Alright y'all, now that it's been over a month... here's the recipe for my cream cheese. Sorry it's taken me so long! If your first batch doesn't turn out right, don't give up. I've had quite a few times when it didn't work right, but most of the time it works and tastes great.
- 4 cups raw milk
- 1 package mesophilic starter
- 1 drop of rennet
- 1/4 cup water
Combine the cream and milk and warm the mixture to 70 degrees.Add the starter and rennet. This should all be done pretty fast so that the milk doesn't cool off and you don't kill the starter. Mix thoroughly. Cover and allow to set at 72 degrees for 24 hours.
24 hours later~
Ladle the curds into a colander lined with butter muslin. Tie the corners of the muslin into a knot and hang the bag to drain for 3-5 hours, or until the curds stop dripping. Transfer the curds into a bowl and mix by hand to a paste-like consistency. Refrigerate until use.
Now for my notes:
- Don't forget to add the starter.
- Don't forget to dilute the rennet in water before adding it to the milk.
- Don't forget about the milk and let it get to 100 degrees.
Yes, I really have done all of these once or twice. :) If you let the milk get to 80 or so it is okay and will still work but you have to let it cool before adding the starter and rennet otherwise you will kill the starter.
Here is where we order our mesophilic: http://www.cheesemaking.com/ Just go to the sidebar and click on ingredients. Then click on "cheese cultures and mold powders." Scroll down until you find mesophilic starter (C1o1.) Also, if you need rennet you can find it the same way except for you click on "cheese rennets." We get the liquid animal rennet which is the first one on the list.
I hope I haven't thoroughly confused y'all and feel free to ask me any questions (just don't expect any professional answer.) Good luck!
