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| chee:cheesemaking [2026/03/10 12:36] – external edit 127.0.0.1 | chee:cheesemaking [2026/03/26 18:33] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1 |
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| # Cheesemaking | This topic is part of [[gt:food|Food & drink]]. |
| | ====== Cheesemaking ====== |
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| ## What is cheesemaking? | ===== What is cheesemaking? ===== |
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| 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. |
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| ## What are the benefits of cheesemaking? | ===== What are the benefits of cheesemaking? ===== |
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| - cheese is an excellent source of protein, energy and calcium | - cheese is an excellent source of protein, energy and calcium |
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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, 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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| ## Further resources | ===== Forum ===== |
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| | 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). |
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| | ===== Further resources ===== |
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| - [Homemade cheese recipes](https://culturesforhealth.com/blogs/recipes/cheese-recipes) | - [Homemade cheese recipes](https://culturesforhealth.com/blogs/recipes/cheese-recipes) |
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| ## Related topics | ===== Related topics ===== |
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| | - [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) |
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| ## Specialist curators of this topic | ===== Specialist curators of this topic ===== |
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