Cheese At Home

Now that I've got my goat, the countdown begins until I have fresh milk daily at home. All manner of dairy items are now within reach: drinking milk, butter, yogurt, and, blissfully, cheese.

Santa delivered many fine items from the New England Cheese Supply, including recipe books, cultures, rennet, and salts. I am no culinary whiz, so to begin my cheese-making journey, I began at the beginning -- with mozzarella.

Making this favorite cheese is quick and easy. I started with a gallon of raw cow's milk (and about half a quart of cream that was too runny to use for whipping). I followed the directions and in about 30 minutes, I had great fresh Mozzarella. Half the cheese went immediately to, er, quality control tests. The rest went into an herb and olive oil bath for marinating. One gallon of milk made about one pound of cheese. The whey went to the dogs and chickens. No waste around here with so many mouths to feed.

I hope to move on to hard cheese that requires some aging. I need a cheese press and I plan to build a root cellar/cheese & meat aging room in my basement in March.