Do you want to make your own cheese at home? Then follow the steps below. If you have any questions or would you like to discuss making your own cheese, please contact Esther, the cheese maker.
Recept voor 1 kilo kaas
Extensive recipe for making Gouda cheese at home
1 kilo of cheese
Time: 5 hours
Matures for 6 weeks
Ingredients
10 liters of fat milk
200 ml buttermilk as starter culture
2.5 ml rennet
1.5 ml Calcium Chloride
300 grams of salt
1.5 liters of water
Required materials
Click on an item for more information.
Handkerchief / hairnet
Handsoap
Hand disinfection
Thermometer
1.5 ml syringe
Curd knife or chef’s knife
Bulb sieve
Ladle
Measuring cup
Sponge
Cheese board
Don’t have the right materials?
Would you like to make cheese by yourself, but you don’t have all the materials? No worries! It is possible to follow a cheese workshop. In the cheese workshop are all the materials and knowledge available to make a delicious cheese. At the end of the cheese making workshop you will get home your own made cheese including a cheese toolkit containing all the materials you need for further treatment of your cheese.
5 hours
Making the cheese
1
Preparation
When making cheese, it is important to work hygienically. It doesn’t have to be a surgical operation, but use your healthy mind if you want the cheese to succeed. Get a hairnet (a handkerchief on your head is also super cute and works great), wash and disinfect your hands.
Make sure to clean all materials before you start. You can do this by disinfecting all the materials in a solution of chlorine tablets especially for food production.
Please note, if you use a cheese net, do not immerse it in a liquid warmer than 35 ° C, because otherwise the net will shrink and will be un-useful.
2
Heat the milk
Heat the milk to 29 ° C in a pan on the stove, or by heating it au-bain-marie.
If you are using raw milk, heat the raw milk at 72 ° C for 15 seconds first. Make sure that you do not allow the temperature to rise further, because the protein in the milk will then denature and the milk is no longer suitable for making cheese.
If you don’t have a large pan, heat up the milk and pour it into a hygienically clean bucket. Make sure the milk will not be to warm.
3
Add starter culture
Stir the buttermilk into the milk while heating.
4
Add Calcium Chloride
It’s not necessary, but the chance of success is greater if you add CalciumChloride. Add 1.5 ml Calcium Chloride (CaCl2) per 10 liters while stirring. You can use a syringe from the pharmacy for this (it only costs a few cents).
If you use raw milk, also add 4.5 ml of nitric.
5
Add rennet
Add 2.5 ml rennet while stirring. Stir left for 1 minute and right for 1 minute, so the rennet is thoroughly mixed with the whole milk.
6
Let the milk curdle
Cover the milk with cling film and a add a tea towel over it, so that the milk does not cool down too much. Let the milk curdle for 30 minutes. To see if the milk has curdled properly, draw a “line” through the milk with the thermometer, if whey enters the slot it is good, otherwise let the milk curdle a little further.
7
Cut the curds
Once the milk has curdled properly, gently and regularly cut the curds into small “corn kernels” with the sharp side of the curd knife for about 10 minutes. Cutting the curd is done to let the whey (= moisture) leave the curd. After cutting, let the curd settle for 10 minutes.
If you don’t have a curd knife at home, you can also use a chef’s knife.
8
Draining whey (1st time)
Drain about a third of the whey through the bulb sieve to rest on top of the curd. Scoop the whey off with a ladle. Make sure the curd does not dry out.
9
Wash the cheese (1st time)
Gently stir the curds with the blunt side of the curd knife. If you don’t have a curd knife, use the ladle. Heat the curd to a temperature of 33 ° C using warm water of 65 ° C . (we call this “washing”) With water at 65 ° C you need a little less than a liter.
Slowly add the water while stirring slowly with the blunt side of the curd knife. Keep a close eye on the temperature, because the temperature is leading and not the amount of water. When the temperature is at a constant 33 ° C, gently stir the curds for more 10 minutes for a good washing effect.
10
Repeat the draining and washing
Drain 1/3 of the whey for the second time. Make sure the curd does not dry out. Heat the curd a second time to 36 ° C. With water at 65 ° C you need about 600 ml. Add the warm water while slowly stirring the curd with the blunt side of the curd knife. Stir the curd again for 10 minutes.
11
Let the curd ripen
Let the curd “ripen” for 30 minutes. Drain as much whey as possible so you can easily see the curds, but do not let the curds dry.
12
Fill the cheese mold
Drain as much whey as possible so you can see the curds, but do not let the curds dry. Fill the cheese mold by filling the cheese net in the whey with the curd. Gently press the curd under the whey with the palm of your hand. Fill the barrels exaggerated with a nice big “gnome cap of curd” on top. Add the lid to the barrel and let the barrel sit for a few minutes before straining.
13
Place the cheese under the cheese press
Place the cheese mold under the cheese press. You can use an original press. Alternatively, you can also create pressure by placing a weight on the cheese mold (for example a pan with water).
Press for about 45 minutes.
The pressing went well if the crust is completely evenly closed. If the crust is not yet completely closed, put the cheese under the press a little bit longer. After the first press, turn the cheese over in the net and press it well on the other side.
6 weken
Afterwork
1
Brining
When the cheese comes out from under the press, put it in the brine. The purpose of brining is for the cheese to absorb salt.
Make a brine bath by adding 200 grams of salt to 1 liter of water.
In this lovely bath you let your cheese swim around for 4 hours. No longer, or else you will end up with too salty cheese. Do not forget to turn the cheese halfway through so both sides can absorb the same amount of salt.
2
Let the cheese dry
Remove the cheese from the brine and let it dry by the air on your own cheese board. When the cheese feels dry and does not leave any moisture marks on the cheese board, you can put the first thin layer of coating on the cheese.
3
Coating
Add the coating twice on both sides (so four times in total). When the coating is dry on one side, coat the other side. Use the soft side of a sponge for this.
4
Turn the cheese every day
For the first two weeks, turn the cheese over on the cheese platter every day. After two weeks, it is enough to turn the cheese every other week.
Preferably place the cheese in a damp cellar, where the temperature is around 15 ° C and it is moist. If you don’t have a basement, it is also fine to save the cheese at home at room temperature.
5
Mold?
Do you have mold on your cheese? Don’t panic, just clean the cheese with a clean tea towel.
6
You are finished!
The cheese is edible after 6 weeks. If you want an older cheese, leave the cheese to rest longer.
Are you enthusiastic about making cheese?
Do you want to know all the ins and outs about cheese making? Then follow a workshop with Esther. During the workshop you will make your own cheese, so you will be able to make cheese at home afterwards.
Didn’t making cheese at home go quite well?
If it didn’t go quite well with making your own cheese, please contact Esther, the cheese maker. She is happy to help you find out what went wrong and think along how you can successfully make your own cheese.