Leicester_H Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hi Having bought some stuff from Lakeland recently, they sent me their new printed catalogue. "Making soft cheese is something you might never have considered, but it’s remarkably simple, inexpensive and rewarding. You don’t even need any fancy kit - with just a few basic pieces you can be eating your own handcrafted cream cheese, halloumi, feta, ricotta or mozzarella in no time at all." http://www.lakeland.co.uk/p16570/Lakeland-Soft-Cheese-Making?src=emails_120718k4_1&spMailingID=39477168&spUserID=MjM0NTQzMzc0MTAS1&spJobID=151429704&spReportId=MTUxNDI5NzA0S0 So does anyone do this ? Is it worth it in small quantities (only 2 of us) - when even Sainsbury's have quite good cheeses these days ? The book(let) looks quite interesting (but I resent paying £2.99 0n a £3.99 product !! - unless I buy more items to make it worth while!!) Any thoughts appreciated. H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I also got the Lakeland catalogue yesterday and read that with interest. The book might be worthwhile - but I wonder if you really need all the other stuff or whether a bit of muslin and a colander wouldn't do the trick! My mother used to make cream cheese from sour milk - you curdle fresh milk so that you get curds and whey and then you drain it in muslin (or a clean J-cloth) snd mash it with chives or pepper or whatever you want to flavour it with. I haven't made it recently, but it's really simple and I'm guessing it was something she probably learned from her mother. I suspect that originally it was a way to use up milk that was going off in hot weather! I'm not sure that you could achieve the quality/variety of cheese that you can buy though - I see the Lakeland catalogue mentions feta and halloumi, and surely you'd need goat/ewe's milk for these? Most of these foods were originally made by farm labourers with no modern equipment, so it must be do-able but I'm not sure it would be worth the bother. Interested to see what other people think, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 What's wrong with a sour pint of full fat milk and a clean hanky? We used to make soft cheese by tipping the soured milk into the hanky, and tying it to the tap to let the whey drip into the sink overnight. You then beat it with a wooden spoon and season it with salt and pepper and or herbs. It isn't as smooth as cream cheese, but is very nice in a rustic sort of way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 What's wrong with a sour pint of full fat milk and a clean hanky? . That's kinda what I was wondering - that's why I thougth the book might be all I needed (for ideas, recipes etc) H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 What's wrong with a sour pint of full fat milk and a clean hanky? Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Recipe/method linky thingy. I don't remember heating the milk when my mother did it, but 'appen my memory is failing. In fact, now I come to think of it, she used vinegar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I make my own soft cheese from time to time, using rennet and cultures. I bought a kit from Ascott and I have used all the bits of it, but I also now realise I could have improvised for most of it, except the thermometer/cultures/rennet. Making heart shaped cheese is quite cool though. It does taste good; I'm particularly keen on the goats version; OH seems to think its a great treat but it is very easy to do. I am lucky in that I can buy buffalo milk so I can make my own mozzerella. However, truth be told, overall, given the tiny quantities I make it is probably cheaper to buy some cheese from a shop There is a lot of good advice and recipes on the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leicester_H Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Thanks all. Might give it a go. H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyhunnypie Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I've always wondered about having a go at this. I've seen various kits & fancied one from ' Ascott' before now. Will be interested in how you get on. Emma.x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
