REAL California Cheese

I've crossed another epicurean challenge off my list: cheese! But, first, let me back up. I was inspired to make my own cheese by Barbara Kingsolver, who, among other books, wrote Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I had picked up the book several months ago, but I just had the opportunity to read it last week while we were in Death Valley. This non-fiction book chronicles her family's one year adventure in growing their own or buying only local food. The authors also explain how food has evolved over the past 100-150 years. She isn't kind to big business or big farming operations, which was intriging to me, as the spouse of a farmer. We aren't a big farming operation by any means, but we do utilize some "big ag" tools of the trade. A few things that she wrote were taken with a grain of salt, but the main message she had was to eat local and to eat in season. Support local farmers by going to Farmer's Market and be aware of where your food comes from and how far its traveled to get there. I have no problem doing either, so I decided to get my produce from the large garden we'll be growing or from Farmer's Market. I took the girls there on Thursday afternoon, and we bought basil, apples, tomatoes, radishes, purple cauliflower and broccoli. We also went to the local brewery and came home with growlers of Rootbeer and Honey Wheat beer (both of which disappeared rather quickly!). The book was fascinating to read, but I appreciated it from a "foodie" perspective. If you're not interested in cooking, gardening, food origins or environmental issues, this book might get a little tedious for you.

Okay, back to the cheese. Kingsolver and her family made their own cheese (They made their own bread and pasta, too, but I haven't gone quite that far!). She learned how to make cheese from Rikki Carrol, the self-proclaimed cheese queen. According to Rikki, the most difficult ingredient to come by in making your own cheese is raw milk (Some states have strict rules about selling it - I am not sure what CA rules are.), but since I have over 5000 gallons of it sitting about 100 feet from my front door every day, that is not a problem for me! I made two batches of fresh mozzarella (2 pounds) with 2 gallons of milk on Friday morning. Here are a few pictures and the explanation of the process, in case you didn't have any clue about how the cheese you eat is made.This is the kit I received in the mail from the New England Cheesemaking Company. It had citric acid, renet tablets, cheese salt, a thermometer, cheese cloth and complete instructions on how to make your own mozzarella or ricotta. It was $35 with shipping, but it makes about 30 batches. Half a pound of fresh mozzarella costs $6 in the grocery store, so, if I keep making cheese, I will recoup my investment in about 6 batches. I plan to buy my supplies from our friends at Bravo Farms in the future.
First, you add citric acid to the milk and heat it to 90 degrees. Then, you add the renet and let it sit. Next, you cut the curd with a knife and heat it back up to 105 degrees.
Stir a bit more, and above is what you get: curds and whey (now the nursery rhyme makes sense!). Drain off the whey, knead the mozzarella like taffy, and below is what you get.With the second batch, I made boccacini balls: mozarella rolled in olive oil, garlic, and fresh parsely. Delicious!I think I've got the cheese bug...I spoke with a friend who is building a goat farm, so goat cheese is next! Can't wait for fresh caprese salad this summer or for home made pizza!