INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

(24 hours before cheesemaking:)  Make the culture.  -- In a 3- to 4-cup
jar with a lid, both just  rinsed with boiling water, combine 2 cups
whole milk and 1/2 cup  buttermilk, both freshly opened.  Cover:  hold
at 70-75 degrees F for  (The day of cheesemaking:)  Pour the whole milk
for the cheese into an enameled or stainless  steel pan (not under any
circumstances cast iron).  Set the pan on a  rack, or on top of jar
lids, inside the larger pan, making sure  there's at least an inch of
space between the inner and outer pans.  Warm the milk slowly to 86
degrees F.  Add 1/4 cup of the starter.  Maintain the temperature at 86
degrees F for 1 1/2 hours.  Prepare the rennet:  If you're using rennet
tablets, crush the  recommended number of tablets in 1 cup of cold
water, and add to the  milk. If you're using liquid rennet, mix it in
1/4 cup of water (or  the amount directed) and add to the milk.  In
each case, use the  amount of rennet recommended for 4 quarts of milk.
(I know, you'd  think it would be six, but that's what the directions
say.)  Add the rennet to the milk.  Stir carefully for 1 minute:  then
maintain temperature of 86 degrees for another hour, leaving the pans
undisturbed as the curd sets.  At the end of this additional hour, use
the long-bladed knife to cut  the curd, straight down from the top to
the bottom of the pan, then  the same again but crosswise:  then the
same again, diagonally.  Begin increasing the temperature of the curd,
taking 30 minutes to  bring the temperature up to 98-100 degrees F.  As
curds firm,  "circulate" them with spoon every 5-10 minutes.  DO NOT
STIR -- just  push gently. When ready, a curd dropped 12 inches holds
its shape and  doesn't spatter.  When curds are properly firmed, line a
colander with 3-4 layers washed  cheesecloth and set the colander in
the sink.  Pour the curds and  whey (the pale, separated-out liquid)
into the colander.  Let drain  briefly, then rinse curd gently with a
stream of tepid water.  Mix salt to taste into the curd (add salt, work
it in, check the  taste, add more if neccessary).  1 1/2 to 1 3/4 tsp.
salt seems to be  plenty for this kind of cheese.  Note that the flavor
will be very  bland if no salt is added.  Pull up the corners of the
cheesecloth to make a bag:  twist to make a  tight ball, and squeeze to
force out additional liquid.  Tie the top  of the bag shut with the
string.  Set the ball, with the loose fabric  spread out on the bottom,
in a wide pan.  Set another flat dish on  top of the cheese, with your
brick of weight in it.  Let stand  overnight in the refrigerator to
press and extract liquid.  After being pressed for 24 hours, the cheese
is ready to eat.  It can  also be stored longer (though most of the
time it seems to get eaten  immediately...).  To store, dry it
unwrapped in the refrigerator:  after 8-10 days it will develop a dry
rind of a darkish cream color.  Or you can wax it -- in this case, as
soon as you unwrap the cheese,  wipe it with acidulated water (1 cup
water, 1 tablespoon vinegar) and  pat dry: then chill cheese, and dip
into melted paraffin wax until  #151 by Peter Morwood & Diane Duane
<owlsprng@iol.ie> on Oct 07, 1997

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