Cooking Stack Exchange
Cooking Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [cheese-making]

Questions about the ingredients, methods, and equipment used to turn milk into cheese.

Take some milk, add some combination of bacteria and rennet; sometimes acids, herbs, and mold. Follow the correct preparation methods, wait a while, and obtain tasty, tasty spoiled milk.

See also the tag, for questions about using, storing, and serving it once you've finished making it.

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Why is there cow cheese but no pig cheese?

I have always wondered what there is no cheese made from other milks other than cow, goat or sheep. Are they not suitable for humans? Do they taste bad? Is it even possible to make dairy products with them?
Brizio
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How many times can cheesecloth be reused?

I've only needed to use cheesecloth a few times in the kitchen and was curious to know if it's reusable. If so, how is it cleaned and how many times can it be reused?
raji
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Fabric to be used for cheesecloth

I want to make my own cheesecloth as to aid the make of Paneer. Is there any type of fabric I should avoid or any other pitfalls to avoid? Can I use just general cotton and will this be effective in letting the whey drip out of the curds?
Neil Meyer
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Cheese from UHT Milk

I live in a town where fresh or whole milk is not readily available. I was wondering if I could make cheese from UHT Milk. If so, what kind of cheese and what method I should use? Or rather, Should I?
Nicolas
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What is the difference (practically) between different types of rennet?

I recently started cheesemaking and I purchased some vegetarian rennet from an online retailer. I believe it's microbial (it's a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water). When a recipe calls for X amount of calves' rennet (liquid or tabs),…
calico-cat
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What is the effect of the fat content of milk when making cottage cheese

I made cottage cheese yesterday using 1% milk while the recipe called for 2% milk. This got me wondering... What effect does the fat content of the milk used in the recipe have on the final cottage cheese product? Does using milk with a higher fat…
Kyra
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How does FPC compare to mammalian rennet?

How does fermentation-produced chymosin (bio-chemically engineered rennet) compare to real mammalian rennet? Does it affect the flavor of the cheese?
Drisheen Colcannon
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Using whey from yogurt to make ricotta

My girlfriend and I make a large batch of yogurt every week, and have done so for more than a year now - we just eat a ton of the stuff. THis leaves a lot of leftover whey which we used to just throw out. This past week I took my first swing at…
Matthew
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Does method of coagulation matter when extracting ricotta from whey?

I'm wondering if it matters whether you start from acid alone (lemon, vinegar or citric) vs something like acid + rennet. So the whey left over from making paneer, vs the whey left over from making mozzarella. Can you use either to extract the…
erotavlas
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Can ricotta be made from powdered whey?

1. There are many recipes for making ricotta cheese from fresh whey leftover after cheese. Although I searched Google trying to find making ricotta from powdered whey, I couldn't find anything. A soft cheese, paneer, can be made from powdered milk…
Jude
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Cheesemaking produces strange bicolored whey

I made some farmer cheese (heat milk, add vinegar, strain curds). I didn't have a strainer big enough to handle the whole batch, so I used two smaller strainers. Weirdly, the two sub-batches produced very different-looking whey (see photo). Why…
crmdgn
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Is it safe to drink the whey?

If you make cheese with starter culture and rennet is the whey that is a byproduct of this process safe to drink? I have heard from some that there does exist some who are fond of drinking this but I'm not sure if the whey from rennet is safe?
Neil Meyer
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Will milk produce more curds if you add additional protein and fat content?

Cheese is basically made up of protein and fat. If I take non-fat milk and add more protein (i.e, from protein powder), and more fat (i.e, olive oil, or some other type of oil), will it produce more curds when I make homemade cheese? Does it also…
Jonathan
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CaCl2 and cheese making

I am learning to make cheese. I am reading up. I have questions. What is the use of Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) in cheese making? Amazon sells CaCl2(H2O)n hydrolysed Calcium Chloride at ~$8 for a 4 oz bottle. Can I use the $2 pack of CaCl2 icemelter…
Cynthia
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Cold curds into cheese?

I am making an overly-elaborate drink recipe. That recipe will end up with a pile of milk curds as a byproduct. I want to try making those curds into a cheese instead of discarding them. However, they have already been chilled, prior to pulling them…
fectin
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