This is the only cheese we know of that calls for directly heating the milk without a double boiler. Heat milk in a thick bottom pot, or a pot set atop a diffuser. Do not heat it quickly, but rather bring the temperature up at a rate of about two degrees every five minutes. Stir the milk constantly as the temperature rises. Bring the milk up to 180° and hold it there for several minutes.
Slowly add ¼ cup of quality vinegar for each gallon of milk and remove from heat. The milk will coagulate within the next few minutes.
Pour off the whey through a muslin lined colander. Reserve the whey for baking or if you have a hog to feed.
Allow the curd to drain, and then remove it from the colander by picking up the muslin. Ring out the ball of curd by twisting it up in the muslin.
This is the resulting ball of cheese coagulated from one gallon of milk. The acid coagulation method renders the highest yield by far. The cheese is ready to eat immediately, and will store in a cold room for a week or two. Freeze it for long term storage.
When the curd is ready, its time to cut it. Cut the curd into strips about ½” wide or a little wider. Cross cut the curd and stir it into the whey.
Place the double boiler over heat and slowly bring the temperature up to 140°F stirring frequently. Cook the curd until a sample that is bit in half with your teeth is “squeaky”. You will know what we mean by squeaky once you have completed the first batch.
Strain off the whey by pouring it through a muslin lined colander. Twist up the muslin tightly and squeeze any remaining whey out.
If you have a cheese press, use it. If not then it’s time to get creative. Mould the cheese under as much pressure as possible. In the above picture, the drained curd still in the muslin has been placed in the bottom of the double boiler. Seven gallons of water placed on top is providing pressure to the makeshift press. Leave the cheese in the press for a few hours or overnight.
The result is a wheel of cheese. It has a consistency similar to store bought mozzarella, and a mild but pleasing flavor.
Caso fresca “cold cheese” is made in the same fashion with only one difference. The curd is crumbled between ones fingers before it is put in the press. Caso fresca is a Mexican cheese that is both dry and crumbly.
Both variations of lactic cheese will last a week or so in a cold room.
Line the press with cheese cloth. This needs to be four plies thick so double it up, as it comes as two plies to start with. Transfer the curd to the press using a spoon with holes. Fill the press to ½ inch below the top of the mould.
Pack the curd down with the back of the spoon slowly so the whey has time to escape through the weep holes in the mould. Add curd if necessary up to ½ inch below the top.
Fold the cheese cloth over the top of the curd nice and neat.
Place the plunger on the top of the mould.
Begin the process of pressing. This will be a somewhat slow process. Apply as much pressure as necessary to get whey dripping out of the weep holes, and no more. Allow the press to sit idle, making no adjustment until it stops dripping whey. Apply pressure periodically through the course of 24 hours or more. It is time to stop increasing pressure when the amount of effort required to do so stops changing. Allow the press to rest under full pressure for 12 hours.
Remove the cheese wheel from the press carefully so as not to break it. If all went well during the pressing process, the cheese wheel should have shrunken and should come out of the press relatively easily. It will likely be stuck to the plunger making it quite simple to remove from the mould.
Remove the plunger from the cheese wheel carefully.
Now it’s time to wax the cheese wheel. We use beeswax harvested from the hives throughout the season. The wax must be heated to melting point in a double boiler (or makeshift one) to avoid reaching its smoke point.
Once the wax has melted, use a natural bristled brush to paint it on the cheese wheel. It will take many coats to reach an acceptable thickness. About 1/8” thick is sufficient.
Pay close attention to the edges, as they usually have some texture which needs to be filled with wax. Air bubbles like to form here, and need to be prevented.
Use a popsicle stick or something similar to carefully remove the cheese wheel from the plate.
Be careful not to peel the wax off the edge of the cheese wheel. Flip the cheese wheel over and repeat the process on the other side.
Round off the edge by pressing slightly with your fingers while the wax is still warm.
Allow the wax to cool naturally.
The finished product should be stored in a cool place (around 50° F). Cheese wheels are stored in a “cheese cave” traditionally. A cheese cave is nothing more than a dark place that is of optimal temperature and humidity. It can be as simple as a wooden box in a cellar, but in all reality, your imagination is the limit. There are many ways to store cheese effectively.
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