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  • From: Juli <crowweaver@aol.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] cheese making
  • Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:11:16 -0400 (EDT)

I've learned that, to make a harder cheese, which keeps longer, the trick is to hang it longer or use a cheese press. You can use enzymes of course but killing such a young animal is very wasteful, in my opinion. Especially in a survival situation. A grown or larger animal would produce so much more meat and goods than a very young/small one.

As for rennet, stinging nettle works wonderfully. I've been using it successfully for over a year. here's how I do it ....

You can use the nettle fresh or dried, tied in cheese cloth or muslin. Add to the milk when you reach cheese temp and cook until separation. The amount I tried was varied but roughly a tight handful fresh, coarsely chopped or 3/4 handful dry.

Or, my preference, make a strong nettle infusion. Around 16 cups of fresh nettles in a pot, cover with water and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer just under boiling for 30 minutes or so. Allow to cool then store in a glass jar in the fridge. For cheese I use about 1 cup nettle rennet for 1 gal milk.

To make cheese, you can use anything that will coagulate the milk and you can combine things for flavor. Lemon juice and nettle makes a very good cheese. There's an old pioneer recipe for just sitting a covered gallon of milk in the shade for a day or two, to curd, then salting and hanging the curd to harden.

Juli
WildMoonCottage.com
SimplySelfSufficient.org



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Sent: Wed, Jun 20, 2012 11:03 am
Subject: Livingontheland Digest, Vol 352, Issue 3



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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:04:02 +0100
From: "John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] living on the land
To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing"
<livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
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To make a "hard" cheese that will keep for many months if not more than a year you need "leb ferment". In other words the enzymes a suckling animal produces in it's stomach to process milk it has just drank. (these days a lot of the rennet is "suitable for vegetarians" iow gmo rennet made by E.coli microbes that had the gene implanted) In fact after drinking milk a "cheese" is formed in the stomach. I suspect that our ancestors got the idea of cheese making by seeing this after they had killed a calf, lamb or goat kid.

I don't at all like killing young animals a day or two old but in a survival situation that is what one may have to do. Today it is possible to buy concentrates and milk replacer to rear these young ones while milking the mother but when the going gets though that is not possible. Leave all the young alive and suckling and you will not have a drop of milk after the first few weeks after birth. Apart from the fact that most cows will refuse to give the human milker a drop when they know they have a calf waiting. Some will defend their milk and be very dangerous. And even if they allow you to milk them then there will never be enough left to rear the offspring into a decent adult.

So practically you give your newborn baby calf, kid or lamb a very good last meal and then kill it. (humanely of course) Take out the leb stomach fast as you can and tie off at front and back with a string. Put this stomach in plenty dry salt and store in a container in a cool place. About one teaspoon of the cheesy contents will curdle 20 liters of fresh milk. Take out tea spoon of cheese in a cup of luke warm water and work with spoon to homogenize and get rid of lumps then add to 20 liters of milk. The stomach rennet keeps for well over a year and a calf's stomach should be enough for at least 40 hard pressed cheeses. A goat kid for about 25. Goat kid rennet will give a sharp - peppery taste to the mature cheese. Calf is more neutral tasting. Lamb in between.

After pressing these cheeses should mature for a minimum of 4 weeks during which they are regularly turned and washed with salt water. But they get better with aging for a year or longer. Fresh curds taste of nothing much and have a rubbery consistency.

j
So, tell us what to do no matter how disgusting.

Sent from my iPhone







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