Farmers Cheese
Chef Thom
This is the simplest of cheese making. It uses the basic principles for making other cheeses such as cottage, ricotta, and cream cheese.
By making this basic farmer cheese you will gain an understanding on the techniques used to make the other cheeses.
The first step in making any cheese is to curdle milk. This seperates the milk into solids (curds) and liquids (whey). Bacteria that produce latic acid do this naturally in raw milk, but almost all milk sold is pasteurized which is heated to kill the bacteria including those that produce latic acid from the sugars in milk.
So in order to make cheese from pasteurized milk you will need to add a ’starter’. For this recipe buttermilk is used as the starter which contains an active bacterial culture. As an alternitive you could use a food acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, but this will produce a blander cheese so buttermilk should be your first choice.
To make a batch of farmers cheese you will need 1 gallon of either skim, whole, or 2% milk and about 4 ounces or 1/2 cup buttermilk.
You will also need a thermometer that will go down to 80 degrees, cheesecloth or muslin, a coliander, and non aluminum bowl or pan.
To begin, heat the milk on low heat in non aluminum pan or bowl till it reaches 90 degrees F. or 32 degrees C. Immediately remove from heat. When the milk reaches 80 degrees F. stir in buttermilk. 
