This is a simple recipe, and pretty easy to make as long as you follow the recipe step by step.
Equipment
* 1 gallon pot – stainless steel or enameled
* Thermometer
* Colander
* Slotted Spoon
* Long Knife
* Microwavable bowl
Ingredients
* 1 gallon milk
* 1 ½ teaspoon citric acid dissolved in 1 cup chlorine free water
* ¼ cup rennet dissolved in ¼ cup chlorine free water
* 1 tablespoon of cheese salt and/or herbs (optional – but I found it bland without salt)
Directions
1. Pour milk into pot and vigorously stir ion citric acid
2. Heat to 900F while stirring
3. Remove from heat and stir in the rennet solution with a dashing motion (up and down like making butter in an old fashioned dasher) for about 30 seconds
4. Cover pot and let sit for 5 minutes
5. If the curd looks like a white jello with a clear separation of the curd and the whey cut the curd into 1/2 “blocks (see Farmhouse cheddar video II)
6. Heat the curds to 1050F while gently stirring curds
7. Take off burner and stir for another 2-5 minutes (longer time = firmer finished cheese)
8. Pour off floating whey (save it for bread making)
9. Ladle curds into large microwavable bowl and drain as much whey ass possible without pressing curds too hard. (You can press down a little, but don’t mash it flat)
10. Microwave bowl for one minute
* Ricki’s kit also has a recipe for using hot water
11. Remove and drain as you gently fold curds into a single piece. (add salt now if desired)
12. Microwave for another 30 seconds. Drain and stretch.
* cheese must be 1350F to stretch – if its not hot enough microwave for another 30 seconds.
13. Keep stretching cheese like taffy – the more you heat and stretch the firmer it will be.
14. When finished stretching submerge it in ice water to set the cheese.
* Critical for texture and to prevent it from being grainy.