Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
steel because acidified milk will leach aluminum or iron into
your curd and impart metallic flavors.
If you don't already have a double-boiler, this is probably the
most expensive item you'll need to get. Searching the
Internet, I found prices ranging from $88 to $130 for a
20-quart model. It won't come cheaply, but you'll be thankful
that you got it. You can use it for batches of cheese starting
with anywhere from one gallon to four gallons of milk, and its
configuration will help to hold temperatures steady while
preventing scorching.
Colander
You'll need a large eight-quart colander that will fit into the
cheese pot with the handles resting on the edges of the pot.
You'll use this to separate the curds from the whey, with the
whey going back into the pot.
Special Utensils
You need a large stainless steel slotted spoon, a stainless steel
skimming ladle, and a stainless steel curd knife. This latter
utensil is specialized so you will probably have to get it via an
Internet source.
Cheesecloth
You want high-quality coarse (20 thread count) and fine (60
thread count) cheesecloth. The fine cheesecloth is used for
making soft cheese such as cream cheese; the coarse
cheesecloth is used to hold harder cheeses during the pressing
or curing process.
