Hard Cheese at Home
Description
The appetizer is quick and simple to make. The main thing you need to stock up on is patience. The classic homemade hard cheese recipe calls for a fairly long aging period, but the wait is worth it. A fragrant, appetizing, and surely the tastiest cheese you have ever tasted. Can be served warm or chilled.
Instructions
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Step 1
1. Pour the milk into a saucepan and attach the thermometer right away. When making hard cheese at home, the recipe depends largely on temperature.
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Step 2
2. At approximately 30°C, add the starter culture to the milk. This is the ideal temperature for the culture to begin working. Gently stir the mixture for 10 minutes and leave it covered (off the heat) for 35–55 minutes. The time depends on the quality of the milk and the starter. When the mixture has thickened, add rennet that has been pre-dissolved in a small amount of water. Stir thoroughly again and let it rest for another 40–50 minutes. When a firm cheese curd has formed that you can cut with a knife and the knife stays clean, cut the curd into medium-sized pieces.
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Step 3
3. Transfer the mixture in small portions to a colander and let the whey drain off. You can place the cheese curds in cheesecloth folded several layers thick and hang it over the sink, for example.
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Step 4
4. Then cover the resulting mass with a plate to speed up whey drainage, and place a small weight on top.
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Step 5
5. Carefully transfer the resulting mixture onto a cutting board and cut into pieces.
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Step 6
6. Transfer them to a deep bowl and salt thoroughly, gradually sprinkling in pinches of salt. For the classic homemade hard cheese recipe, use only regular salt, not iodized.
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Step 7
7. Now the cheese can be transferred to a mold lined with cheesecloth, and whey pressing can begin again. At first, the press should be light, but every half hour the cheese needs to be turned over and the weight of the press increased.
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Step 8
8. After about a day, you can remove the cheese from the press and dry it for approximately 2–3 days in the refrigerator, turning it periodically. This is a very simple homemade hard cheese recipe that will be ready to eat in just one to two weeks. If you want a more aged cheese, coat the wheel with wax and leave it in a cool, humid place for 2 months, remembering to turn it over regularly.