| Next revision | Previous revision |
| chee:cheesemaking [2025/12/05 09:59] – created - external edit 127.0.0.1 | chee:cheesemaking [2026/03/26 18:33] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
|---|
| # Cheesemaking | This topic is part of [[gt:food|Food & drink]]. |
| | ====== Cheesemaking ====== |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| ## What is cheesemaking? | ===== What is cheesemaking? ===== |
| |
| Cheesemaking is using the protein and some of the fat and mineral salts from [milk](/dair/dairying) to make something that keeps better than milk does. It's a way of preserving the milk by taking most of the moisture out. Cheese was the first 'convenience' food, and it was probably first properly made around 5000 years ago in the Middle East. We can't be 100% sure, but vessels from that era have been found that look as though they were for draining curd. Certainly the ancient Greeks and Romans were making sheep's cheese, there are a couple of mentions of cheese in the Bible, and there have been finds of draining vessels from pre-Roman Britain. | Cheesemaking is using the protein and some of the fat and mineral salts from [milk](/dair/dairying) to make something that keeps better than milk does. It's a way of preserving the milk by taking most of the moisture out. Cheese was the first 'convenience' food, and it was probably first properly made around 5000 years ago in the Middle East. We can't be 100% sure, but vessels from that era have been found that look as though they were for draining curd. Certainly the ancient Greeks and Romans were making sheep's cheese, there are a couple of mentions of cheese in the Bible, and there have been finds of draining vessels from pre-Roman Britain. |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Paneer – a simple type of curd cheese made by adding an acid to hot milk. | _Paneer – a simple type of curd cheese made by adding an acid to hot milk._ |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Hand-milking dairy cows on a low-impact community in France. | _Hand-milking dairy cows on a low-impact community in France._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| The simplest way to make cheese - paneer. | _The simplest way to make cheese - paneer._ |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Cutting the curd in a stainless steel bucket to release the whey. | _Cutting the curd in a stainless steel bucket to release the whey._ |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Turning farmhouse hard cheeses as they mature on the rind. | _Turning farmhouse hard cheeses as they mature on the rind._ |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Traditional sheep's cheese making in Romania. | _Traditional sheep's cheese making in Romania._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Draining the whey from the cheese by hanging it in a cheesecloth over a sink. | _Draining the whey from the cheese by hanging it in a cheesecloth over a sink._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Stilton isn’t pressed, so it’s a semi-soft cheese, and the blue mould is introduced for flavour. | _Stilton isn’t pressed, so it’s a semi-soft cheese, and the blue mould is introduced for flavour._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| ## What are the benefits of cheesemaking? | ===== What are the benefits of cheesemaking? ===== |
| |
| - cheese is an excellent source of protein, energy and calcium | - cheese is an excellent source of protein, energy and calcium |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Making hard cheese (in the US, so don't forget to convert from farenheit to celsius and from gallons to litres) | _Making hard cheese (in the US, so don't forget to convert from farenheit to celsius and from gallons to litres)_ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| | ===== What can I do? ===== |
| |
| ## What can I do? | Start your cheesemaking with something simple - just add lemon juice or vinegar to hot milk. Next have a go at soft cheese, and only then attempt hard cheese. It's a good idea to go on a course, to get a feel for it first. If you're buying milk to make cheese, get either unpasteurised or pasteurised (but not sterilised) full-fat milk. It's also better if you can get non-homogenised milk - i.e. from a small producer, as larger dairies (that supply supermarkets) tend to homogenise, so that there's no cream line. The milk and cream are separated, some of the cream is taken away (for cream or butter), and the rest is broken up into much smaller globules and put back into the milk. Ideally, find a small [dairy](/dair/dairying) - a lot of them are now selling bottled, non-homogenised milk. It's more difficult to make cheese if the milk is homogenised, but not if it's [goat](/goat/goats)'s or [sheep](/shep/sheep)'s milk, which is naturally homogenised - and much easier to obtain unpasteurised. Unpasteurised [cow](/catl/cattle)'s milk is much more regulated. The milk needs frequent testing and it's not allowed in areas where bovine TB is common. |
| | |
| Start your cheesemaking with something simple - just add lemon juice or vinegar to hot milk. Next have a go at soft cheese, and only then attempt hard cheese. It's a good idea to go on a [course](http://lowimpactorg.onyx-sites.io/directory/categories/cheesemaking-courses), to get a feel for it first. If you're buying milk to make cheese, get either unpasteurised or pasteurised (but not sterilised) full-fat milk. It's also better if you can get non-homogenised milk - i.e. from a small producer, as larger dairies (that supply supermarkets) tend to homogenise, so that there's no cream line. The milk and cream are separated, some of the cream is taken away (for cream or butter), and the rest is broken up into much smaller globules and put back into the milk. Ideally, find a small [dairy](/dair/dairying) - a lot of them are now selling bottled, non-homogenised milk. It's more difficult to make cheese if the milk is homogenised, but not if it's [goat](/goat/goats)'s or [sheep](/shep/sheep)'s milk, which is naturally homogenised - and much easier to obtain unpasteurised. Unpasteurised [cow](/catl/cattle)'s milk is much more regulated. The milk needs frequent testing and it's not allowed in areas where bovine TB is common. | |
| |
| <WRAP center centeralign> | <WRAP center centeralign> |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Sheep’s milk is ideal for cheesemaking, as it’s easier to obtain unpasteurised, and it’s naturally homogenised. | _Sheep’s milk is ideal for cheesemaking, as it’s easier to obtain unpasteurised, and it’s naturally homogenised._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| <caption> | <caption> |
| Drained soft cheese in moulds. | _Drained soft cheese in moulds._ |
| |
| </caption> | </caption> |
| |
| |
| ## Further resources | ===== Forum ===== |
| | |
| | This topic belongs to the section [[gt:food|Food & drink]]. You can ask questions or add information on the corresponding [Forum section](https://forum.growingthecommons.org/t/food). |
| | |
| | ===== Further resources ===== |
| | |
| | - [Homemade cheese recipes](https://culturesforhealth.com/blogs/recipes/cheese-recipes) |
| | - [Fankhauser's Cheese Page](https://web.archive.org/web/20070925001225/http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML) - huge resource for cheesemakers |
| | - [Specialist Cheesemakers Association](https://www.specialistcheesemakers.co.uk/) |
| | - [Cheeses of the world](https://www.ilovecheese.co.uk/) |
| | - [Cheese terminology & classification](http://www.sandandsuccotash.com/cheese-terminology-classifications/) |
| | - [Business plan for the production of artisanal cheese](https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1110&context=dscisp) |
| | - [Mother Earth News](https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/home-cheesemaking-business-ze0z10zhir/) - home cheesemaking: from hobby to business |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | ===== Related topics ===== |
| |
| | - [Breadmaking](bred:breadmaking) |
| | - [Low-impact food & drink](lifo:food) |
| | - [Dairying](dair:dairying) |
| | - [Cattle](catl:cattle) |
| | - [Sheep](shep:sheep) |
| | - [Goats](goat:goats) |
| | - [Food smoking](fosm:food_smoking) |
| | - [Preserving food](pres:preserving_food) |
| |
| ## Specialist(s) | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== |
| |
| |