the art and craft of home: making cheese

meatless monday
notes from maggie's farm

making cheese

I'm very excited to share a new feature from maggie's farm, the art and craft of home; a series of classes dedicated to simple homesteading skills of yesterday, with application for today.

This week, we're tackling simple cheesemaking.

This whole meatless monday culinary caper could never have happened in this household if it weren't for one saving grace.  CHEESE.  We love cheese.  We love cheese so much, we can be absolutely distracted from the meatless condition Monday has taken around here for the past few years.  In fact, better than distracted, we are utterly charmed.

Collage images courtesy of Kristina Nichols-Wolter, of GirlGoneGrits.

A few of my favorite food-blogging friends and I gathered this weekend in my parent's lovely and spacious Austin kitchen to share cheesemaking--I, my basic knowledge, they--their enthusiasm, and together, we produced pounds of homemade ricotta and queso fresco.  A dry run to explore the possibilities of offering small, home cheesemaking parties for the public, gleaning feedback from people expert in various facets of food culture, it was a cheeselover's paradise.  The company was even better than the output. Nothing like spending a few hours on the weekend with people who have passion for the same things as you, friends of all ages and stages of live who make you laugh, and home cooks who make CHEESE with you.  When all that's wrapped in the same package....well, it's magical.

Collage images courtesy of Kristina Nichols-Wolter, of GirlGoneGrits.

This week, it's all about the cheese.  What we made, who made it, what to do with it.  (We revisited an earlier post, you are a cheesemaker, last week.  It's a quick read and will help you get settled.) And while we will be incorporating our homemade output, you certainly don't HAVE to make your own.  There are perfectly lovely alternatives to buy out there-- and we'll look at how to incorporate those, too, if cheesemaking is just a little too homesteady for you.  But let me encourage you--it's really not as difficult as it seems, and there is enormous satisfaction in creating cheese with your own two hands.  There are worse ways to spend a few hours over the weekend.

Devoting all of your attention to cheesemaking, among other simple skills of yesteryear, has a meditative quality; there is a quiet dignity in the art and craft of cheesemaking, or the mastery of any skill, for that matter, for which you usually depend upon another. 

 “It is a good idea sometimes to think of the importance and dignity of our every-day duties. It keeps them from being so tiresome; besides, others are apt take us at our own valuation. ” 
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

Perhaps there will always be a bold streak of my toddler self that informs my every-day duties and strengthens my own valuation.  That little towheaded moppet whose favorite phrase, family legend has it, was "I can do it myself."

Collage images courtesy of Kristina Nichols-Wolter, of GirlGoneGrits.

Yep.  You bet I can.  And you can, too.

We used raw cow's milk for our cheese class.  Pasteurized milk from the grocery may be used, but with mixed results.  Ultra-pasteurized, most of the milk you'll find for retail sale, will not make cheese.  Discovering a source for raw milk may take a little foot-, or finger-, as it were, work.  Regulations vary by region, but more and more raw milk is a becoming available for individual consumers.  Search for 'raw milk resources' in your area to learn more.

Learn to make a basic queso fresco from you are a cheesemaker, last Friday's post.  We substituted cow's milk for goat's milk, broke up the drained curds in a bowl, seasoned with dill and lemon zest, and left this particular batch unsalted.  Seasoning is optional, queso fresco is traditionally simply salted, and unseasoned.  It has a sweet, nutty edge and is fabulous crumbled over beans or in soups, and our favorite, in concert with any taco filling, along with a little shredded cabbage and fresh spicy salsa.  It can be left crumbly, for a topping, or molded in a dish and served as a table cheese, as below.  This cheese will last for 5-7 days in your refrigerator, and around 3 months in the freezer.  (And it freezes beautifully!)

Collage images courtesy of Kristina Nichols-Wolter, of GirlGoneGrits.

Homemade ricotta is made in much the same way.  This variation is unique in it's handling after heating, and separating the curds from the whey.  (see you are a cheesemaker)  Strain curds in a butter muslin cloth-lined colander, reserving whey.  Whip 1/3 of the batch of curds with 1/3 cup reserved whey until well-combined. Combine with remaining curds, in a bowl, and massage, along with your choice of herbs or spices (I seasoned my batch with lemon rosemary salts that Kristina graciously provided), or leave simply, satisfactorily plain, until curds are smooth and well-blended.

Can't wait to show you all the delicious ways we used our cheese up here on the farm, all this week.  Next up-- Herbed Queso Fresco and Kale-Stuffed Roasted Tomatoes, topped with cheese and pecan toasted bread crumbs.  And we took advantage of the dish, doubling it's output-- garlic-y Roasted Lemon-Garlic Kale with Ricotta, of which I had a few mouth-watering mouthfuls, before a hungry farming lad took over the bowl and finished it off. Who's to complain?  I'll consider it a vote of confidence.

Yeah, this Monday, we never missed the meat.

Cheesemaking Resources:
Lehman's Cheesemaking Supplies
Williams-Sonoma Agrarian: Do-It-Yourself Cheese
Artisanal Cheese: List of Resources
Cheese, Glorious Cheese

“Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing.” — Oscar Wilde