Have you ever made cheese at home, and if 'yes' what kind and how hard was it to make?

I made some mozzarella a couple years ago. There was a kit on clearance, and we had been talking about making cheese for a while, so we thought, what the heck.

The kit had the rennet and citric acid, and the recipe, so I followed the recipe. I forgot to add enough salt, so it was a little bland, but the flavor and texture were there.

I’m going make some more in the near future, and more often, so I can experiment with such things as saltiness, aging, possibly smoking, like gouda.

I made a very bland cheese once, completely by accident, while winging an attempt at a cream based sauce.

I’d like to do it for real soon.

I never make cheese. But I did cut it. Actually I left milk out in my desk in a stew can and made sour cream and whey. It took a week.

I imagine I could make cheese that would suit me by seasoning cottage cheese and draining it. Chipotle.

ASAP, @Yetanotheruser, and if you’re smoking the cheese, I hope you plan on shipping it to me.

Elaborate, @Seek.
I have some great cheese sauce recipes.

I wish I could. I was just throwing stuff in a pot and I ended up with cheese. I wish I knew what I did. There may have been gin involved.

I haven’t yet, but I have recipes for making Paneer (Indian cheese) and Fresh Cheese with Lemon, Garlic and Basil. It sounds like fun.

Back in Sweden, about 25 years ago we made cottage cheese all the time. It’s a good beginner’s cheese. It’s cheap if you fuck up and you learn a little about how more complicated cheeses are made.

About a year and a half ago, before I took my suicide voyage, I had a bunch of sheep and goat’s milk on my hands and didn’t want to waste it. I was giving it to the fruit stand lady, giving it away to the two teenagers who help out around here.

Finally, I decided to make room in the root cellar for the making of cheese. Had no idea what I was doing, but it is fun. I put together a kind of internet notebook. I’ll share it with you. It’s full of cheese theory and practical recipes. It covers Cow, goat, and sheep’s milk cheeses. It’s an art and takes patience and love to produce a good cheese. Being a bit OCD helps.

Right now I’m working on a Roquefort without much success yet. Daddy sings the bleus.

Here’s the notebook. I tried to make it readable and fit this format. Hopefully all the links are still good. Good luck and enjoy, ibstubro.

CHEESE MAKING

Cheese Making Equipment:
Cooking pot: 5-quart enamel or stainless steel kettle
Slotted spoon
Large knife or spatula
Cheesecloth
Colander
Cheese molds (for French Goat Cheese)
String (for Mild Cheddar)
Rack for draining
Dairy thermometer (recommended but not required)

Raw Milk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_milk

Buttermilk (Culture)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buttermilk

Rennet (Coagulant)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

Acids
Lemon Juice
Vinegar

Cheese Making
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheesemaking

This isn’t meant as a recipe but as a great way to familiarize yourself with the steps of cheese making:
1. Step 1: Start with Fresh, Warm Milk. ...
2. Step 2: Acidify the Milk. ...
3. Step 3: Add a Coagulant. ...
4. Step 4: Test for Gel Firmness. ...
5. Step 5: Cut the Curd. ...
6. Step 6: Stir, Cook & Wash the Curd. ...
7. Step 7: Drain the Curds. ...
8. Step 8: Salt and Age the Cheese.

ARTICLES

CHEESES MADE FROM COW’S MILK:
Basic Steps of Cheese Making
http://www.instructables.com/id/Basic-Steps-of-How-to-Make-Cheese/

How to Make Cheese at Home
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Cheese-at-Home

Mozarella
http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html

Camembert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camembert

Stilton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilton_cheese

Cheese Making Recipes
A to Z: Brie, Stilton, Camembert, Ricotta… they are all here, including the rare and beautiful (bright orange with blue veins); the complex and tasty Shropshire Blue:
http://www.cheesemaking.com/recipes/recipedetails.html

COTTAGE CHEESE

How to Make Cottage Cheese
http://www.homemademommy.net/2013/05/how-to-make-cottage-cheese.html

Cottage Cheese Recipes
http://allrecipes.com/recipes/16110/ingredients/dairy/cheese/cottage-cheese/

GOAT CHEESE
Simple Fresh Goat Cheese
http://www.marthastewart.com/258249/simple-fresh-goat-cheese-recipe

How to Make Goat Milk Cheese
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/how-to-make-goat-milk-cheese-zmaz02jjzgoe.aspx

French Goat Cheese Recipe
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/french-goat-cheese-recipe-zmaz02jjzgoe.aspx

How to Make Chevre (Soft Goat Cheese)
http://www.cheesemaking.com/Chevre.html

CHÈVRE recipe
http://ethnicspoon.com/how-to-make-goat-cheese-recipe-chevre/

Mild Goat Cheddar Cheese Recipe
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/mild-goat-cheddar-cheese-recipe-zmaz02jjzgoe.aspx

SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE: Feta, Pecorino Sardo, Pecorino Toscano…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep_milk_cheese

The Noble Roquefort
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roquefort

I saw this Q at the bottom of the page next to this and came up with a String Cheese Incident Theory.

I’ve tried the mozzarella cheese.. It’s good as long as you are ready to use the cheese the same day or maximum by the next day. I tried to refrigerate mozzarella, but I guess the taste differs a lot after a couple of days of freezing.

I wonder what the difference is between amateur homemade mozzarella cheese and one made by a company that’s been around for a hundred years.

@jca According to this video, the first difference is the milk used. It has a specified fat and protein content, something we at home can only get by going with what’s available in the market. The other difference is commercial operations use microbiological analysis for quality control. We are stuck with the old trial and error.

I made it in Home Ec class in Jr. High. The whole class did it.