COW FETA CHEESE RECIPES

Steps:

• In a non-reactive pot, add milk, lipase and calcium chloride
•   Heat the milk to 86 degrees
•   Add the starter and calcium chloride and stir
•   Cover and let rest for 1 hour
•   To keep the milk at temperature, fill a sink full of 86 degree water and place your covered pot in the sink
•   It will take longer for that much water to cool
•   Add warm water to sink as needed
•   It’s handy to leave a thermometer in the milk during this time to check temp
• Stir the milk and slowly add the diluted rennet, stirring up and down to distribute the rennet evenly, as well as to incorporate the cream layer throughout the milk if you are using non-homogenized milk
•   Cover again and let the milk set for 1 hour
•   Check for clean break in the curd (see beginning cheese making info)
•   Let milk sit a bit longer if clean break is not quite there
• At this point your whole pot of milk will be one solid, soft cheese curd, kind of at a soft baked custard consistency
•   Cut the curd into half inch cubes (again, see cheese making basics)
•   Let the freshly cut curds rest for 10 minutes
•   This cutting will allow the curds to begin loosing whey, shrinking as they go
•   Hard cheeses like parmesan have very small, dry curds
•   Softer cheeses like feta have bigger, wetter curds
•   With a large spoon, gently stir the pot of curds
•   You do not want the curds to break
•   Do this slowly for 30 minutes
• Line a colander with two layers of cheese cloth
•   Ladle the curds into the cheese cloth, allowing the whey to drain
•   Whey is a great, high protein base stock for soup, so save it you wish
•   Tie up the cheese cloth into a bag and hang to drain for 4 hours
• At this point there are a couple ways to proceed
•   You can either cut the curd into 1 inch cubes, sprinkle them with a couple tablespoons of salt and refrigerate them for a week to age
•  Or you can form your cheese into a round using a cheese press, then place it in a brine
•   I think this makes a finer product that lasts longer, and is closer to the commercial variety
•   To press the cheese, I untied bag of curds, then placed the bag into my cheese mold, folding the extra cheese cloth back over the top of the cheese
•   Then I apply about 15 lbs of pressure to the cheese over night, which allows more whey to drain from the cheese
•   If you don’t have a press, you can place your bag of curds on a rack, cover with a plate, then set a heavy weight on top, like a gallon milk jug filled with water (8lbs)
•   You won’t have the prettiest cheese, but you crumble feta anyway and it won’t change the flavor
• Once pressed, combine the 1/3c salt and 1/2 gallon of water to make a brine
•   Unwrap the cheese and place it in the brine for about a week
•   It takes a while for the brine to penetrate all the way to the center, but the outside inch or so should be ready in a week
•   The cheese can store in the brine for a month or longer, moving inside at about 1 inch a week
•   The longer it sits in the brine, the stronger the flavor, which I love

Steps:

• Warm the milk in a stainless steel (or other non-reactive) pot to 86°F. If using calcium chloride, incorporate the mixture of diluted calcium chloride into the milk as the milk starts to warm up.
• Add the culture to the milk and stir thoroughly. Allow the milk to sit undisturbed for an hour at room temperature.
• Once the milk is ready, dilute the rennet in 1/4 cup cool water. Mix the rennet/water into the milk using an up-and-down motion with your spoon (not a stirring motion). Incorporate the rennet but do not over-mix.
• Place a lid on the pot and let the milk mixture sit undisturbed overnight. The next morning, check that the milk has gelled and there is a clean break in the curd.
• Use a knife to cut the curd into 1/2-inch cubes. If necessary, use very clean hands to check the bottom of the pot for curds that may have been missed.
• Gently stir the curd off and on over the next 20 minutes. The curds should become somewhat retracted.
• Place a tea towel, cotton bag, butter muslin, or multi-layered cheese cloth in a colander. Pour in the curds and allow the visible whey to drain off. Once the whey has drained, tie the cloth in knots and hang it over the sink or a bowl. Allow the curd to drain for another 4 hours or until no more whey drips off.