My First Cheesepress

I have developed a desire to make dairy products at home. I've always made yogurt and labneh (yogurt cheese). Now I want to try hard cheese. Well, to do that you need a cheese press.

Expensive and dream dies before it gets to thrive? Nope.

Mine cost all of parts was about... Oh, wait... it was all free. I was about to say $5 dollars for the coffee can, but Mom and Dad gave me that coffee. Everything you see in the picture was a gift.

Here's how to construct your cheesepress for turning one (1) gallon of milk into hard cheese. First things first, you'll want to go buy coffee in a tin can. Drink it all up. Cut both ends of the can off/out and retain. The can is 4" in diameter and about 5-6" in height which is what is called for in pressing the curds from a gallon of milk. You now have the main body. Next, you keep the solid end (like pictured), the other end is probably going to be an open ring (recycle it). This is going to be what is called the "follower". The follower is the mechanism for evenly spreading the weight of the press (in this case the big ol' book) to the cheese curds. Between the press and follower you need something to transfer the weight down to the follower within the main body. That would best be done by a glass or cup that is smaller than 4" in diameter and greater than 5" in height. You will also need an old fashioned hanky or cheese cloth. My hanky is in use making labneh or it would be in the picture too.

Later, I shall endeavor to create a 6" diameter press for making 5 gallons of milk into cheese. The main issue is finding metal coffee cans that size. Everyone I've seen so far is cardboard. I may attempt to use one of those with some slight reinforcement with duct tape. But first I must be successful at the 1 gallon level.

BTW cheapest press I've seen is $30, and its not much more advanced than mine.

Pass It On

Pearce and I made some butter this morning. I wanted to see if pasteurization did anything weird to the cream. It doesn't, really, the color is off, and maybe taste, but it works.

We salted it this time. The ratio was 1 tsp salt to a pint of cream. Kristi will have to give a judgement on the amount when I thaw it out.

I froze the butter before I realized I didn't have the flour I need to make my home made baking mix. I freeze the butter so I can grate it instead of cutting it in to the mix.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Well, it's been a busy weekend at Casa della Elkins. Kristi's gallon of unskimmed milk is now 3 quarts of yogurt, a ramikin of fresh butter, and a pint of real buttermilk. Last weeks' yogurt is now Labneh.

The three quarts may have to last for two weeks with Jere and Christina's wedding coming up next weekend. Next time I go crazy making stuff I will be making Neufchâtel. That might mean a cheesecake in the near future.

I have several cheeses in my sights. However, I am reading up on making soy milk and tofu. That might happen some time this week. I'm so excited.

"Mr. Elkins of the City, an eminent cheesemonger."

Not often I get to quote my favorite author in such a personal way. Well, any how, I just realized I've been making a Lebanese cheese for years and didn't know it.

I like making yogurt and have done so for several years. At least in three different houses. I also like draining all the whey out and have been pleased to call it yogurt cheese, not knowing any better.

Well, I started to read up on making cheese after Kristi got the urge to make butter. I was looking at butter videos on YouTube and found one about cheese making for beginners and wound up at a site devoted to craft cheese making. The long and the short of it is that the second step to learning to make cheese, after making yogurt, is making Labneh. Labneh is the real name of my yogurt cheese.

So, I've already covered the first two bases and next time I get some milk from Kathy I'm going to try Neufchâtel.
Yep, the cream cheese of choice for the famous Elkins cheesecake.

Oh, does anyone know where the quote I titled this post comes from? You have to get the book right.

Kristi is Going to Butter Us Up

Kathy, she works with Kristi, is our milk supplier and has now gotten Kristi into the homemade bug. She gave Kristi a gallon of completely unskimmed milk. Back up a little. When Kathy sends milk home with Kristi she has typically skimmed the cream off the top to make butter. This time she didn't. Not only did we get all of the cream Kathy gave Kristi the directions for making butter.

WOOHOO!!!

I guess I'll be making my yogurt with blue-john this week. I like all this homemade stuff we got going. Laundry detergent, yogurt, BUTTER, and more to come no doubt.