Making Cheese

[Sam Wilson]

Hey, Gene!

Can you describe your cheese making process a bit?

Have you always used the the rennet pills when making cheese?  When you bought it did they call it "cuajo"?

I'm getting ready to start making our own and am thinking about trying an acid-set cheese until I can get over to Dos Pinos to buy the better Rennet.  Have you tried that yet?  Stir in a little acid (lemon juice or vinegar,) heat the acidified milk to 80-85º C while stirring for 30 minutes, drain the whey.  Easy peasy!  ;-)

Do you ever add mesophilic bacteria cultures?  Or just the rennet pills?  How about thermophilic bacteria cultures?  I'm guessing no, yes, and no to those, but I'd like to start getting fancier with our cheeses than the standard white semiduro...  ;-)

Anyway, it would be good to hear about your experiences making the common Tico cheese...

How about queso ahumado?  Any tips on that?

Thanks for helping get us up to speed on this.

Now of course I need to go by the Tips out by the airport to buy a thermometer.  Lots of work, these hobbies are!  jajaja.

--

Sam

 

[Gene French]

No...yes...no as you predicted!!!

Lol..

Jerry just buys a 5 pack at the local pulperia ..eliza (local queen of cheese) said our pills were bad...left a lit of whey in the milk...we were not maximizing our output...

I decided we would rather just sell the milk to a local certified cheese maker...

We always just made the semiduro tico cheese...i loved it...was rich...we did not pasteurize the milk...nor rob the cream for natilla ..

The one we really love was what leo and eliza called sun cheese...that was soooo good...after pressed you let it harden in the sun  ....dries it out some and let the water out...leaving more flavor...only thing is you have to be careful of is flies...we dried it under an extra set of refrigerator vegetable bins drying on our cutting board...

If you are pasturizing...bring to 75c ... cool it down to 38 or 39 ..add the pill...let her rip....

If not pasturizing...the milk needs to be warm...38 or 39...body temp ...colder temps results in much longer time to seperate the whey...

A local amiga (grace) quit selling milk and started making what she and jerry call dried cheese...jerry wanted to do this before wilber wanted to quit milking and just make and sell cheese...

Jerry said we needed a 55 gallon plastic barrell...that is the extent of my knowledge of this cheese...i am sure grace would help you if you want to try...

I know wilber is selling more in guayabo now that he got certified...i am sure he goes daily.. and would gladly sell to you...

But i do understand your "do it myself" attitude!!!!

You would also love the sun cheese...

Eliza would make it for us on special request...leo could explain how he does it...

Jerry is now milking 5 cows...actually sharing milk with the calves...not yet trying to maximize output...he has 2 more months of high school left. .we have as best we can tell have 7 cows pregnant with a couple ready to birth within the month...

Good luck with your new "project:...as you know...i love projects!!!

Pura vida

Gene

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[epicatt2]

Sam, Gene,

Neither of you asked but there is an online group called Cheese Forum which may offer some useful info for your cheesemaking endeavors.

Here's the link:   [ http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php ]

I joined it several years back and have not visited it in a good while, but it still seems to be going strong.  One of the members on a CR discussion group had mentioned it and so I checked it out because I was wanting to learn how to make a certain kind of cheese.  I found our how but it was too complicated for my taste so I never tried.

But there's a huge boatload of info on the site some of which may be useful for you.

OK — HTH

Paul M.

==

PS - FWIW - There are several people in Costa Rica who are participating on this Cheese Forum!

==

[Gene French]

Thanks paul...

Sam is more the cheesy guy...here we were just experimenting in the kids direction with the cows...now we are selling the milk...but i can honestly say...we can make our own cheese...butter...and buttermilk...is great for bisquits and pineapple sherbert!!!!

Gene

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