Cheese

I have gotten myself involved in the art of making cheese. Thought I'd try doing just a simple one like cottage cheese for the first outing and it worked out pretty well.

Next up was one called Quark. No not those ones flying around out in space. or going through my house at light speed. This is an old original one developed about 5-6 hundred years ago. It is also a soft one and ready to eat just as soon as you are done with the making it part. Goes good spread on hot toast with made just a touch of homemade blackberry jam smeared on it.

Now it is time to try one that actually set me on this  course in the first place. Cheddar, the King of cheeses as far as I am concerned. I guess the Queen award would have to go to Rogurfort,(sp). But back to the King. This one takes a little longer to age before you can eat it. It is called Farmhouse Cheddar, but it is kind of bland and pure white when first out of the press. It tastes like a cheddar but with overtones of feta slipped in there somehow. I let it age in a cool environment for about 30 days and just had to try it. It is a little crumbly but has started to develop a bit of a tang on the tongue. So I am eating the third quarter of that one. After rewaxing the last quarter piece, put it back in the storage place for another month or two to see what develops.

For the fourth  attempt I went for doing a Traditional Cheddar. This one is a lot more involved than the Farmhouse one. There are a few more steps to this process that eventually gives you my favorite  tasting cheese. "Cheddaring" is the actual process of cutting and stacking the cheese curds into strips, and turning them every fifteen minutes or so, all the while holding them at a constant temperature in a pot surrounded with hot water at a very specific temp.

Because of difficulty of getting the water to an exact temperature, I'm not sure how my latest attempt is going to turn out. But won't know for sure till 6-9 months down the road. Since that last time I have bought a device to immerse in the water to keep it heated and also a device that automatically regulates the water heater to maintain that oh so critical temp!

So tomorrow morning I am going to put all my new found information and gadgets to the test and will begin the second of what I hope will be a bi-weekly affair of starting a new cheese to feed to the masses, Well at least to my family. If it is eatable, I may pass out a few tastes albeit grudgingly!

TIFN