For my birthday last August my family pooled their money together to get me all the tools I would need to make my own cheese. It had been something I have wanted to do for a long time and I was so excited the day it finally arrived
I started out making Colby cheese and I have to tell you that this was a very l o n g , involved process. The first initial step took most of the day.
I started with two gallons of raw milk.
It takes a while to get the milk at just the right temperature, gently stirring and checking the thermometer constantly.
Then you let it rest. Next you add the culture.
You bring it back to a certain temperature-slowly-then let it rest. The process goes like this several times until you finally begin to see the curds taking form. This was an exciting step for me.
You drain it to separate the curds and whey.
This is where I called in reinforcements. Aria came to help mammy break the curds into little pieces.
Also to sample the cheese of course!
Then we put the curds into the press.
There were several steps to pressing the cheese. We would press it for a certain amount of time under a certain weight.
Bring it out of the press, turn it over, then press it again for another certain amount of time under heavier weight.
It slowly began to take shape until the final pressing which took all night.
In the morning the cheese was ready for the next step, which was a drying out for a few days.
I then had to wax the cheese to protect it from mold.
Then it went into a cooler for 3 months for aging.
It turned out wonderful! I have plans this summer to make different kinds of cheese, I think cheddar will be next.
honey, butter, sheep, goats, and cheese for David and those who were with him. For they said, “You must all be very hungry and tired and thirsty after your long march through the wilderness.” 2 Samuel 17:29
The Portion of my Inheritance 