Making Cheddar Cheese at Home. This hard cheese is one of the great cheeses of the world. It is usually made with cow’s milk, but I frequently made it from goat’s milk. Goat and ewe’s milk both produce a slightly softer curd than cow’s milk, and they require slightly reduced temperatures. The curds from these milks also need slightly less pressing.
image/text credit: Gavin Webber
Cheddar cheese, the most widely purchased and eaten cheese in the world is always made from cow’s milk. It is a hard and natural cheese that has a slightly crumbly texture if properly cured and if it is too young, the texture is smooth. It gets a sharper taste as it matures, over a period of time between 9 to 24 months.
Shaped like a drum, 15 inches in diameter, Cheddar cheese is natural rind bound in cloth while its colour generally ranges from white to pale yellow. However, some Cheddars may have a manually added yellow-orange colour (like mine).
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It should be pointed out that it is far more economical to make a larger quantity than the one stated here because it takes just as long to make a small cheese as a larger one.
INGREDIENTS
- 10 L (10 qt) Full Cream Milk, preferably pasteurised/unhomogenised
- 1/8th Teaspoon (Dash) Mesophilic Culture MO30
- 2.5 ml (½ tsp) Calcium Chloride in ¼ cup water
- 2.5 ml (½tsp) Liquid Rennet in ¼ cup water
- 12 drops of Annatto in 1/4 cup water
- 1 & ½ Tablespoons Cheese Salt
- Loose weave Cheese Cloth
- Butter, Lard or Coconut oil for banding
