So I periodically get an itch to learn some homesteading skills, and the turn has come to cheese.
After an initial look, it seems hard to do in my apartment, especially fitting a good cheese press, and a climate controlled storage.
Is it feasible to make cheese from an apartment? Do you know of any resources for suitable adaptations or other handy tips? Have you tried yourself? What worked well and what is better avoided altogether?
Happy to help!
The only thing you need for ricotta or paneer that you may not already have on hand is cheesecloth. I’d recommend starting with that and seeing if you actually enjoy cheesemaking before buying any equipment.
I can’t find the recipe I used online anymore, but it’s basically “heat the milk until just shy of a boil, remove from the heat, pour in lemon juice or vinegar until it starts to curdle, cover it and wait 10 minutes, then drain, wrap, and press”. A strainer lined with cheesecloth is the best way to drain the curd. You can save the whey to make biscuits or something.
Edit: For mozzarella, I used this recipe from Serious Eats: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-make-fresh-mozzarella-from-scratch-recipe
Assuming you enjoy making cheese, you can search for a local cheesemaking supply store to pick up supplies and equipment or order online from some place like makecheese.ca.
Rennet is available as liquid or tablets. Liquid is easier to work with but tablets last longer.
The kit that I bought from makecheese.ca came in a little box that had everything I needed except milk and a thermometer. It included step by step instructions.
If you want to YOLO it and jump right in without using a kit (or if you outgrow cheesemaking by kit), I’d recommend a copy of Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking by Gianaclis Caldwell.
Have fun!