New Cheese Maker looking for advice

[Coondawg]

Howdy y'all.

I'm new to the SMF, and a wannabe cheese maker. I absolutely LOVE smoked cheese, especially cheddar. I would really enjoy making an old fashioned "Hoop" cheddar and smoking it.

Any advice on kits, equipment, how-to books or websites, etc?

Thanks again.

Coondawg,
Buzzard Hill, Alabama

 

[Brokenhandle]

I know @SmokinAl has a thread on making mozz...very informative! Also was just reading about this recently, supposed to be really knowledgeable, but I haven't ordered it yet.

I want to get more involved with cheese making as well!

Ryan

 

[tbern]

That book looks interesting, thanks for sharing it.

 

[Coondawg]

That does look interesting, Brokenhandle. Thanks for the tip.

 

[DougE]

I know SmokinAl has a thread on making mozz...very informative!

I had to look around for it a little and bookmarked it since I may give it a try, too.

Homemade Mozzarella, it's so easy! Plenty of Q-view!

First off let me post the recipe I went by. Then I'll go through the steps. Mozzarella cheese Dissolve ¼ rennet tablet in ¼ cu. of non chlorinated water. Heat 1 gallon of whole milk (not ultra pasteurized) in a stainless steel pot ( don’t use aluminum or cast iron ) on med/low ( 4-5 ) until...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Brokenhandle]

Thanks Doug! And with harvest soon approaching cheese making will have to wait but hoping this winter will yield more time. Want to get or build a cheese press.

Ryan

 

[Hockeydudde]

I make cheese regularly. We have dairy goats and I regularly make farmhouse cheddars, queso Blanco, yogurt and paneer.
The Ricki Carrol book is all I use. It's got all you need to know unless you want to get real specialized.

 

[Brokenhandle]

I make cheese regularly. We have dairy goats and I regularly make farmhouse cheddars, queso Blanco, yogurt and paneer.
The Ricki Carrol book is all I use. It's got all you need to know unless you want to get real specialized.

I guess I should get it ordered as well! Thanks for the info! Bet goat milk puts your cheese to a whole different level! All I have is store bought milk

Ryan

 

[Hockeydudde]

The book talks about using store bought milk. The pasteurization temp matters allot, not all brands do it the same. Kinda like smoking, they can do it hot and fast, or low and slow, lol. Also they recommend adding something, think it's calcium chloride, to help with coagulation on milk that's pasteurized.

I'd recommend starting with something that's less aged than cheddar. It'll increase your learning curve allot. Queso fresco is delicious melts nice and a great vehicle for flavors. Haven't tried smoking it. If it's cool enough to cold smoke here, our goats are typically dried up.

 

[Coondawg]

I know @SmokinAl has a thread on making mozz...very informative! Also was just reading about this recently, supposed to be really knowledgeable, but I haven't ordered it yet.

View attachment 640284
I want to get more involved with cheese making as well!

Ryan

Ordered my copy from Amazon two days ago, and received it today. Looks like a good how-to book.

 

[indaswamp]

Gavin Weber has some great instructional youtubes....check him out.