Mastering Basic Cheesemaking: The Fun and Fundamentals of Making Cheese at Home (Mother Earth News Books for Wiser Living)

The craft of home cheesemaking is exploding in popularity. However, most "beginner" books are essentially loosely organized collections of recipes which lack a progressive approach to teaching the fundamentals of this exciting and satisfying traditional skill. __Mastering Basic Cheesemaking__ provides a complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker to develop the intuition and abilities to position them for success, especially in the real world of the home kitchen. This well-illustrated and clearly written practical guide assumes no prior experience on the part of the aspiring cheesemaker. Topics include: · Tips and secrets for essentials such as choosing milk and the differences between goat, cow, and sheep milk · Bonus recipes for exciting cheeses such as burrata, quick cheddar curds, and ghee · Options for choosing cultures, ingredients, and equipment to make home cheesemaking more affordable · How to age cheeses simply in any home refrigerator · Step-by-step encouragement and insight from a professional, artisan cheesemaker Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, homesteader, or cheese professional, this complete course in beginning cheesemaking from one of North America's foremost instructors is packed with everything you need to create delicious, nourishing, and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights.**Gianaclis Caldwell** is the head cheesemaker and co-owner of Pholia Farm, well-known for its artisan, aged raw-milk cheeses, and for its educational offerings. She is the author of __Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking__, __The Small-Scale Cheese Business__, and __The Small-Scale Dairy__. The craft of home cheesemaking is exploding in popularity. However, most "beginner" books are essentially loosely organized collections of recipes which lack a progressive approach to teaching the fundamentals of this exciting and satisfying traditional skill. Mastering Basic Cheesemaking provides a complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker to develop the intuition and abilities to position them for success, especially in the real world of the home kitchen. This well-illustrated and clearly written practical guide assumes no prior experience on the part of the aspiring cheesemaker. Topics include: Tips and secrets for essentials such as choosing milk and the differences between goat, cow, and sheep milk Bonus recipes for exciting cheeses such as burrata, quick cheddar curds, and ghee Options for choosing cultures, ingredients, and equipment to make home cheesemaking more affordable How to age cheeses simply in any home refrigerator Step-by-step encouragement and insight from a professional, artisan cheesemaker Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, homesteader, or cheese professional, this complete course in beginning cheesemaking from one of North America's foremost instructors is packed with everything you need to create delicious, nourishing, and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights. Gianaclis Caldwell is the head cheesemaker and co-owner of Pholia Farm, well-known for its artisan, aged raw-milk cheeses, and for its educational offerings. She is the author of Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking , The Small-Scale Cheese Business , and The Small-Scale Dairy . This illustrated beginner’s guide covers everything you need to know to start making cheese at home—from tools and techniques to basic milk chemistry. While the craft of home cheesemaking gains in popularity, most books on the subject gloss over the fundamentals. Mastering Basic Cheesemaking is a complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker get started in their home kitchens. This fully illustrated practical guide covers topics such as: Understanding your ingredients, tools and techniques Whipping up "instant cheeses" such as ricotta and paneer while learning basic milk chemistry Progressing to fermented dairy products such as kefir, yogurt and sour cream Using bacteria and coagulant to create spreadable and tender cheeses like quark, chevre, cream cheese and American style cottage cheese Graduating to curdled, aged and ripened cheese—mozzarella, feta, cheddar, gouda, and parmesan. Front Cover 1 Praise 2 Title Page 6 Rights Page 7 Contents 8 Introduction 10 Part One: The Fundamentals of Making Cheese 14 Chapter 1: Why Make Cheese? 16 Chapter 2: Understanding Ingredients 22 Chapter 3: The Cheesemaker's Tools 38 Part Two: The Fun of Making Cheese 50 Chapter 4: Quick and Simple Cheeses 52 Chapter 5: Cultured Milks and Creams 66 Chapter 6: Fresh and Versatile Cheeses 82 Chapter 7: Rennet-Coagulated Semi-Firm Fresh Cheeses 94 Chapter 8: Rennet-Coagulated Aged Cheeses 116 Chapter 9: What's Next? 142 Glossary 146 Resources 150 Acknowledgements 152 Index 154 About the Author 160 A Guide to Responsible Digital Reading 161 Books to Build a New Society 162 "Mastering Basic Cheesemaking is a complete, hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products at home. Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, or cheese professional, these clear, logical, easy-to-follow, well-illustrated instructions from one of North America's foremost cheesemaking instructors are all you need to create delicious, nourishing and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights."--;Part 1: The fundamentals of making cheese. Why make cheese? -- Understanding ingredients -- The cheesemaker's tools. "Mastering Basic Cheesemaking is a complete, hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products at home. Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, or cheese professional, these clear, logical, easy-to-follow, well-illustrated instructions from one of North America's foremost cheesemaking instructors are all you need to create delicious, nourishing and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights."-- Résumé de l'éditeur "Mastering Basic Cheesemaking is a complete, hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products at home. Whether you are a budding cheesemaker, avid do-it-yourselfer, foodie, or cheese professional, these clear, logical, easy-to-follow, well-illustrated instructions from one of North America's foremost cheesemaking instructors are all you need to create delicious, nourishing and beautiful classic cheeses and other dairy delights."-- Provided by publisher Part 1: The fundamentals of making cheese. Why make cheese? -- Understanding ingredients -- The cheesemaker's tools. Part 2: The fun of making cheese. Quick and simple cheeses -- Cultured milks and creams -- Fresh and versatile cheese -- Rennet-coagulated semi-firm fresh cheeses -- Rennet-coagulated aged cheeses -- What's next?