This is the fourth part of the Raw Cheese series. The other three posts were:
- 4 Easy Raw Cheese Recipes
- Basic Cheesemaking Cultures, Supplies and Equipment
- Benefits of Raw Cheese
In this post, I’ll share some of the books or online sources of cheesemaking information with which I’m familiar. Also, we’ll discuss online merchants for supplies and equipment.
Also see my online class on Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese for videos and print tutorials.
Books on Cheesemaking
1. “The Cheesemaker’s Manual” by Margaret Peters-Morris.
Written for the home and on-farm cheesemaker, this manual is comprehensive. At the very beginning, the author classifies every type of cheese by production type. This alone was worth the book — to find out the difference between fresh unripened cheese, rennet coagulated fresh cheese, soft ripened cheese, and so on. Do you know what those mean? You will after you read this book! The book contains 50 full-color photographs to show the perfect hobbyist’ cheese vat and cheeses in various stages of development.
It would be impossible for me to tell you all the parts in the book, it is so comprehensive. I learned about milk components, how milk differs according to animal and breed, santitation methods, cheesemaking ingredients, and many more topics that pertain to cheesemaking. And then there are the recipes! At a total of 225 pages, this book pretty much covers it all.
This book does contain a discussion of pasteurization and homogenization, as if there is nothing negative about it. Besides the obvious — that God made milk raw, not pasteurized — we learned the other day that complex and deliciously flavored cheeses result from raw milk. Still, I recommend this book for any cheesemaker’s shelf. The book is outrageously expensive on Amazon.com ($90 something), and moderately expensive at Homesteader Supply ($45.95). If you’re balking at the price, which I did at first, keep in mind that this is more like a reference book, a manual, rather than a casual recipe book. It could be the only cheesemaking book you’ll ever need.
2. “The Backyard Homestead” by Carleen Madigan. I’m including this in the list because some of you may already have it on your shelf, or want to get it for other topics homestead-related. Carleen Madigan devotes 9 packed pages to a cheesemaking overview, some tried and true cheese recipes, and plans for a cheese press.
3. “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by Carla Emery. Called “the original manual for living off the land & doing it yourself,” this is another book that might be on your shelf or on your list. And of course, there’s a cheesemaking section. Carla Emery offers 14 pages (tiny print on big pages) of information to help you understand cheesemaking methods and types, and many recipes.
My list lacks the title by Ricki Carroll, “Home Cheese Making” and here’s why. I don’t think I can speak to it. I had the book for a few weeks, tried a recipe which turned out horribly, and then passed it on. I kind of wish I’d kept it now. I know some of you have used it and liked it, so I hope you’ll be willing to share what you liked about it, what recipes you tried, and anything else you care to share.
Online Recipes
Fias Co Farm. I have tried a half dozen recipes from this comprehensive site, and everything turns out fabulous. Each recipe contains close-up pictures for every step of the way and you learn something about cheese classifications along the way. So even if you didn’t have an official cheesemaking book, you’d learn quite a bit just by following these recipes.
Online Merchants
For cheesemaking supplies and cultures, I highly recommend these three merchants. I have done business with all of them repeatedly and can’t say enough about their customer service, quality of products, and reliability.
- Homesteader Supply – If you shop here, ask for Jerri and tell her I sent you. 🙂 I know she’d be happy to hear where you found out about her business. When I call her, she’s usually making cheese. We talk at length about recipes, techniques, and this or that. She’s the one who recommended “The Cheesemaker’s Manual” to me and I’m so glad I listened to her!
- Cultures for Health – based out of the Portland (OR) area, Julie runs a tip top business. She’s great about answering emails and helping you through trouble spots no matter what cultured food you’re making. Her blog is also a great resource for articles on all things cultured.
- The Dairy Connection – This is a good source for hobbyist cheese cultures at rock-bottom prices. Their shipping is quick, prices low, and choices extensive.
Also see my online class on Cultured Dairy & Basic Cheese for videos and print tutorials.
So… now it is your turn. What cheesemaking books do you love?
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I’ve used Ricki’s 30-minute mozzarella recipe with great success, but haven’t tried any of the others in her book. As a matter of fact, other than cream cheese, her mozzarella is the only cheese I’ve made so far!
.-= Peggy´s last blog post… New! e. Coli Vaccine! Oh boy! =-.
I LOVE Ricki Carroll’s book, loaned it to a neighbour who loved it to. The only things I have tried that have NOT come out well were feta (probably error on my part) and hard cheese (which I think had to do with the fact that I was borrowing a press and had no idea how much pressure it was giving, so I couldn’t follow the instructions to the letter).
I have made mozzarella, chevre, ricotta, cream cheese, neufchatel, hmm… maybe others. It’s great to have as a resource, and I look forward to getting/making a press where I have control over the pressure and can try out more hard cheeses.
.-= Rebecca´s last blog post… Tuesday Twister – French Dinner =-.
The only cheese book I have is Home Cheese Making, and I am glad to hear there is a book that may be better. My desire to start making cheese (besides milking goats and having our Jersey cow calve just before Christmas) was tasting Gjetost at a Norwegian camp. I checked out a site on the internet (http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/Gjetost/Gjetost.htm) and his recipe was terrible. I attempted to use Ricki Carroll’s recipe for Mysost, and really struggled with it, since it was very vague at times. There is a point where I am supposed to save the foam that develops: I’ve made this close to 10 times, and have yet to have any foam develop! I like other aspects of her book, but would welcome finding recipes that are easier to follow.
I’m glad to hear other folks had problems with Ricki’s book. My experience has been that the recipes for soft cheeses and 30 minute mozzarella work just fine. The recipes for hard cheeses are another story. I have found many glaring errors, typos, and omissions in the remaining recipes that often times spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R if you don’t know what the ‘normal’ ratios of milk to rennet to starter should be for the particular cheese you want to make. Her website has updated recipes that may work better. I have also combed the web for cheese recipes that have been tested and shown to be accurate- check out http://www.greeningofgavin.com for some REAL cheese recipes the DO work. Save yourself time, money and energy, look elsewhere for accurate cheese recipes.