Mild Feta Cheese
1 gallon milk
1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic-A direct-set culture
1/4 tsp. rennet dissolved in cool water
3-4 Tablespoons coarse salt (You can use table salt, but use less)
1) Warm milk in a pot to 86*F and stir in culture. Cover pot. Let sit one hour to ripen.
2) Stir dissolved rennet into milk. Cover pot and allow to sit one hour more to coagulate. Don't stir or disturb. The milk will become a solid mass.
3) Cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes. Allow to rest 5 minutes to expel the whey. Stir gently every few minutes for 15 minutes keeping.
4) Line a colander with cheesecloth or butter muslin (I use plyban cloth - a plastic, re-useable cheesecloth) and set inside a big bowl if you want to save the whey. Drain the curds. Tie the four corners of the cloth together and hang to drain for 4-6 hours. The curds will form a ball.
5) Slice the ball in half and lay the slabs of cheese in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle all the surfaces with 3-4 Tablespoons of coarse salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temp for 24 hours.
6) After 24 hours pour off the whey, salt all the surfaces and let sit 2 more hours. Remove cheese from dish and quickly rinse under cool water to remove all the salt. Place cheese in a covered dish and refrigerate. Use immediately or allow to age 5-7 days to sharpen the flavor. Use within two weeks or freeze for future use.
1/4 teaspoon Mesophilic-A direct-set culture
1/4 tsp. rennet dissolved in cool water
3-4 Tablespoons coarse salt (You can use table salt, but use less)
1) Warm milk in a pot to 86*F and stir in culture. Cover pot. Let sit one hour to ripen.
2) Stir dissolved rennet into milk. Cover pot and allow to sit one hour more to coagulate. Don't stir or disturb. The milk will become a solid mass.
3) Cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes. Allow to rest 5 minutes to expel the whey. Stir gently every few minutes for 15 minutes keeping.
4) Line a colander with cheesecloth or butter muslin (I use plyban cloth - a plastic, re-useable cheesecloth) and set inside a big bowl if you want to save the whey. Drain the curds. Tie the four corners of the cloth together and hang to drain for 4-6 hours. The curds will form a ball.
5) Slice the ball in half and lay the slabs of cheese in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle all the surfaces with 3-4 Tablespoons of coarse salt. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temp for 24 hours.
6) After 24 hours pour off the whey, salt all the surfaces and let sit 2 more hours. Remove cheese from dish and quickly rinse under cool water to remove all the salt. Place cheese in a covered dish and refrigerate. Use immediately or allow to age 5-7 days to sharpen the flavor. Use within two weeks or freeze for future use.
No comments:
Post a Comment