Happy Bacteria Cultures - Home Grown Mesophilic Bacteria

Yesterday I was busy finishing up my feta cheese making – it was a great experiment all round and fun too. It is a marvel to watch the milk curdle and then clump into solids and liquids as it separates during the ripening phase.

With my microbiology background (yes, that too) I am always curious about the bacteria normally present in raw milk and of course, then my mind goes into thinking….can I get them to grow at home?

Of course the answer for the most part is, yes. It is actually quite easy – and because I have wonderful raw milk from my own goats – the way to go about producing my own mesophilic (bacteria that grow in moderate temperatures such as 20 to 30 degrees) is relatively simple.

During the past couple of days I took a clean empty glass jar and filled it with milk right from the goats. Then I set it out on the kitchen counter (with the lid loosely on) and watched it. It feels as if I have done a lot of watching and waiting this week….

However, after a few hours, you kind of ignore it – because this process takes about 30 to 36 hours (in my case) for the milk to curdle. After 24 hours nothing was happening so I moved the jar to a slightly warmer place until I went to bed.

Just before I turned in for the night, I moved the jar back to it’s cooler location and left it there. This morning – I had soured, thick, clumpy milk – it was wonderful to see! I gave it a couple of little shakes to evenly distribute the curds and then poured it into small trays to freeze.

This was evidence that bacteria had grown and was now ready to use in some way...

If all goes well – I should be able to take one frozen cube out of the freezer and use it to inoculate my yogurt, buttermilk or cheese making adventures for at least some of the types I hope to make.

At the very least – it was nice to how more of this cheese making process can be done at home. I have an issue with mass produced, factory grown bacteria….I think they aren’t as happy as the ones grown in my kitchen.

April

Mesophilic bacteria starter in trays 

Homemade Feta Cheese - made with Goats Milk

Today I am making feta cheese with my goat’s milk – this is an easy cheese to make but can also be kept for awhile once it’s ready. Because I am still fasting, I thought this one would be the best to make right now.

To make feta cheese I started with 2 liters of fresh goats milk from our goats and rummaged around the kitchen until I found 2 pots that would work well as a double boiler. It is important to heat the milk but I didn’t want to heat it directly over a burner.

Instead, I heated water to boiling in the kettle, while the milk was brought up to room temperature. Next I set up my double boiler – placing something (a pot lid) on the bottom to steady the smaller pan holding the milk.

Then after pouring hot water into the bigger pot, I set the smaller pot (with the milk in it) onto the pot lid so it could rest in the hot water and begin to heat up. It doesn’t take long and I had to watch it carefully to make sure it would not overheat.

The temperature you are aiming for is about 30C – but this needs to be maintained for about an hour or so. Once I was at or near that temperature I added in some of my homemade vegetarian rennet (made from nettles) and I guessed at how much starter culture to add (I have a packet that says add to 150L!).

Then I stirred (very gently) while holding the candy thermometer to the one side (I do need a more accurate one for cheese making) and checking the temperature making sure I was keeping it in the right range.

After 20 minutes or so, I removed the smaller pan and replaced some hot water to keep the temperature up. Then I stopped stirring and let it all settle for about another hour or so.

I had to stop watching it (LOL) so I went to do something else – then when I came back it had started to turn into the familiar curds and whey. But was not quite ready yet because it was not giving a clean break.

What I was looking for was for the curd to become a little solid and break apart when gently cut with a knife. Or even to not stick to my finger when gently pushed down.

Within another 15 minutes this clean break started to happened and I was able to cut the curds with my knife in a crisscross pattern and then at a 45 degree angle to break up the curds underneath. Once I had done this I just let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes at a time between gentle stirs of the curd to encourage the whey to separate.

Once I was satisfied it was ready, I placed the curds and whey into a strainer covered in 5 layers of muslin cloth and allowed it to drain out into a pan for an hour or so. Then I tied up the cloth ends and the cheese is now draining/dripping into the pan while hanging from a hook.

I plan to brine this cheese – for a day or two and then to let it sit until I am finished this fast. Then I want to marinate it in olive oil and oregano and have a taste testing – can’t wait for that.

April

Feta Cheese in process...curds and whey