How To Make Cheese: Organic Farmers Cheese

I often like to make organic farmer's cheese on the weekends.  In this blog post, I will talk about how to make cheese and some of the different variations of cheese that you can make easily at home, with little fuss.  In order to make farmer's cheese, you will need a small amount of kitchen equipment:

A collander
A food thermometer
Some cheesecloth
A stockpot
A large ceramic bowl

And, of course, a recipe on how to make organic farmers cheese.

The most important thing about making farmers cheese is to make sure your equipment is clean, dry and sterilized..   Any time you are handling dairy products, this is key to preventing unwanted contamination in the finished product.  I prefer to use metal, ceramic and glass items for this reason, over plastic.  Wooden spoons are okay, but a metal one is preferrable for stirring.

A long time ago, these simple recipes were the common property of housewives who didn't often go to the store or market to buy them, but rather did them at home.  Specialty cheeses from different regions were bought at market, but everyday food rarely was.  Learning how to make cheese was the mark of a good homemaker's education, along with baking bread, and simple stews like pottage.

For my part, I love garlic and herb cheese.  Or slightly spicy cheese with cayenne, black pepper and paprika.  I keep the milkfat content high because I find that makes a smoother, tastier farmers cheese.  I do realize that it makes it less healthy than it could be, but I also think limited quantities are fine.   The milk is organic and there are no preservatives in my homemade cheese.

I learned how to make cheese through trial and error.  I think one of the things that surprised me most is how much milk is required to make cheese.  You might be surprised that a gallon of milk leads to such a small quantity of farmers cheese.  I know, for my part, it made me appreciate how much milk goes into the process when you make homemade cheese!