That space must be clear of absolutely all clutter, and must be immaculately clean.
White vinegar, the stuff that comes in the giant gallon jugs, will become your best friend.
Some recipes specify cooking over a water bath instead of a stock pot on a burner.
Youll also need astainless steel colander, which is used to strain your curd.
Its helpful if it has handles, so it can rest on top of bowls or pots.
Youll spend an awful lot of time standing at the stove, stirring milk.
For those purposes, youll want a long, stainless steel slotted spoon.
Every video Ive ever seen of cheesemakers involvesthis spoon.Always use stainless steel so it can be sanitized.
Are you sensing a theme?
Youll also need aspidera large draining utensil.
This is used to pull curds out of the whey.
Thisfrosting spatulais longer than most knives and wont scratch up your pots, and Ive been happy with it.
I also keep abackup thermometeraround, just in case Im in doubt.
Did you know thatmeasuring spoonscome in adorably tiny sizes?
Its not calledcheeseclothfor nothing.
Youll go through a lot of it, so buy it by the yard.
Youll want a few smallwooden cutting boards, which are used for draining your cheese.
Youll also need cheese molds.
While each cheese technically demands a different mold, start witha basic setwhen making your first few soft cheeses.
Finally, youll need a ripening box.
This is what the cheese goes into to age in yourcheese cave.
You dont need to overthink this, though people often do.
Starting from the hardest to source, youll need to secure your milk.
The ultra-pasteurization means your milk wont set because the rennet wont work.
There are two solutions, and the first is pretty easy to source.
Some markets offer justpasteurized milk, not ultra-pasteurized, and some offervat-pasteurizedor low-pasteurized milk.
These names of correspond to different processes, and indicate the milk never went above a certain temperature.
For your first few forays, this is the way to go.
Ask around your farmers market.
Once youve tackled the hardest part, the rest is easy.
Theyre also very helpful over email or the phone.
Youll also want to order yourcalcium chloridefrom them, as well as your rennet.
Now, rennet comes in many forms, includingvegan rennetandanimal rennet.
you’re free to also source your cheesecloth, molds, and lots of other supplies from them.
If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, relax.
When armed with the proper equipment and a clean work environment, making your own creamy treasures is easy.
