we milked cows so i made a soft cheeses and ricotta.i never knew you needed fancy stuff like special rennet,cultures and stuff,i just used lemon + vinegar trial and error, i now have a recipe book from new england cheese.we are s-t-i-l-l unpacking so it may take me a few days.check back here in 3-5 days.

still lookin for da book. i hate moving. the unpacking is just as bad as packing!

I make a firm fresh cheese.

Grease a large stockpot with vegetable oil. Heat 1.5 - 2 gallons raw milk, moderately slowly. Stir every 5-10 minutes until it comes to a full foaming boil (important). Take off the burner for a few seconds to collapse, put back on at lower heat to simmer for a couple more minutes. Add about a quart of cultured buttermilk or plain yogurt per gallon of milk, slowly, while stirring until fully curdled -fairly clear greenish whey forms with very distinct clumps of curd. You can't really add too much curdler unless you are using vinegar or lemon juice which can give too much flavor.

Pour off some excess whey straight into jugs, dump the rest with curds into cloth - lined collander over large pot(old thin sheet works better than cheese cloth and can be used endlessly). Pick up the cloth with curds tie and let drip for an hour or so, then put on board with wieght - will be quite firm after a couple of hours. If you want it for soft filling, etc don't press it.

The whey is outstanding for cooking rice or soup stock.