Making Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Set the curd
Heat the milk to a temperature between 75°F and 80°F (medium 77°F).
Add the rennet to the milk and let it sit until the curd forms, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Drain and color
Once the curd is formed, cut it into small pieces and allow it to drain.
If desired, color the cheese by tying annatto powder in muslin and adding it to the milk until the desired shade is achieved.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Provides the milk proteins that gather into the curd when the rennet acts on them.
- Rennet
- An enzyme that clots the milk proteins, turning the liquid milk into a solid curd.
The step that matters
Holding the milk temperature while the curd sets. Rennet is an enzyme whose activity depends on temperature. Milk that is too cool sets slowly or incompletely, and milk that is too hot can weaken the enzyme and give a soft or poor curd. Keeping the milk near 77°F and leaving it undisturbed lets a firm curd form.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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