Making Cheese for a Novice--Get Great Results

[Heidi Sue Roth]

Eating and enjoying cheese is a basic pleasure of life for many people. I definitely enjoy the labors of this artistic pursuit. After years of buying cheese I was curious about making my own. By reading “101 Recipes for Making Cheese” I learned how to get started in a short time with great results. You can do the same thing with this easy-to-use and understand collection

 

The book starts with a basic education on the process. You’ll learn how to prepare for and complete your own home cheeses. I started my own cheese adventure with a number of the fresh cheese recipes. The first section of recipes all fall into this group. Basically this means that making the curd or curing the milk doesn’t take very long. Your cheese will typically be ready in a few hours. Just a couple recipes require resting the cheese for up to two days.

 

Most of the recipes yielded great results. I tested recipes ranging from Fromage Blanc to Paneer (Panir). The recipes for Ricotta were my least favorite. I tried two different versions (Simple and a more classic one made from whey). With the fresh recipe I found it better to just spend the money and buy the cheese. The amount of ricotta made from that recipe didn’t justify the extra expense of finding and buying raw milk. The whey recipe did yield a nice amount of cheese but it was a trickier recipe, so less attractive for someone just starting their cheese-making journey.

 

I highly recommend the Paneer recipe on the other hand. This is a recipe anyone can make. In fact, I think it would be a great addition to Home Ec programs. It’s fun, the ingredients are fairly easy to get and the resulting cheese is definitely better than commercial products. In fact, after completing one batch that we gobbled up with Indian food that night for dinner I made another larger batch the next day. Paneer freezes well and now I have extra ready for last minute meals such as traditional Spinach and Cheese for dinner.

 

I look forward to completing the instructions for my own little cheese cave for other recipes. If you want to make a fun and successful start making cheese at home, get a copy of this book. After extensive testing I can honestly say it’s worth every penny and will be used in my home for years to come. 

 

Originally created for ReviewTheBook.com. Copyright 2011.