Best cheese makers according to redditors
We found 49 Reddit comments discussing the best cheese makers. We ranked the 24 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 49 Reddit comments discussing the best cheese makers. We ranked the 24 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
![Cheesecloth 【Grade 90】【18 Sq Feet】,100% Natural Cotton Reusable Produce Bags[Unbleached],Nut Milk Bag,Cheesecloth Strainer Bag,Pressing Cloth[Food Grade] (1)](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41MXPWfj+gL.jpg)
Make Cannaoil. Here's what you'll need:
-Crockpot
-Coconut Oil (Extra Virgin works the best)
-Big Coffee Mug
-Soy Lecithin (Not entirely necessary but will increase your potency)
-Cheese Cloth (it'll look like this)
-Rubbers gloves (shit gets hot, yo)
-Strainer
-Glass bowl
Step 1: Turn on your crockpot to low and let it heat up for about 30 minutes.
Step 2: Put the Vaped Bud into your coffee mug.
Step 3: Heat up your oil until it's liquid. I usually do this by putting the glass jar into a pot of boiling water.
Step 4: Place your mug with the vaped bud into the crockpot.
Step 4.5: Grind up some soy lecithin (a couple of teaspoons) and just sprinkle over your bud.
Step 5: Pour enough water into the crockpot to come almost to the top of your coffee pot (water is needed to conduct the heat)
Step 6: Pour your now liquid oil over your bud - just enough so it covers all the bud. You may have to pour it slowly.
Step 7: Cover your crockpot.
Step 8: Stir for a few seconds every 15 minutes. You'll only have to do this for the first hour or so.
Step 9: Wait 6-8 hours. Take a nap. Read a book. Smoke a spliff. Whatever. Also, your place will probably smell a bit but not too bad.
Step 10: Using gloves, remove the coffee mug from the crockpot.
Step 11: Set up the cheese cloth over the strainer and glass bowl, like so
Step 12: Squeeze the shit out of that cheese cloth. This is liquid gold so you don't want to leave any.
Step 13: Throw out the actual bud and the cheesecloth.
Step 14: Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge (not the freezer) over night.
Step 15: Bake with it. Spread it on toast. Put it in caps and eat them. ENJOY!!
This is the one I have.
>Double Strength rennet that contains no animals products.
Specifically, this one is derived from a fungus.
Your grocery store. Or here: https://www.amazon.com/Nouvelle-Legende-Cheesecloth-Cotton-Commercial/dp/B005SW94B6
A well spent $15
Another $3.
Now, I'm no pizza expert, but I have made dozens at home. So, your pizza has far too much sauce on it, which I think is a common beginner's mistake because I still make it from time to time. Also, you rolled the edges of the pizza a bit too much and too sharply. The technique to shoot for is taking your dough (which you should knead by hand for ~10 minutes, which builds the gluten connections and makes it really stretchy which translates to more flavor and chewy crust) and laying it on top of your fists and stretching it into the shape you want from the ever growing center area of the pizza. This will give you a natural bit of excess dough around the outside of the pizza, and you can then pat the dough down in front of it and you have your natural crust without rolling. It will look like this:
I then put the dough alone into the oven @ 450F for 9-12 minutes depending on how thick it is, then I pull out the primed "blank" and put sauce and cheese on it and put it back in for another 10-12. My pizza is always cooked through this way. I've found it to be the best way to make pizza without using a pre-heated pizza stone and screaming hot oven.
Don't be afraid to go pretty light with the sauce, you would be surprised how little you actually need. IMO this looks like just the right amount of sauce.
Now, when it comes to the mozzarella, I personally shred my whole-milk block mozarella because it browns better that way and I can get it a light golden color. I think the mozz has more flavor that way. However, many people would look at your mozz and say it's perfect. The mozz and basil placement are the best parts of your pizza IMO.
On the whole this is a really good first attempt. You should have seen mine HAHA it was, er, twice as thick, raw in the center and the dough tasted awful. I actually use Emeril's dough recipe with honey instead of white sugar. I also use 1/2 cup less flour than he recommends but the same amount of everything else (except water). My friends have told me my dough is some of the best they've ever had.
That's a really good first attempt. The key is to keep practicing, and find out what you like and after like 15-20 iterations you'll have it down pat. The whole point to me is to make it how I like it. Exactly how I like it.
edit: For the 10 minute knead, do it immediately after your pizza dough has risen, as soon as you pull it out of your bowl that has a damp paper towel or kitchen towel over it. Before grabbing it, sprinkle a little flour on your hands and rub them like you're washing your hands, then sprinkle a little all over your ball of dough, then pull it out rotate it in your hands and sprinkle flour all over it (rotate your dough), then place your hands over the ball of dough like a sorcerer holding a ball of energy, and push inward from your shoulders, then rotate the dough and push inward again. If you're watching TV the time passes quickly. I like kneading the dough by hand because it puts me in touch with something kind of primitive and old school, like how Italian mom's did it back in 1900 or something. There is no substitute for lots of kneading. On the whole, the more kneading the better. Most pizza places have professional-quality dough mixers and they'll have that knead their dough for anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Their dough must be so freaking stretchy, I'm jealous. If you have a Kitchen-aid you can use a dough-hook attachment to do something similar.
Also, use bread-flour only. All-purpose flour tastes like shit IMO. Bread flour has more protein in it which results in chewier crust and better flavor, IMO.
Also, one of my secrets is actually to put a little bit of marjoram in the dough. Not too much, but it adds noticeable flavor. I also use a little more olive oil than is called for. Use extra-virgin, and if you can afford it, buy some good olive oil, like this. The difference between it and glass-bottle stored supermarket EVOO is immense (olive oil should always be stored in a light-proof medium because light breaks down the quality of it). Buy a big jug like that (which is actually the same price as the supermarket stuff) and fill up a bottle like this with it, and store that bottle in your cabinet away from light.
edit again: It seems like mozzarella might be a passion of yours. You can make your own using this kit. It's actually really easy to make mozzarella. That kit worked great for me. You can seriously make your own mozzarella in under an hour. All you'll need that you don't have in that kit are a set of thick rubber gloves like this for kneading the hot mozz to your desired thickness (more kneading = less water in the mozz).
Good luck on your pizza journey! Oh, I also sprinkle a small amount of cornmeal on the pan I use to keep the pizza from sticking, and I believe the cornmeal adds a small amount of flavor to the finished dough. Not too much corn-meal though.
Getting started will cost a bit of money.
So to make it lactose free, you need to buy a normal gallon of whole milk that is pasteurized. NOT ULTRA-PASTEURIZED. It will say on the carton if its ultra pasteurized or just plain pasteurized. I've never seen any lactose free milk that is not ultra pasteurized. If you use ultra pasteurized milk, the cheese will not form correctly. So now you have a gallon of pasteurized milk and your lactase drops. I put twice what they say on the bottle into the milk (it says 5 drops per liter (about 4 liters per gallon), so I use 40 drops for a gallon of milk). I don't use it until two days after I put the drops in (instead of the 12-24 hours they say on the package). I also shake up the milk every time I'm at the fridge just to make sure it distributes evenly. Two days after treating the milk you can follow the normal recipe.
I also take 4-5 of these pills when eating the cheese even though it probably is not necessary. I'd rather swallow a dollars worth of pills than risk ruining my day.
Only problem is that the cheese doesn't seem to melt very well.
Yeah. Mozzarella. Bought a kit online and used a gallon of milk. Pretty easy. Takes 30 min.
http://www.amazon.com/Mozzarella-Ricotta-Cheese-Making-Kit/dp/B00014CEXG?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage
This, maybe? I would definitely be careful, and do my research. Recipes
$3.49 @ Superstore on Quinpool (end of the baking aisle)
It is this exact product:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Living-Premium-Cotton-Cheese/dp/B00US7UHYE
My mom uses one of these contraptions for super thick strained yogurt.
It was a while ago, but I contributed to a gift for nikky2069 (though she has a different username now!). It was right here!
It's my turn... though it's okay if it isn't. xD
If I win, I would kill for a cheese mold.
Sure! Here it is
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B14ODG/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I'm using this currently. Its a bit pricy but the local farmers market here hasn't had any lately. Of the two packs I bought, one needed to be washed since it had a faint mechanical smell to it. It was gone after a few seconds of tap water (might of come from the plastic bag). Havent needed to open up the second one yet.
> Cheesemaking require the use of rennet which is a mix of enzymes found in the stomach of cows
Not all rennet comes from animals.
https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Vegetable-Rennet-oz/dp/B0064OLJ1K
I've been needing to get some cheesecloth for a while now but I keep putting it off. I really want to make homemade yogurt/greek yogurt and need cheesecloth to strain it. I'm working toward making most of my food from scratch. :) Crafty turtle
Thank you so much for the pointers !
>Cheesecloth, grade 90 as they use for cheese making, folded a few times. Never had flies in anything. It can be washed, sterilized, and reused, which is the big incentive for me. Less waste, more productive life. Possibly can find it cheaper at some fabric stores, where it'll be labeled 100% cotton muslin - just check the grade on it, make sure it's 90.
I think this is the detail I missed, I got a random cheesecloth from wholefoods, and folded it up into three layers, but it clearly wasn't enough.
​
>you don't need a pellicle (what you're referring to as a scoby) to make starter liquid,
Dang, I wish I had known about this sub and this piece of advice earlier. I bought a $30 starter liquid from a homebrew store, instead I could've just bought a $3 off the shelf booch. Ah well I guess I supported an independent local business.
​
>start with an unflavored one, either black or green tea doesn't matter & it doesn't matter if you add either to black or green tea.
Yea that's the plan, I'm looking at various online stores to buy cheap bulk full leaf tea.
I use this: http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Donvier-Yogurt-Cheese-Maker/dp/B000064841
Put regular yogurt in, get Greek yogurt out.
Great job on your first try. What store would you go to in the UK if you wanted to buy something like dishes or pots...they may have them. I think it took me around 9 months to find it myself. Also, heres 9 feet of it available on amazon :)
It's easy to lean as long as you follow the steps. I already have that kit and made mozzarella. The only thing missing from the kit is store bought milk. I just received their other kit for hard cheeses (and waxes!) and can't wait to try them. (I'm not really a mozzarella fan so my new kit looks more fun for me). They are cheaper on there website for you since I believe you are in the US right?
There is an amazing instructable article on it.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Great-Mozzarella-Cheese/
And you can get all the basic ingredients with this kit. Minus the milk.
Tip, use the online instructions, not the ones with the kit.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00014CEXG
EDIT: The kit has enough ingredients for 30 servings (~1 lb) of cheese.
No problem! This is the kit that I originally bought. It makes ~30 lbs of cheese (each gallon of milk makes about a pound) and was the best value I could find at the time for the ingredients.
Thanks, bookmarked. Gonna try this too, https://www.amazon.com/Norpro-367-Natural-Cheese-Cloth/dp/B0000VLVBQ
Mmmm sushi!
I have cheese cloth in my $10 or Less list that's an add-on. Thank you for this contest!
here you go
Cheesecloth
www.amazon.com/dp/B07C71TTXM?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Or Nut Bag
www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2Q4O08?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Fage used to make full fat yogurt, but it seems to no longer be available. What I did last week was buy some Trader Joe's French Vanilla plain cream line (fat all at the top) yogurt and strain it through this http://www.amazon.com/Cuisipro-Donvier-Yogurt-Cheese-Maker/dp/B000064841
The results:
Almost wonderfully delicious, very thick yogurt. I think I erred in that after leaving it to strain for 18 hours or so, I should have put it into its own dish. Eventually it seemed to me to pick up a metallic or off taste. Some reviewers say it tastes like the metal screen.
Also, I do wish it were bigger so I could just put 32 oz in it at once. But I really did like its size as well as the lid on it and the minimal space it took up.
I was also shocked by how little 32 oz of yogurt becomes when it is strained -- I understand why good greek yogurt is more expensive now.
But wow, it was really amazing in terms of thickness, creaminess, mouth feel.
There is rumored to be a Kirkland Greek Yogurt, but it hasn't made it to my Costco yet.
For Mozarella, you'll want a thermophilic culture because it acidifies more quickly. Otherwise you'll be there all night (and maybe all of the next day too!) Cheesemaking.com recommends ta61 from Choosit but I think thermo B from Biena is popular too.
The reason you can get away without a pH meter is that the starter is souring the milk slowly over time. With quick moz, you add acid directly and so the pH is what that acid sets it at -- it won't shift after that. Some people mistakenly think that rennet sours the milk, but it doesn't -- it curdles the milk using a very different mechanism. When you add acid directly, you have to hope that you got the pH right. Then you make the curds and if you've got it wrong there is nothing you can do. With a starter culture, the milk is slowly acidifying over time. Even when you make the curds, the curds are still acidifying over time. You can just take a piece of the curd, put it in hot water and see if it stretches. If it doesn't, then you wait for 30 minutes or so. If it does, then you are good to go. The starter culture will always acidify the curd through the point where it will stretch. So as long as you test it every once in a while, it will definitely, 100% for sure stretch at some point. When, you won't know. It might take 2 hours or it might take 8 hours (so clear your schedule), but it will definitely happen.
With a starter, a pH meter is still useful because then you have some idea of how long you are likely going to have to wait. If it's gotten down to 5.5, then you know that you'll be able to stretch it soon. Also you don't have to do a stretch test. Once it gets down between 5.1 and 5.3, it will definitely stretch. But you don't need a pH meter because you can just do a stretch test every once in a while (that's how they did it before they had pH meters after all!) With acid, if you don't add the correct amount of acid before you start it just won't work. So you need to have some way to measure the acid to make sure that you got it right. Of course, you can just get lucky with the amount of acid and this happens for a lot of people, but it won't be consistent.
Cheesecloth, grade 90 as they use for cheese making, folded a few times. Never had flies in anything. It can be washed, sterilized, and reused, which is the big incentive for me. Less waste, more productive life. Possibly can find it cheaper at some fabric stores, where it'll be labeled 100% cotton muslin - just check the grade on it, make sure it's 90.
Also, you don't need a pellicle (what you're referring to as a scoby) to make starter liquid, you could just pick up a bottle of any raw kombucha at the store and use it as your starter liquid. Pellicles aren't necessary to brewing kombucha and can be thrown out between batches if you want. All that matters is the liquid, this is the scoby. Pellicles do contain some scoby on/in them and can be dried for mailing/transportation - this is where the idea that you NEED it comes from, before kombucha became more widely available by retail means. Unless you're looking for very particular strains or types of bacteria and yeast, it's faster and easier to pick up a bottle of your favorite retailed booch and use it as your starter. Just make sure it's labeled as raw kombucha, if it's pasteurized it won't work. Edit to add: start with an unflavored one, either black or green tea doesn't matter & it doesn't matter if you add either to black or green tea. What's important is inoculating your new batch with healthy and desirable bacteria and yeast to prevent the growth of the unwanted ones.
Tea bags are more convenient and easier to find. Stick with it if you’re doing small portions.
For large gallon size portions, Brewing requires 1) a strainer - metal ,cheesecloth . 2) Pot for brewing, preferably monitor the temperature. like this one 3) A container for steeping (letting the flavor out of the herbs).
Couple more questions:
- Is a culture like this (link) what you mean? A mesophilic cheese culture
- You mention using the culture until you hit a pH of 5.1-5.3 but also said you don't need a pH meter, I don't understand that part. Are you saying the culture naturally brings it to that range without you measuring it? Or that you can just use strips?
That's true. It's just a much smaller bit of profit than the milk itself.
Having trouble finding someone who has done the math, but if you purchased this you could curdle more than 300 gallons of milk and your costs would be more than 95 percent from the milk. Since not many people buy rennet you are paying more for a specialty product, so for a cheesemaker the cost for rennet would be less.
Amazon has Lipase
And Calcium Chloride
I let it dry for a day in one of these, then have been flipping it every day for the past 3 weeks in one of these. The problem is when the white fuzzy stuff gets stuck to that cheese mold thing and rips of a little...
This cheese making kit is food but it can also be organic so it fulfills 2 categories. ;)
Congrats on your sale, I might have missed it in a previous thread but what's the link to your etsy shop?
I really really want it!
I don't remember the particular brand, but it was just a different brand of Milk at Wal-mart (whole milk). I was up at Wal-mart and figured I'd try again.
Here is the rennet I purchased, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0064OLJ1K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The label says use half of what the recipe calls for, so I did that.
Ever try making your own? Mozzarella and Ricotta Cheese Making Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00014CEXG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_zTA7ybP8C8F8K
You can do ricotta and fresh mozzarella in about 30 minutes! This is a really good starter kit. Comes with everything but the milk :)
https://www.amazon.com/Mozzarella-Ricotta-Cheese-Making-Kit/dp/B00014CEXG
It works.
I got this one, which worked pretty well.
http://www.amazon.com/Mozzarella-Ricotta-Cheese-Making-Kit/dp/B00014CEXG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291491911&sr=8-1
Never cured bacon personally, but my dad raises a couple pigs every year and sends them to a butcher shop for what has to be the best bacon I've ever tasted.
Fellow Alabamian here, just get you some milk, rennet tablets and cheesecloth and you'll be cheesing in no time.
http://www.cheesemaking.com/Recipe_CheeseCurds.html