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Leeners Cheesemaking
you make kit cheese
make your own cheese
CHEESE INGREDIENTS
You will be amazed at how easy it is to make your own cheese. You already have most of the equipment in your kitchen and we supply the rest. A simple cream yogurt cheese spread can be ready for breakfast overnight. Mozzarella cheese is ready the same day its made and even the aged cheeses like Cheddar, Gouda and Colby are ready to eat in just a few weeks.  Unlike many cheese kits on the market, ours is complete. Even the cheese press and wax are included. Our complete cheese making instructions are right here on the web to help you understand the process. 
CHEESE MAKING INSTRUCTIONS
  • CHEESE INGREDIENTS
  • EQUIPMENT & TOOLS
  • THE PROCESS
  • SOFT CHEESE RECIPES
  • SEMI-HARD CHEESE RECIEPS
  • HARD CHEESE RECIPES
  • GLOSSARY
    		•  CHEESE MAKING INGREDIENTS
  • TYPES OF MILK
  • STORE BOUGHT MILK
  • STARTER CULTURES
  • RENNET
    		•
    CHEESE MAKING INGREDIENTS
    Simply put, cheese making is the process of removing water from dairy milk. The first characteristic of a cheese is based on how much water is removed. Soft cheeses like cream cheese contain more water than a hard cheese like cheddar. Very dry cheeses like parmesan contains all most no water.
    Milk is mostly water. Cows milk, for example, contains over 87% water by weight. What remains are the components of cheese. Fat, protein, lactose and minerals. The cheese maker begins removing water from milk in number of ways.
    The simplest method is to add an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar directly to the milk. A second method uses bacteria to create an acid in the milk. This is the preferred method because the bacteria also provides flavor and character to the finished product. In both methods the acid causes the milk protein to coagulate into curd which is the solid protein of milk.
    The basic ingredients for making cheese are milk, starter cluture and or natural acids, and rennet.
    The Composition of Milk
    Fat
    Protein
    Lactose
    Minerals
    Water    		 3.5%
    3.5%
    4.9%
    0.7%
    87.4%
    		Cheese can be made from any dairy animal milk. Fresh raw milk from cows or goats, store bought milk from whole to skim and specialty milks from health food stores. One rule of thumb regardless of the source of your milk is, the fresher the better. When purchasing milk from the store be sure to check the freshness dates. 
    Don't be afraid to ask your grocer for milk from their latest delivery. If you explain what you are using it for they should be very helpful. Milk should always be kept refrigerated until ready for use.
    PROS AND USES
    CONS AND PROBLEMS
    RAW COW
    		 Preferred for making butter, hard and Italian cheeses Regulated in many States and not readily available
    RAW GOAT
    		 Preferred for feta, and goat's cheese. Works in most cheese recipes. Not readily available.
    WHOLE
    PROCESSED
    		 Available everywhere. Works well in all cheese recipes. Homogenized and may require adjustment with calcium chloride.
    LOW FAT
    PROCESSED
    		 Produces high quality low fat cheese, especially when used in cream and soft cheese recipes. Homogenized and may require adjustment with calcium chloride. Will yield a drier more crumbly curd of lessor weight.
    FAT FREE
    SKIM MILK
    		 Produces quality no fat cheese, especially when used in cream and soft cheese recipes. Excellent when combined with heavy cream to recreate raw milk consistency. Homogenized and may require adjustment with calcium chloride. Will yield a drier more crumbly curd of lessor weight.
    HEAVY
    CREAM
    		 Used to make butter and adjust the cream content of skim milk for producing hard cheese from store bought milk.
    LIGHT
    CREAM
    		 Used to make desert cheeses like Marscapone.
    		 
    TYPES OF MILK
    STORE BOUGHT MILK
    Homogenized Milk (store bought) Store bought milk is homogenized, which means that the cream particles (butter fat) have been mechanically broken up into microscopic particles. This is done to prevent the cream from separating from the milk. Homogenizing milk also alters the protein. Unless the cheese maker compensates for this the milk will not make a satisfactory curd for hard cheese. When making cottage cheese or any hard cheeses with store bought milk you must prepare a special mixture. The basic recipe is 1 part heavy cream to 7 parts skim milk. All of the recipes given here are formulated to use store bought milk and the instructions for preparing this mixture are given in each recipe when necessary. 
    Calcium Chloride (optional) Another step used to compensate for the processing of store bought milk is the addition of calcium chloride prior to adding rennet to the cheese mixture. The addition of calcium chloride will help restore the altered milk protein and aid in the development of a quality curd. Specific instructions for using calcium chloride are given with each recipe.
    Pasteurization All milk, regardless of its source will contain bacteria. Pasteurizing is a simple process which will kill any bacteria which may be in the milk. We have found that pasteurizing any milk, including store bought, will improve the quality of the cheese. To pasteurize your milk simply place the milk in a double boiler and heat the milk to 161oF. Stirring often to avoid scorching. Once you have reached 161oF place the pot of milk into a sink of cold water and cool the milk to your cheese making temperature. Complete details on pasteurizing are given in the step-by-step instructions later in this document.
    CHEESE STARTER CULTURES
    The acidification of milk in cheese making by means of bacteria is called ripening. A variety of bacteria cultures are available for making specific cheese types. These bacteria, commonly called starters, are added to the milk after pasteurization and at specific temperatures. They are allowed to work for specific time periods depending on the type of cheese. During this period the bacteria consumes the lactose which is milk sugar. The biological process is the same as the fermentation of beer or wine. As the bacteria eat, they produce lactic acid which in turn causes the milk protein to develop into curd. Other byproducts of this ripening stage provide flavor compounds which enhance the character of the finished cheese.
    Basic Cheese Starter Cultures
    MESOPHILIC
    lactococcus lactis ssp cremoris
    		 For fresh and hard cheeses such as Cheddar, Colby, Feta, Chevre.
    THERMOPHILIC
    streptococcus thermophilus
    		 For fresh cheeses such as Camembert, Gouda, Blue, Baby Swiss and others where a buttery flavor and eye formation is desired
    HELVETIC
    lactobacillus helveticus
    		 For Italian cheeses like parmesan, romano, provolone and mozzarella
    These cheese starter cultures are available in two forms. They are defined as curturable and direct-to-vat. Curturable starters are similar to sourdough starters in that they are prepared in advanced and preserved for future use. Direct-to-vat cultures are much more convenient for the home cheese maker. No preparation of the culture is required. These freeze dried cultures are added directly to the milk in the same way you would use bread yeast.
    RENNET
    Rennet is an enzyme which acts on protein and causes it to coagulate. There are two sources of rennet enzyme. Animal rennet is an enzyme which is extracted from the fourth stomach of calves and vegetable based rennet.
    Vegetable based rennet contains no animal products and has the same coagulating ability as animal rennet when used in milk that has been ripened (acidified) by a cheese starter bacteria. This rennet is available in tablet and liquid form. Rennet must be diluted with distilled water prior to adding to milk. Rennet must be refrigerated.
    NOTE: If your recipe calls for rennet tablets use this conversion. 1/2 rennet tablet = 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet.
    copyright 2004 J.R.Leverentz
    cheesemaking recipes