the knife within the curd, leave for another five minutes and try again. The whey should be clear. If it is milky, wait a few more minutes. This is an important step, as if you do not achieve a clean break your cheese will not work. Cut the curd using a knife that reaches all the way to the bottom of the pot. First cut it into strips about 2 centimetres wide; then do the same across the original cuts. Then slant your knife and make cuts on as great an angle as the confines of the pot will allow, so that the result is the curd cut into evenly sized cubes. Place the pot back on the heat and heat your curds to 38° to 40° c, stirring gently to keep the curds moving around the pot. Once the desired temperature has been reached, remove the pot form the heat and stir for a few minutes more, to help the curds dispel further they. The longer you stir, the firmer the curds will be. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the curds into a microwaveable bowl. Gently press the curds with your hands and pour off as much excess whey as you can. Microwave the curds on high for one minute and then remove and again press out and drain off any additional excess whey. The cheese should begin to mass together and become sticky. Fold the cheese over itself and press like you are beginning to knead bread. It will become smooth and shiny and form into one piece. Place the curd back into the microwave and heat on high for 30 seconds. Remove from microwave and drain any remaining whey. Knead the cheese like bread again until it begins to cool. This time the cheese should be too hot to handle and you may need to wear rubber gloves. Microwave again for 30 seconds. Knead again until the cheese is smooth and shiny, only this time; work in your salt as you are kneading. When the cheese stretches it is done. If the cheese does not stretch, microwave it again for an additional 30 seconds. Note that the cheese will not stretch properly if it is below 58° C. When your cheese is finished, make it into two balls and drop then into cold, non-chlorinated water to cool for a few minutes. This cheese can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge for up to one week or stored in the freezer for one month. If your cheese is too soft to shred for pizza, place it in the freezer then shred and use it partly frozen.

 

Haloumi   ©2011 (top of page) Ingredients 8 litres full cream milk. 1/8 teaspoon calcium chloride, diluted in 1/4 cup non chlorinated or demineralized water. One dose of Mesophilic culture 1/2 rennet tablet or ¼ teaspoon liquid rennet diluted in 1/2 cup of demineralised or non-chlorinated water. 1/4 cup of cheese salt, for salting the cheese. 2 litres of brine made from 2 litres of cold non chlorinated water and 450 grams of cheese salt. Equipment: Large double boiler. Two stainless steel 'stock pots' with water in the large pot and milk in the small pot makes an effective double boiler, heating your milk indirectly. Cheese thermometer. Stainless steel slotted spoon. Long bladed stainless steel knife for cutting the curd. Several 90cm squares of butter muslin for making cheese. Large stainless steel of enamel colander. Cheese mould or basket and follower. Cheese press. Directions Pour your milk into the "double boiler" and add your calcium chloride, mixing in well. Heat your milk to 30° C using indirect heat, and add one dose of mesophilic culture and mix in well. Add your rennet solution to the milk stirring for one minute in a gentle up and down motion, being sure that the rennet is evenly distributed throughout the milk. Allow to rest for 30 to 45 minutes or until you have achieved a ‘clean brake’. If the curd is not firm enough leave or another 5 minutes and check again. Once the curd is firm enough and gives a ‘clean brake’, cut the curd into 1.5 centimetre cubes. Using indirect heat once again, slowly increase the temperature to 40° C. This should be at a rate of about one degree every five minutes, for a total of approximately 50 minutes. Maintain at 40° for an additional 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes during the heating process and also while maintaining the temperature at 40° C, to prevent the curds from matting together. Ladle the curds into a colander lined with your cheesecloth, being sure to catch the whey in a pot for later use. Lift the curds while still in the cheesecloth and place them into a cheese basket or hoop. Fold the cloth over the top of the curds and then place your follower on top. Press your curds for one hour at 14 kg. Remove the cheese from the basket and carefully peal away the cloth. Turn your cheese over and redress the in a fresh cloth. Return the cheese to the press and press again for 30 minutes at 22 kg. Remove the cheese again from the basket and remove the cloth. Cut your cheese into 7cm cubes. Using the whey you saved earlier, heat it to 80 to 90 degrees. Place your cubes of cheese into the hot what to soak for one hour. Place the cubes of cheese back into the colander to drain and cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle your 1/4 cup of cheese salt onto the cheese, while it is still in the colander, and leave it for a further 3 hours. Place your cheese into a brine bath in the refrigerator and soak for up to 60 days. This cheese can be eaten right away, but the flavour develops further with time.

 

Quark   ©2011 (top of page) Ingredients 4 litres full cream milk. 6 drops calcium chloride, diluted in 1/4 cup non chlorinated or demineralized water. One dose of MO 036 Mesophilic culture Equipment: Large pot. Cheese thermometer. One 90cm squares of butter muslin for making cheese. Large stainless steel of enamel colander. Piece of string. Somewhere to hang your cheese to drain. Directions Place your milk in a large pot, and heat milk by direct heat to 31º C. Add your starter culture and stir well. Cover and let stand undisturbed in a warm place for 24 hours or until the milk has set. It should be the consistency of a firm yogurt. Line a large colander with your cheese making cloth. Carefully ladle your curds and whey into the lined colander and allow to drain for a few minutes. Tie the corners of the butter muslin together to form a bag and hang, using the string, to drain for 12 hours (overnight) or until your cheese is the desired consistency. Remove the cheese form the cloth and place in an air tight container and store in the fridge. For a drier cheese try placing the bag between two cheese boards, after is has drained for 12 hours. The weight of the boards alone will press some additional whey from the cheese. How long you press the cheese between the boards, and whether you use a small weight on top of the board, will be determined by your personal taste in regards to the texture you are trying to create.

 

I started off with the Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll and this is a wonderful book for beginners. I still refer to it regularly and I can recommend this book to anyone who wants to try their hand at this most rewarding adventure of "home cheese making".

 

---

See More "Cheese Making" Pages

• Introduction
• Cheese Making Guides
• Cheese Making Kits
• Cheese Making Ingredients
• Cheese Making Accessories
  Thermometers, Cheese Cloths, Wax, & More.
• Cheese Press, Basket, Hoops, & Followers
• Cheese FAQ's
• Free Cheese Making Recipes
• Yoghurt Culture
• Yoghurt FAQ's
• Free Yoghurt Making Recipes

 

See Our Complete Product Range In Our Online Shop.