So I periodically get an itch to learn some homesteading skills, and the turn has come to cheese.
After an initial look, it seems hard to do in my apartment, especially fitting a good cheese press, and a climate controlled storage.
Is it feasible to make cheese from an apartment? Do you know of any resources for suitable adaptations or other handy tips? Have you tried yourself? What worked well and what is better avoided altogether?
New cheese maker here. I work with the most primitive of setups. No cheese press - just my kitchen board and a pot filled with water on top, with the cheese pressed in the cheesecloth that I tie up with string. I have made fresh cheese and feta cheese, can be done in room temperature and easy to mature in brine in the fridge. But I also get really experimental. Currently I have two pieces of fresh cheese wrapped in an old fuet (spanish sausage) packaging to develop white mold (Geotrichum) - works very well so far and I can’t wait to try it. A friend brought one of her fresh cheeses that was getting a bit icky outside, and I washed it off and wrapped it into mugwort leaves. It’s now delicious.
I’d say that in the last few months I have eaten all sorts of goat cheese experiments done by me or my friend and find that cheese making is ultimately a very forgiving hobby - it’s mostly just about forgetting milk in creative ways.
Haha, love the summary.
What equipment do I need? A couple cheesecloths, a pot and string. Do I need a mold/tray? Would you recommend any other equipment?
I started making my paneer 14 years ago. The only cheese making gear I had was cheesecloth. I pressed it between two plates. It was misshapen, uneven, and crumbly. But it tasted great, and it made great Indian food.
As time went on I got better at making the paneer, and picked up a cheese mold. Then I built a cheese press, then built a different version of the cheese press, then bought one, and a different one. Now it is dumbbells on top of my mold.
Depending on what cheese you are making you will need different tools. Some cheese are stupid easy (paneer is one that has never failed) others are quite complex.
I use this cheese supply shop for most of my supplies these days. They have recipes as well.
This is the mold I use for my paneer.
I thought about going with the 4lb version, but I think that is over kill.
Some cheeses are a lot easier than others. Add acid and simmer the milk should result in it separating and then you can filter out the whey with cheesecloth. Now you have cheese!
If you press it you can remove more of the liquid but you can do a fair bit by hand for soft cheeses.
I used to make Quark regularly at home, which is a soft spreadable cheese that goes really well with a jam on crackers or a bagel. It’s quite easy to make, and doesn’t require a press, just a cheese cloth that you twist to squeeze the whey out before eating, so should be pretty perfect for making in an apartment.
There’s a lot of different ways to make it, but the easiest/simplest recipes are the ones that just call for milk and buttermilk, like this one.
Wow, quark is very popular in strength training circles, would be fun to make my own!
Thank you for the recipe recommendation!
I have been wanting to try making quark. Will check out that recipe.
I only make paneer, Finnish juustoleipää, and the occasional mozzarella. All of which are very quick cheeses, and they require no climate control.
For my paneer I gave up on my fancy cheese press and put weights on top of the molds, I can fit two molds in a baking pan (to catch the whey) on my counter.
I know the most common climate control used in novice cheese making is a wine fridge.
Thank you for excellent tips, I guess I have to figure out what to cook with paneer next ;)
The two dishes I make the most with it are shahi paneer (I almost always add a cup or three of frozen peas) and buffalo ranch paneer wraps.. The first dish I made with paneer though was saag paneer.
I haven’t done it but I know there a few different easy cheese to make. Mozzarella and cottage cheese are supposed to be simple and don’t require any special temperature control. Ricotta can me made in a few hours as well
