SC - making cheese

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Ron and Laurene Wells wrote:
> 
> Hello,
>     Sorry for picking up a thread that has probably died out by now!  I'm
> posting this publicly and sending a copy in private to the person who
> posted this message also (though I kind of wonder if this is a quote and
> not a direct post, as there are two different names signed at the
> bottom!!!).  How do you find milk that has not been processed?  The Oregon
> (I thought it was National???) Dairy Asociation has made it illegal to sell
> milk to individuals for human consumption.  And I don't know anyone with a
> cow.  Do you just call up the local dairies until you find one who will
> sell you some raw milk?  That seems kind of awkward to me.
> -Laurene

Explain to them you are nursing a calf taken from its mother before weaning.

Strictly speaking, though, you don't need raw milk to make cheese. It is
a big help to have the milk not be homogenized, but if it is only
pasteurized, that isn't going to be a big problem, per se. Raw milk
probably has bacteria in it that will be helpful in making cheese, but
since a lot of cheese-making processes call for a bacterial starter
anyway, even if it is only buttermilk or yogurt, the fact that these
naturally occurring bacteria aren't there shouldn't be a problem. You
may not get the exact same cheese as otherwise, but it certainly works
in any case.

Even if milk is homogenized (which can cause problems because fat is
emulsified into the milk, causing a shortening effect on curd formation
and a dry, unpleasant cheese with low yield), there are
not-especially-harmful chemicals you can add (in tiny quantities) to
milk to counteract this, one of the most common being a solution of
calcium chloride. And most of these additives drain out with the whey anyway.

I know the New Engand Cheesemaking Supply people (www.cheesemaker.com, I
think) will sell anything and everything you need to make cheese from
supermarket milk, including calcium chloride solution.
 
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com