Barncast 52 -- Something cheesy

So glad to have found your podcast! You're doing in the wilds what we're trying to do in the city--live well and be well.

We're new to Libsyn podcasting and envious of all you folks who know how to put neat things on your site, such as photos. Check out our monastically simple site at www.fredkate.libsyn.com!

Water buffalo are indigenous to southern Italy, from around Roma and to the south. It is the traditional source for mozarella.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozzarella is a good history of the cheese.

The best easiest cheese is cottage cheese, which, with more processing, can become a mozzarella, with some heating and kneading). No culture is needed. You are right about non-reactive vessels. Start to heat you milk on a low heat setting, add the rennet and citric acid, stir well, let it set for 8 hours, strain through cheesecloth, and you have the freshest cheese in town. We make this whenever milk is under $2 per gallon.

Rennett plus one teaspoon of citric acid (available at any wine making shop) will provide sufficient curd to start any cheese. I'm doing this right now because Olga is expecting it and she isn't that in to the football game.

DON'T say "cut the cheese" unless you are talking about flatulence!

Aged cheeses are not difficult--you just need a place to store it, as you say. If you use unpastuerized milk, then after 3 months it doesn't matter.

The wine fridge is a GREAT idea. Everybody needs a digital thermometer. It is more important than the knives you select. Being able to to control cheese humidity and temperature is a great advantage--if you do not have a limestone cave at your disposal.

As usual, you guys are awesome. Thanks!

COLTS WIN

Oops better shut up before my coworkers hear me.....

Great cheesecast. I have been hoping that you would begin talking more about cheesemaking. Can't wait to hear more!

I am just learning about spinning. Would love to hear you do more on that. I just listened to episode #50 (nothing like starting at the end of something) and really enjoyed it. I love hearing the chickens in the background. :)

Hey Dawn, Melanie, John G, Ellen and Fred!

Hopefully sometime this month we'll be back out in the barn with the animal noises. We'll have more spinning information as well, but we don't want to bore those who could care less. We aren't a spinning podcast after all.

When we get back into cheese making ourselves we'll have some pictures to go along with it. Hopefully that should work well.

Hey guys :-) Great cast! Our dog used to lick things...pillows, carpet, her paw and her toys. It took a long time but I finally got to the point where all I had to do was say "Zip, stop it" and she'd look at me for a few seconds, then lay her head down. I think it was just a matter of distracting her. I dunno...anyway....great show! :-)

Kathy

Enjoyed the 'cast, as usual. The cheesemaking is really interesting. I quite fancy having a go myself. I think the biggest problem will be buyin unhomogenised milk . I wonder if full cream Jersey milk would work? Might still be homogenised. I was going to send you a sound file, as I can't 'phone your farmfone, but the darn mic is broken. Ah well, you'll just have to wait for that little treat ;0) Hope you guys are surviving the cold. Winter proper has finally arrived in the UK - cold weather and snow, instead of warmth and rain. Unfortunately we didn't get the snow in Glasgow, so I had to go to work as usual....oh, and I din't have any dogs, so can't comment on their wooly habbits, but just as I was listening to your 'cast I caught one of my Siamese cats licking a woolen scarf of mine - spooky, eh? India