Cheese Making

Now I have the milking machine up and running, I have plenty of milk, gained far quicker and more easily.  What had been taking me at least half an hour now takes approximately 15 minutes including the time spent moving Brownie in and out of the shed and cleaning the milking machine.

Brownie on the milking machine

While we're still not getting lots, we're getting excess to our milk drinking requirements.  I have enough left over that I have been experimenting with different cheeses.

I currently have two Gouda cheeses maturing, a Cheddar drying before waxing and Minas in the fridge.  I also have a complete failure of two Camembert wheels.  They won't be wasted, they may be hard as wood, but will still double for Parmesan in most things.

Two waxed Goudas maturing

Farmhouse Cheddar drying

The Minas Cheese came as a request from a workmate of Hubby's.  She's Brazilian and finds it hard to find Minas in NZ and had been missing it greatly.  She raves over just how yummy it is.

I went searching for recipes.  I found plenty of history on the Minas cheesemaking region in Brazil.  I found discussion on the composition (in chemical terms) of Minas and how it's texture differs from other cheeses.  I found recipes in Portugese with no translation.  I really struggled to find a recipe.

The workmate offered to translate recipes into English for me and also said she'd ring her Sister-in-law in Brazil and get her recipe because the SIL has a small farm and makes her own.  Then I found a blog with a video of someone making Minas.  Every so often, the video stops and there are instructions in English come up as text, so I copied it down and then made it into more readable English.

I reduced the volume by 80% and made Minas cheese.  It's a fresh cheese, rather roughly handled throughout (which surprised me) and is simple to make.  I sent a small wheel into work with Hubby the next day and waited for the response. 

About halfway through the day, I decided to try some.  I found it bland and almost tasteless although the silky texture was nice.  By the time Hubby got home, I was convinced I'd made the wrong thing.  This couldn't possibly be the same cheese she'd been describing as SO yummy.

I said as much to Hubby.  He raised an eyebrow and then showed me the text message he'd just received.  It was the workmate gushing gratitude and exclaiming over how yummy my Minas was.  I wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with my palate and so I cut a slice for Hubby.  He frowned and said the same as I had, but different cultures and different tastes and all that.

Anyway, here is the recipe I used.  The original called for 18 litres of whole milk to make 3 1kg cheeses.  I've reduced it somewhat.

Minas Cheese

3.6 litres whole milk
2 ml rennet
30g salt

If it is cold weather, have 1 l boiled water ready for when you break the paste.

Add rennet to milk and stir it well.  (The original called for a wooden spoon that is only used for making Minas).

Add salt and mix well.

Cover and leave for 2 hours.

Break up to separate curds and whey.  There was no mention of any size cubes to be cut, just break it up.  This is where you can add the boiled water which can also make a firmer cheese.  Strain out the curds and press (with hands) into cheese molds.  Press it down firmly to remove as much whey as possible.

After about half an hour, flip the cheese mold over and repeat after another half hour.