Questions on Basic Hard Cheese Kit

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• From Becky at 6/2/11 1:37 PM
  • I am interested in trying to make cheese. How long does it typically take? I have two small children and want to make sure I have time before I purchase a kit. Thanks.
    
    
  • The amount of time it takes to make cheese depends quite a bit on the type of cheese you are making and the recipe you are using.
    
    For instance, to make a typical hard cheese, you would heat the milk (about 30 minutes), add the culture and let it ripen for about an hour, then add the rennet and let it sit for another hour. You then cut the curd and cook it for around 90 minutes while stirring, then drain the whey while turning the curd (about 5 or 6 times every 10 minutes). You then cut the curds again and drain while turning, for a total of another couple of hours. Then you salt the curds and put them in a cheese press overnight, and then, depending on the type of cheese, you either do more pressing, or you prepare it for aging.
    
    That is a very simple summary of one way to make cheese. As you can see it is a little time consuming!
    
    Some softer cheeses are a little simpler to make. It would be a good idea to research some recipes before deciding on which cheese to make (and what supplies to get), especially if you have time constraints.
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• From Chris Cramer at 6/14/11 7:14 PM
  • Will this kit work with goat's milk?
  • Yes, you can use this kit with goat's milk.
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• From Amanda at 8/7/11 11:24 PM
  • How much of each of the cheeses will this starter kit make?
  • Depending on which cheeses you make, the kit should give you about 20 pounds of cheese.
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• From Becky at 9/1/11 8:10 PM
  • Do I need to purchase a cheese press for this starter kit?
  • Technically no. Some cheeses the kit makes (like Feta) don't need to be pressed. Others like Cheddar do. There are ways to press cheese without a cheese press. They're aren't terribly convenient but it is possible. Here's a blog post from one of our affiliates that talks about pressing cheeses: http://gnowfglins.com/2011/01/19/diy-cheese-press/
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• From Fawn at 11/24/11 12:16 PM
  • Can you tell me the series name of each culture included in this kit?
  • Mesophilic DS: s.lactis, s. cremoris, malto dextrin
    
    Thermophilic DS: lactose, (ST) streptococcus thermophilus, (LB) lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, (LH) lactobacillus helveticus
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• From Alex at 12/8/11 2:05 PM
  • Does this kit need to be kept cold for travel?? Thinking about giving it as a holiday gift, but it will need to be brought on a plane. Don't know how well/convenient it is for traveling, prior to opening.
  • The kit will be fine during travel. Once the gift is given, the cultures should be stored in the freezer until ready to use.
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• From Judith at 2/9/12 5:43 PM
  • I am not able to get raw milk where I live and I was wondering if I could use whole organic milk for the store to make cheese?
  • Whole organic milk is just fine for making cheese.
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• From James reed at 3/1/12 3:11 PM
  • it says this hit will make up to eight types of cheeses, if I prefer to can I make all of the cheese in just one or two types or do I have to make all eight types of cheese?
  • You can choose which type of cheese you'd like to make with each different starter included in the kit.
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• From Susan at 3/2/12 10:49 PM
  • Most of the organic milks at our local grocery are ultra high pasteurized. I have heard that they won't make good cheese. Is this true?
  • Ultra pasteurized or UHT (Ultra high temperature) milks can be problematic for cheesemaking. The high heat the milk is exposed to kills the good bacteria that helps in the cheesemaking process. You may be able to make some of the soft cheeses with Ultra Pasteurized or UHT milk but we would encourage you to try to find local milk or standard pasteurized.
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• From Cat at 8/6/12 1:20 PM
  • Is it ok to use raw milk in these recipes?
  • Raw milk is totally fine for making cheese, but you have to heat it to make the cheese, so it won't stay raw. However, starting with raw milk will work just fine.
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