The biggest problem for home cheesemakers is to dedicate the time to cheesemaking without any interruption. Cheesemaking is not a single day process, it sometimes takes 3 days or even longer. When you are planning to try a new recipe there are things to do before hand for a smooth day of cheesemaking. I list those down here from my experience.
1- Write the recipe down to its details to your notebook.
You can even search/ask in the forum and see what people have to say. This will give you an idea of temperatures, time, pH, starter cultures and the other processes. If you are short of cultures, you can top them up before you start. Or may be your rennet is out of date or about to finish.
2- Draw your project plan.
This seems like an overkill but will give you an idea of how long it will take to get into the press/drain stage. I draw a vertical line in my notebook. Every horizontal line is 15 minutes and I write down the steps on this line.
Cheesemakers plan
3- Make sure your family knows that you are going to make cheese. Your other half may have something else planned for that weekend.
4- Prepare starter cultures in advance. If you are using commercial sachets, prepare them the night before so that you know they are active and working.
5- Lock away pets. You don’t want dog hair in your cheese. Also don’t let the kids run around and create more dust flying in the air and don’t bake bread the same day. Bread yeast will jump into your milk and multiply giving an off smell and taste.
Once your plan is ready you will see that you have everything you need and be more confident to try a new recipe.
I want the whey to make primost as made in Sweden from leftover liquid from making cheese. I wish I didn’t have to make my own cheese in order to procure the primost. An help out there? Leone,