There is something very satisfying about making your own cheese. Whether it’s just a basic soft cheese or a perfectly aged cheddar cheese, it’s just a beautiful feeling of achievement. For my husband and I, it was a lot of trial and error. We use raw milk from our milk cow and we have had a lot of failed attempts at cheddar cheese, but after making it for over a year I think we finally have it figured out! I would’ve really enjoyed having a step-by-step picture guide of what exactly to do, so I decided to do it myself, so hopefully this helps you out!
We make Farmhouse Cheddar most of the time, because it’s fairly quick to make (compared to Traditional Cheddar). You can use pasteurized milk or raw milk, but here is the big tip on raw milk: Use the freshest milk possible, let it be that day’s milk or just one day older than that, but don’t go much older than that. We can tell you this from experience. We would use milk that was a couple days old because it would take us a while to collect 2 gallons. What I found out is that since raw milk is not pasteurized it has lots of live bacteria present in the milk, it continues to get stronger the longer it is not used. When you then go put in your starter into the milk to sour the milk it combats with the bacteria already present in the older milk. The newer the milk, the less bacteria. We had lots of cheeses that turned out very bitter tasting because of the older milk and didn’t resemble the taste of cheddar at all. This was a huge revelation to our cheese making, so I’ll just use milk that is brought in that morning or the day before, but nothing older.
Things you need:
2 Gallons of Milk: Raw or Pasteurized (try to not use ultra-pasteurized)
1 packet of direct-set mesophilic starter or 2 tablespoons of cultured buttermilk starter (how to make cultured buttermilk).
1/2 teaspoon of liquid rennet
1 tablespoon of cheese salt (non-iodized salt)
3 gallon stainless steel pot (or bigger)
Knife for cutting the curds
Slotted Spoon (stainless steel)
Termometer
Cheese cloth
Cheese press
Now, lets get started:
Put your two gallons of milk into your stainless steel container and put into your sink basin. If using raw milk make sure to leave the natural cream in and not skim it off, the cream allows the cheese to be more moist.Fill your sink with hot water up to the point of your milk in the pot.Put your thermometer into the milk and put the cover over the top to keep the warmth in. Allow to reach 90 degrees, but no higherOnce your milk reaches 90 degrees, remove from the hot bath and add your starter (I am using a homemade buttermilk starter in this picture).Stir the starter in and set your timer for 45 minutes and allow your milk to “ripen.” As long as the top is on your pot it should stay at 90 degrees.The next step is adding the rennet, we use animal rennet. Make sure the milk is still at 90 degrees.Add 1/2 teaspoon to 1/4 cup of cool unchlorinated water. Mix.Add rennet/water mixture to milk.Mix the rennet for 1 minute. If you are using raw milk where cream is present make sure to “top stir it.” Use shallow stirring motion that allows the cream to get throughly mixed. Allow to sit for 45 minutesAfter 45 minutes passes you should see the cheese pull away from the knife as shown. If this happens then you are ready to cut the curds!Our favorite part. Cut in 1/2 inch cubes (don’t worry, it’s not going to be perfect). Go downward strokes.Then across the strokes.Mix with your spoon, this will break apart your curds, so don’t go too crazy. The curds are supposed to be cut all the way through, so I usually just break them apart with the spoon.The smaller you make the curds the easier the whey is released from the curd. This is why it is supposed to be uniform in size as best as possible, because you don’t want certain curds to release whey faster than others (however, it’s fairly forgiving, because it’s not going to be perfect).This is the most frustrating part of the whole process. The book says raise the temperature by 2 degrees every 5 minutes for 30 minutes until it reaches 100 degrees… We find this impossible without special equipment, so just be patient…This part of the process usually takes us around an hour, partly due to us going off and doing other things and forgetting to check on it. I say do it slower than faster the slower the whey leaves the curds the better. We typically are stuck at 90 degrees forever and then it shoots to 100 degrees in less than 10 minutes… You just have to keep playing with the temperature of the water.Stir the curds every 10 minutes or so to make sure they don’t mat together.Congratulations! You’ve made it to 100 degrees, now it’s time to drain the curds.With a colander lined with cheesecloth (over a bucket to catch the whey so you can make ricotta of course), pour the curds into the colander.Now you have some beautifully drained curds.Tie the corners of the cheesecloth and allow to hang for 1 hour (preferably in a spot that’s not drafty to keep the curds warm)After an hour your curds will be lumped together and strained nicely.Break apart the curds into a bowl, they should be about the size of walnuts… Give or take.Add 1 tablespoon of “cheese salt.” Basically any salt that not iodized.Get your cheese press ready.Line your cheese press with cheesecloth and put the curds into the cheese press.Press the curds down trying to fill all the spaces.Put the top of your press on and follow the instructions of your press of how many turns you need to apply the weight. Apply 10 lbs of pressure for 10 minutes.See the whey drip out.After 10 minutes take the cheese out, flip it and redress it and apply 20 lbs of pressure for 20 minutes.After 20 minutes then you are ready to dress it and leave it for a while. Flip it again and redress it (I usually like to put fresh cheesecloth on at this point, but it’s not necessary). Apply 50 lbs of pressure for 12 hours.Now after 12 hours (which if this ends up in the middle of the night a couple more hours won’t hurt until morning to take it out) take the cheese out and allow it to dry on a cheese mat.Flip the cheese to the other side after a nice rind starts to form. (note: don’t buy a multi-colored mat, it bleeds onto your cheese). Also, don’t put it on a wooden surface, it’ll make the area underneath it wet, so you can put a towel down underneath the mat if you want.We like to cut our cheese in half, since it is close to 2 lbs, so we usually package them separately.After the cheese has a nicely developed rind (typically 1-2 days) it’s time to package it. We use a fancy Foodsaver, because we tried waxing it and it never turned out good, so we bought a Foodsaver, which works great for preserving cheese.Label your cheese. I like to put the name of the cheese, when it was made and the earliest date it can be eaten. I sometimes add notes about how the curds looked, etc. Just in case it turns out really good or bad.Add to your fully stocked cheese cave for at least a month. We bought a wine cooler because it keeps the best temperature. If you have a spot in your house that stays between 50-55 degrees feel free to store cheese there, but we don’t have any place that keeps a consistent temperature. Your supposed to flip the cheese everyday for the first week or so, but we always forget, so just flip them whenever you remember.
Congratulations on making your farmhouse cheddar cheese! I hope your proud of yourself and your amazing ability to change milk into cheese.
Remember, it’s a consistent learning process so if something went wrong this time and your cheese didn’t turn out well then try again next time. Even when our cheeses tasted “off” we usually added it to cooking recipes instead of adding it to a sandwich or eating it separately.
If you used raw milk it is important that you allow the cheese to sit for at least a month. It has something to do with the bacteria in raw milk get killed off if it is aged for an extended period of time before consumption (don’t let this freak you out, just practice caution).
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will try to help out as best as possible. This recipe comes from “Home Cheese Making” by Ricki Carroll. However, I add a lot of commentary that you won’t find in the book, which is why I decided to make this to help those who like a picture guide on how to make things. I know it would’ve helped me, especially since we use raw milk.
12 thoughts on “How to Make Farmhouse Cheddar Cheese- Step by Step Pictures (& Raw Milk Tips)”
I recently started making farmhouse cheddar at home. I have read various methods for doing this and then I came across yours which is also a very good example / tutorial. I did have a question though in regards to the weights. Your last step involves using 50 lbs of pressure for 12 hours. The method I have been using did 10 lbs for 15 mins > 20 lbs for 24 hours > 20 lbs for 24 hours then 2-4 days of air (depending on the size/weight of the cheese). Your example is doing 50 lbs which from what I have read is commonly used for the harder cheeses (such as parmesan or asaigo). Can you provide any insight on the different weights and why it is necessary to “flip” the cheese in the press every so many hours?
I personally haven’t experimented too many different techniques, but I follow the instructions of “Home Cheese Making.” We find that the farmhouse cheddar is pretty bitter and dry, which is probably attributed to the heavy weight. The flipping of the cheese seems to help even out the cheese and make it completely smooth all the way around… This is just speculation, b/c I’ve only done it those ways! I’m still learning a lot about cheese making, since it is completely a learning process. I want to do a tutorial soon about making Gouda cheese which is quickly becoming our favorite type of cheese. Please let me know how your farmhouse cheddar works out, b/c ours always is dry and crumbly and I would like to find out how to make a smoother cheddar (maybe I just need more creamery milk?).
I came here looking for someone else making cheese with real raw milk and the cream. Over the years I’m finding that we (those using raw, fresh milk) need less rennet and less culture – how much less is what I’m working on now. I have had rubber for cheese too besides hard/crumbly. I have written the cheese culture supply places and one said that we need to use less culture – most places just talk about the rennet. My fav. book is is The Cheesemakers Manual by Morris. My fav. recipes for a lot of the cheeses we use are from fiascofarm.com. They are for goat milk, but I use them for all milk. I’m making a lot of Colby right now to make sure that I have some things that aren’t “sharp” – but it may mean eventually that I will pasteurize some milk to see if there is a HUGE diff. in taste – like: cream cheese . . . Keep up the good work and let us know if you find any new things about using raw milk!
Thanks for the wonderful comment! I’ve tried Gouda and Colby twice now and I think it’s better than the Farmhouse Cheddar, it’s more moist in my opinion and doesn’t have so much of a bite. I also believe that my cow doesn’t give as much cream as I need to make good cheesy cheese. All our cheese at this point has been dry, sharp and doesn’t melt. The Gouda and Colby seem to be more moist and melt more than my cheddar does… It’s still all an experiment but I love the feedback from people!
I used 1/2 tsp rennet and 1/4 tsp Colby/Cheddar culture in 4 gallons of milk and it turned out better than any cheese I’ve ever done. If you read Jim’s details at New England Cheesemaking, he says that raw milk already has so much going on you can use 10-20% less rennet and less temperature. Also, Dairy Connection said to use up to 50% less culture. Jim also said that he uses full cream on fresh cheese and about 1/3 – 1/2 cream on cheeses that cure for some time. With all that info and leaving milk out overnight and it completely coagulated – I think that using much less rennet is best. Vegetable rennet can be bitter if over used too. So, I would use your recipe, but cut it by at least 1/4 for the ingredients and then go from there. I am, and it’s starting to really change my cheese for the better!
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects?
Many thanks!
My web site – facebook sign up homepage (Adrianna)
Hi. I have made a couple of batches of cheese with you success. But I am guessing in the pounds of pressure. Mist presses I’ve found have no gauge. How do I determine the pressure on these presses. Thanks
Every press is different. I don’t even follow the recommendations anymore due to the fact that usually the press recommendations is too light. I usually press as hard as I can the first time. Flip it within about 15 mins and then press hard again.
Thank you for this recipe, for the pictures for all your time, I made a couple of soft cheeses with great results and I’m going to try this as soon a I get my wine cooler, I suppose to get it on 9/11/15 but I want to know how do you manage to keep the humidity, everybody talk about 55F temperature and 85F humidity, how can I get the humidity?
I was describing to my mother how Mozzarella was made with citric acid and that after 6 months of being Mozzarella it turns to Parmesan… “No” she said; “They use rennet. And of course Parmesan is a totally different cheese!” Hmm. Seems pretty strange how the big interests really can cloud people’s minds. What’s all this about using skim milk from the morning added to whole milk the next morning???
One thing I really wonder now is “where does the red color come from in store-bought Cheddar?” I know this material is over half a decade old but I am hoping someone can address this. My experience is that only Bleu Cheese uses active bacteria and almost any modern cheese maker uses the acid(s) or enzyme(s) that the bacteria would have produced originally.
Hello,
I recently started making farmhouse cheddar at home. I have read various methods for doing this and then I came across yours which is also a very good example / tutorial. I did have a question though in regards to the weights. Your last step involves using 50 lbs of pressure for 12 hours. The method I have been using did 10 lbs for 15 mins > 20 lbs for 24 hours > 20 lbs for 24 hours then 2-4 days of air (depending on the size/weight of the cheese). Your example is doing 50 lbs which from what I have read is commonly used for the harder cheeses (such as parmesan or asaigo). Can you provide any insight on the different weights and why it is necessary to “flip” the cheese in the press every so many hours?
-Rich
Rich,
I personally haven’t experimented too many different techniques, but I follow the instructions of “Home Cheese Making.” We find that the farmhouse cheddar is pretty bitter and dry, which is probably attributed to the heavy weight. The flipping of the cheese seems to help even out the cheese and make it completely smooth all the way around… This is just speculation, b/c I’ve only done it those ways! I’m still learning a lot about cheese making, since it is completely a learning process. I want to do a tutorial soon about making Gouda cheese which is quickly becoming our favorite type of cheese. Please let me know how your farmhouse cheddar works out, b/c ours always is dry and crumbly and I would like to find out how to make a smoother cheddar (maybe I just need more creamery milk?).
Thanks for question!
I came here looking for someone else making cheese with real raw milk and the cream. Over the years I’m finding that we (those using raw, fresh milk) need less rennet and less culture – how much less is what I’m working on now. I have had rubber for cheese too besides hard/crumbly. I have written the cheese culture supply places and one said that we need to use less culture – most places just talk about the rennet. My fav. book is is The Cheesemakers Manual by Morris. My fav. recipes for a lot of the cheeses we use are from fiascofarm.com. They are for goat milk, but I use them for all milk. I’m making a lot of Colby right now to make sure that I have some things that aren’t “sharp” – but it may mean eventually that I will pasteurize some milk to see if there is a HUGE diff. in taste – like: cream cheese . . . Keep up the good work and let us know if you find any new things about using raw milk!
Thanks for the wonderful comment! I’ve tried Gouda and Colby twice now and I think it’s better than the Farmhouse Cheddar, it’s more moist in my opinion and doesn’t have so much of a bite. I also believe that my cow doesn’t give as much cream as I need to make good cheesy cheese. All our cheese at this point has been dry, sharp and doesn’t melt. The Gouda and Colby seem to be more moist and melt more than my cheddar does… It’s still all an experiment but I love the feedback from people!
I used 1/2 tsp rennet and 1/4 tsp Colby/Cheddar culture in 4 gallons of milk and it turned out better than any cheese I’ve ever done. If you read Jim’s details at New England Cheesemaking, he says that raw milk already has so much going on you can use 10-20% less rennet and less temperature. Also, Dairy Connection said to use up to 50% less culture. Jim also said that he uses full cream on fresh cheese and about 1/3 – 1/2 cream on cheeses that cure for some time. With all that info and leaving milk out overnight and it completely coagulated – I think that using much less rennet is best. Vegetable rennet can be bitter if over used too. So, I would use your recipe, but cut it by at least 1/4 for the ingredients and then go from there. I am, and it’s starting to really change my cheese for the better!
Very informative, will try this and maybe make my favorite, Stilton.
Hi there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects?
Many thanks!
My web site – facebook sign up homepage (Adrianna)
Are you specifically talking about making cheese or homesteading in general?
Hi. I have made a couple of batches of cheese with you success. But I am guessing in the pounds of pressure. Mist presses I’ve found have no gauge. How do I determine the pressure on these presses. Thanks
Every press is different. I don’t even follow the recommendations anymore due to the fact that usually the press recommendations is too light. I usually press as hard as I can the first time. Flip it within about 15 mins and then press hard again.
Thank you for this recipe, for the pictures for all your time, I made a couple of soft cheeses with great results and I’m going to try this as soon a I get my wine cooler, I suppose to get it on 9/11/15 but I want to know how do you manage to keep the humidity, everybody talk about 55F temperature and 85F humidity, how can I get the humidity?
I was describing to my mother how Mozzarella was made with citric acid and that after 6 months of being Mozzarella it turns to Parmesan… “No” she said; “They use rennet. And of course Parmesan is a totally different cheese!” Hmm. Seems pretty strange how the big interests really can cloud people’s minds. What’s all this about using skim milk from the morning added to whole milk the next morning???
One thing I really wonder now is “where does the red color come from in store-bought Cheddar?” I know this material is over half a decade old but I am hoping someone can address this. My experience is that only Bleu Cheese uses active bacteria and almost any modern cheese maker uses the acid(s) or enzyme(s) that the bacteria would have produced originally.