Cheesemaking for BEGINNERS
For professional cheesemakers, pasture and soil, seasonality, animal breed and herds all combine to produce very different milk, creating a different canvas on which to make cheese. With all these variables, making cheese can be unpredictable, which is what also makes it exciting. However, at an industrial level, milk is sourced from an array of dairies, thus eliminating the differences and producing more generic cheeses.
The next level up is farmhouse cheese, a style made using the milk from a particular farm, resulting in cheese with more individuality, much like wine. Artisan cheese is also handmade using local milk, and is usually made on a small scale, though it, too, can be made on a grand one – think Parmigiano Reggiano (authentic parmesan) and Roquefort.
The hobby cheesemaker, however, has to draw on more generic supermarket milk. For this reason, making cultured dairy products, such as butter, buttermilk and yoghurt, at home is especially rewarding, as the culturing (fermentation) process adds another layer of flavour.
THE EQUIPMENT
Cheesemaking relies on precision, particularly for gauging temperatures, so a digital thermometer is a great investment for more complex cheese recipes. It’s easier to read than a regular cooking thermometer.
