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ANThis fresh cheese is easy and delicious- it’s a version of the “primosale” cheese I learned to make when I worked as a cheesemaker in Italy years ago.
I start with 2 gallons of @raw_farm_usa raw whole milk and warm it up 90°F.
I then add a half teaspoon of animal rennet (I buy liquid animal rennet on Amazon) - I dissolve the rennet in a few tablespoons of cold water and stir that into the warmed milk. Then I add a cup or so of Kalona buttermilk as a starter for the cheese. You can also use a commercial freeze dried cheese starter - you just want something to help the bacteria slightly acidify the milk so that the cheese is a little bit tangy. I do not recommend using yogurt as a starter - it makes the flavor too acidic.
I let the milk and rennet rest for about an hour just on the stove top where I heated up the pan and then once the curd cleaves very nicely against a knife that’s inserted - check the video for this - I cut the curd and heat it to about 100 to 115° F and stir it occasionally for about half an hour while the cheese curds reduce in size. I add two heaping tablespoons of kosher salt to the curds and whey to salt the cheese.
I then pour the curds and whey into a colander to strain out the curds from the way and conserve the whey. I use the whey in smoothies, in my baking instead of water, and also in soup – it’s delicious and highly nutritious as well.
Meanwhile, the curd drains out slowly in a colander, this takes about half an hour, and I then unfold it. I used some fig leaves on to plate and store the cheese and keep it moist in the fridge. This cheese lasts in your fridge for a week wrapped in leaves or plastic. If you need to last longer, I recommend you double the salt you add to the hot curds, that will extend the life of the cheese to 3 weeks or so.
#freshcheese #cheese #rawmilk #rawdairy #cheesemaking #homemade #fromscratc #ancestral #paleo #healthy #rawfarmdairy #anyafernald
@anyafernald
