Cowgirl Creamery's Fromage Blanc
Step 1: "Ripen" the Milk
Ingredients:
- 1 gal. pasteurized whole milk
- A dairy thermometer
- 1/8 tsp. fromage blanc culture
- 1 drop (0.1 ml.) vegetarian rennet
- 2 drops (0.2 ml.) calcium chloride
- Pour milk into an 8- to 10-qt. heavy-bottomed pot and insert dairy thermometer.
- Heat milk over medium-high heat to 85°, stirring often to prevent scorching. Remove from heat, remove thermometer, and sprinkle culture as evenly as possible over milk; let rest 10 minutes, then gently stir 1 minute in one direction.
- Dilute rennet in 2 tbsp. cool water and pour in evenly all over the milk; stir the same way. Dilute calcium chloride in 2 tbsp.
- Cool water, pour and stir as you did the culture and rennet.
- Stir once in opposite direction to stop movement of milk. Cover with cheesecloth; let rest overnight on counter.
- Ladle curds out of the pot into a large colander, lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth and set over a clean bucket.
- About 10 cups of whey will drain into the bucket; use for homemade ricotta.
- Drain curds 6 to 8 hours at room temperature, until the cheese resembles thick sour cream, scooping and turning with a soup spoon every hour or so in order to let the curds dry evenly.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche, homemade or store-bought
- 3/4 to 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- Turn fromage blanc into a large bowl and stir in crème fraîche and salt to taste.
- Cheese is now ready to eat. It keeps, chilled in an airtight container, up to 1 week. Makes 4 cups, plus 10 cups whey.
These supplies may seem a bit mad-scientist, but they're easy to use. Find them-unless otherwise noted-at the Beverage People, thebeveragepeople.com or (800) 544-1867.
One very important note: Be scrupulously clean when making cheese-scrub surfaces with antibacterial soap and boil utensils (ladle, spoons, etc.) for 20 minutes before using. You don't want bad bacteria messing with the good.
- Calcium chloride
- Cheesecloth
- Ricotta mold
- Dairy Thermometer
- Vegetarian Rennet
Bellwether Farms' Ricotta
Step 1: Heat milk and whey
Ingredients:
- A 20-qt. canning pot
- 10 cups fresh whey
- 6 cups whole milk (you can also make this recipe using 1 gal. whole milk instead of a whey-
milk combination; technically it won't be ricotta, but will taste similar, just less delicate)
- 2 tsp. fine sea salt
- A dairy thermometer
- Set a 20-qt. canner on the stovetop and insert canning rack upside down (handles down).
- Fill canner with water to 1 in. below top ring. Bring to a boil, covered.
- Fill a sink with cold water (this will be your cool-down spot should you need it).
- Set an empty 8-qt. pot on upturned rack in canner.
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 tbsp. distilled white vinegar (41/2 tbsp. if you're using all milk and no whey)
- 1 ricotta mold (41/2 in. wide) or a small salad spinner basket (8 in. wide or smaller works best)
- Cheesecloth
- Slowly pour vinegar over the warm milk. With a slotted spoon, stir milk 20 times with a gentle surface-to-bottom circular motion.
- Small curds will begin to form (they may have already).
- Gently ladle curds and whey into mold, occasionally pouring out liquid from bowl, until draining slows down to a trickle. Smooth cheese in mold so it's level. Cover bowl and mold with plastic wrap and chill.
- Let curds drain in refrigerator until there are no visible pockets of liquid (curds should be moist), a few minutes to about 30 minutes more. Wrap mold and cheese tightly with plastic wrap (or, if you're using a colander, transfer cheese to an airtight float a little).
- Pour whey if using, milk, and salt into pot and insert dairy thermometer into milk mixture. With a large slotted spoon, stir milk 20 times with a gentle surface-to-bottom circular motion to evenly distribute heat.
- Let milk heat over high heat, covered and undisturbed, until its temperature reaches 192° to 194° (water will be boiling), 30 to 40 minutes; adjust heat to maintain temperature. If milk starts to get too hot, cool it in sink of water.
- Cover pot with canner lid and let mixture stand, undisturbed, over high heat 25 minutes for curds to finish forming (temperature should remain between 192° and 194°; check occasionally and adjust heat as needed).
- Meanwhile line the mold with a double thickness of cheesecloth, trimmed to hang slightly over rim. Set a cookie or biscuit cutter in a medium bowl, then set mold on top.
- Your ricotta is ready to eat. It keeps, chilled and wrapped airtight, up to 4 days. To serve, invert mold onto a plate or just spoon cheese out of container. Makes 11/4 to 11/2 cups (31/2 cups if you use all milk).
For more information, visit oneblockdiet.sunset.com/team_cheese/
About Sunset.com:
Sunset.com is the West's essential how-to guide to all the best things about the region: easy backyard living and gardening, unexpected day trips and destinations, fast and fresh foods, shockingly perfect wine pairings, and innovative home decorating and design.
About Margo True:
She is is the food editor at Sunset Magazine, and nothing makes her happier than exploring the world of food-on the farm, in the kitchen, and all points in between and beyond.
Before Sunset, she was executive editor at Saveur magazine, and before that, a senior editor and writer at Gourmet. Margo grew up in six different countries and loves the way that food expresses culture and place.
She is perpetually eager to try odd new ingredients, and there isn't much she won't eat if it's well prepared-except Big Red cola, sea cucumbers, or gloppy sweet-potato Thanskgiving casseroles with marsmallows on top.
As for food trends, Margo picks up on the ones that have both spark and staying power. Her biggest wish right now is to have a little Jersey cow.
Take Cheesemaking a Step Further!
Create a breakfast or dessert dish using fresh cheese from our story, and you could win tickets to California's Artisan Cheese Festival, March 26-29, in Petaluma. Winners will be introduced onstage and their recipes published on Sunset.com
Enter by February 20 at artisancheesefestival.com
