Method of Cheese Making
Ingredients
Directions
Set the curd
Heat the milk to 140°F (60°C).
Add rennet to coagulate the milk, allowing it to set for 1 hour.
Cut the curds lengthwise and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Cut the curds crosswise and then divide them with horizontal knives.
Cook and drain
Gradually heat the curds to 98°F (37°C), stirring gently until they are about ⅜ inch in size.
Once at 98°F, turn off the heat and allow the curds to reach 100°F (38°C).
Stir the curds for 10 to 15 minutes until the heat is evenly distributed.
Let the curds rest, stirring occasionally until the acid develops, which takes about 1 hour.
When the curds can spin threads about ⅜ inch long, draw off the whey and dip the curds into a sink.
Stir the curds until the whey is removed, then add salt.
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
- Forms the base that the rennet coagulates into curds.
- Good sweet rennet
- Enzyme that coagulates the milk into a solid curd.
- Salt
- Added after the whey is removed to season the curds.
The step that matters
Let the curds develop acid before draining. Acid develops slowly while the curds rest and changes their texture and firmness. Draining too early, before the spin-thread test shows enough acid, leaves a softer, less stable cheese.
“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.
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.