Here are the promised pictures :)
But firstly let me say that a thermometer reading 20 degrees when resting doesn't mean it's broken. It may actually be reading the room temp! I didn't think of this and added 30 degrees to the 20 degrees on the thermometer; Yep, my cheese was made at 50 degrees instead of 30 :(
When I first spooned the curds into the basket they weighed 1.8kg's and filled the basket. After a couple hours of being weighted down by my bloody heavy mortar and pestle the size decreased by 50%.
Added some extra weight in the form of the easiyo and it's contents: one kilo of yoghourt.
Ready to brine and hopefully in three days ready to eat!
I also experimented with making my first batch of ricotta from the whey. Heated it to 200 degrees then bunged in 1/4 cup of vinegar. Result: a piddly amount of ricotta weighing about 150gms.
So, today's dairy adventures have netted me 1kg of butter. 1.5 ltrs buttermilk, 1kg yoghourt, 1kg feta, 150grms ricotta and a huuuuuuggge amount of whey
That should do us for a few days LOL!
2 comments:
9 Responses to “Virgin Feta, warts and all”
1.kel Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 8:52 am e
hey cool, or hot in your case! let the good times roll. enjoy the fruits…
2.molly Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 4:58 pm e
WTG! The cheese looks marvellous! The whey is brilliant in place of water in cakes I believe.
3.Susana Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 5:54 pm e
So the higher temp didn’t wreak the feta? Looks delicious btw. I love, love, love feta. Make sure you share what you use all this dairy in.
4.Em Says:
January 14th, 2009 at 5:55 pm e
Wow, that looks fantastic! Yum. I’m so pleased you had success Crone, today is the day here… btw I tried to make marscopone yesterday, but stirred a little too much while cooling the cream - and ended up with butter instead! lol.
5.naturewitch Says:
January 15th, 2009 at 4:42 am e
Brilliant! Absolutley fantastic, especially for your first effort!
Yes, making ricotta from whey doesn’t yield very much. But you can boil down the whey and make a thickish Scandanavian type cheese - gjetost - which is quite yummy. Or you can try adding more vinegar and get a little more ricotta.
I’m going to enjoy watching your cheesemaking.xx
6.river Says:
January 15th, 2009 at 5:40 am e
Great first attempt at the cheese. And you made all those other products too. I prefer hard cheeses and I’ll be checking the hard cheese instructions on the link you posted for me yesterday. Probably won’t make my own, for the reasons previously stated, but I like to read how. I have an EasiYo and make yoghurt, but not often and mostly in the summer, when I team it with fruit as a quick and easy cool lunch. What will you do with all the extra whey?
7.Alicia Says:
January 16th, 2009 at 9:16 pm e
WOW!! That is fantastic, I am so impressed. You are a real inspiration. That picture of your cheese is mouth watering…..
8.Cat Says:
January 18th, 2009 at 10:45 am e
Some questions …
how hard is it to do?
Where do you get a cheese making kit from?
What does it taste like?
What is the cost benefit?
admin Says:
January 18th, 2009 at 6:46 pm e
Here you go Cat;
how hard is it to do? Easy as heating milk and reading a thermometer
Where do you get a cheese making kit from? http://greenlivingaustralia.com.au/cheeseaccessories.html
What does it taste like? I mad the feta and it tastes like Danish feta. I asked if this was normal on the forum and was told yes, but if I like a Greek style feta I need to drain the curd for longer.
What is the cost benefit? The kit makes 20kg’s of different types of cheese. It cost me $55.90 for the kit. The price of milk depends upon where you live I guess
Go on Cat, I dare you to try it! You’ll be making mozzerella like your Granny did in no time
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