Mastering Basic Cheesemaking: The Fun And Fundamentals Of Making Cheese At Home

The craft of home cheesemaking is exploding in popularity. However, most “beginner” books are essentially loosely organized collections of recipes that lack a progressive approach to teaching the fundamentals of this exciting and satisfying traditional skill. Mastering Basic Cheesemaking provides a complete hands-on guide to making cheese and other fermented dairy products from scratch, geared toward helping the novice cheesemaker develop the intuition and abilities needed for success, especially in the real world of the home kitchen. This well-illustrated, clearly written practical guide assumes no experience on the part of the aspiring cheesemaker. Topics include: Understanding your ingredients, tools, and techniques. Whipping up “instant cheeses,” such as ricotta and paneer, while learning introductory milk chemistry. Progressing to fermented dairy products such as kefir, yogurt, and sour cream. Using bacteria and coagulants to create spreadable and tender cheeses like quark, chèv