Spent the morning getting my last wheel installed on my minitruck… and then the guys aligned the front… which cost Brandon a gash on his forehead when a wrench slipped! So sorry, Brandon! But I’m very thrilled! There’s lots of projects just waiting for that truck!
The afternoon was spent experimenting and cleaning up my house and organizing our menu for branding dinner.
My experiments?
The first one was my attempt at making farmer cheese/mozzarella. I’ve wanted to try it for years. I was friends with C., who tried to start up a dairy set-up in Hyattville… things didn’t work out, but her enthusiasm was always fun and interesting! Well, finally… finally, I tried it.
First, I got some fresh milk from the neighbors… I didn’t use all of this, I used about 1/2 gallon. Then, 1/4 cup of white vinegar. I’d have like to use whey, but I don’t have any yet!
The milk was heated to the warm stage… about 105˚-110˚.
Once it was warm, I added the white vinegar.
The milk instantly curdles.
The heat is turned off, and I put a lid on it and let it cool down. Poured through a strainer, the curds are squeezed to remove the whey.
It can be used as is, though I’d recommend adding some salt first. It can be crumbled for salads or toppings or pressed together and sliced.
Since this was an experiment, I thought I’d try two different processes.
I worked some salt and lemon pepper into one of the balls. I was just looking for something to spread on crackers…
The other ball I turned into mozzarella.
As far as I can figure, mozzarella is simply farmer cheese that is “cooked” with boiling water.
Well, son of a gun. It worked. I poured hot water over it and it clumped together… it became shiny and semi-stringy just like it’s supposed to!
It would have been better if I’d added a little salt back a step or two… but this was good for a first attempt.
Vernon and I enjoyed our hors d’oeuvres, though the lemon pepper farmer cheese was the clear winner. I imagine I’ll try this again… Perhaps tweaking the recipe just a bit! A half gallon sure didn’t make very much, but enough for a good snack!
Thanks for sharing, Carol. I’ve been wanting to try this myself. My grandmother used to make her own cottage cheese. The method and recipe was the same but at the point of curds only she just mixed in some salt and a little cream. It was the best.