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| chee:cheesemaking [2025/12/10 14:19] – asimong | chee:cheesemaking [2025/12/17 04:30] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
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| 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._ |
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| </caption> | </caption> |
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| 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._ |
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| </caption> | </caption> |
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| 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)_ |
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| </WRAP> | </WRAP> |
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| ## What can I do? | ## What can I do? |
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| 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. | 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. |
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| 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._ |
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| </caption> | </caption> |
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| Drained soft cheese in moulds. | _Drained soft cheese in moulds._ |
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| </caption> | </caption> |
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| ## Specialists | ## Specialist curators of this topic |
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