How to make cheese at home

Making homemade cheese is one of those things that feels complicated, but is actually a whole lot easier than you expect. I like to think of it this way: if a medieval farmer could make cheese in a very unsophisticated kitchen… then we can too! Here is an overview of everything you need to know about how to make cheese at home.

Cheesemaking 101 – Basic Information

Cheesemaking is a HUGE topic. Here is everything you need to know about cheesemaking broken down into a few bite-sized pieces.

• Equipment: A summary of the equipment needed for making cheese, including easy DIY options.
• Ingredients: Learn about the different types of milk and cultures that go into making delicious cheese.
• Sterilization and Sanitation: It is important to keep everything sterile when making hard cheese or mold-ripened cheese.
• Inoculating Milk: How to culture the milk and set the curd with rennet.
• Preparing the Curd: How to cut the curd and cook it, along with advice around what to do if the curd hasn’t set properly.
• Cheesemaking Problems: How to solve common problems with setting curd and aging cheese.

How to Make Cheese – Recipes and more

Once you have pressed the curds you officially have made cheese! Here are some recipes and ideas to launch you on your cheesemaking adventure.

• Fresh Cheeses are perfect for beginners, since they don’t require quite the same amount of precision as hard cheese. Here’s everything you need to know about making fresh cheese.
• Aging Hard Cheese is a complex process. This post describes how to make waxed, bandaged and washed rind cheeses.
• Cheese Recipes is a list of simple cheese recipes, everything from feta to mozzarella. All of these cheeses are perfect for anyone ready to make cheese at home.
• The Wonderful World of Whey gives you suggestions on how to use up all that leftover whey from your cheesemaking.

I hope you’re feeling inspired!