SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #391

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Ron and Laurene Wells wrote:

> I would especially like to make my own cheese!  But HOW IN AMERICA (I'm
> certian it's possible in other partes of Earth) do I find NON-Homogenized
> milk?  The dairy farmers won't sell it to people because of the law that -
> well - says they can't!  I don't know anyone with a "pet" cow or goats or
> whatever.  How do I find it?  I know it has to be pasteurized - that just
> involves cooking the milk to kill bacteria.  But homogenization involves
> adding fermaldehyde to the milk to prevent the cream from separating.  My
> parents in Idaho know a rancher who sells milk "for animals" that hasn't
> been homogenized, but that doesn't help me much here in Oregon.

I don't know whether the problem is any different in Oregon that what I
have to deal with, but many farmers' markets, healthfood stores, and
some supermarkets sell unhomogenized milk where I live, usually in the
old-fashioned glass bottles.

It is quite possible, though, to make a decent cheese with homogenized
milk. Before I am drowned out by the protestations of purists, I will
say that the finished product is not exactly the same as when made with
unhomogenized milk, but it is acceptable and often quite good. The
problem with unhomogenized milk is that the butterfat has been
emulsified into the  milk, acting as a shortening: the fat shortens the
protein strands, just as it would with dough, affecting the soldity of
the final product, in this case the curds. When you go to buy your
rennet, though, you should be able to get some calcium chloride suitable
for cheesemaking: it is used to counteract the effects of homogenization
and de-emulsify the milk, rendering the final product almost identical
to that made with unhomogenized milk. You only need a tiny bit, and if I
remember correctly, most of it is drained away with the whey.

Adamantius 
______________________________________
Phil & Susan Troy
troy at asan.com
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