(Part 2) Top products from r/cheesemaking

Thanks. I have greatly enjoyed learning the process at home. Even some of the early disappointments were enjoyable to some degree. I would strongly recommend starting with simple ones like cream cheese and goat cheese to get an idea for the process. Plus they don't require real aging so there is immediate gratification.

My cheese cave is just a tiny little mini-fridge I got for free from a friend. I use one of these to regulate the temp. You simply plug the fridge/freezer into it and based on your settings, it controls the power to the fridge. For humidity, just a glass of water in there is the best I can do.

That book is great and is where most of my recipes come from now, but for starting out I'd try this guy

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1615640096/ref=pd_aw_sims_6?pi=SL500_SY115

These are a little easier to follow and I think provide a better base for understanding than the artisan book, which I view as the step up "intermediate" guide. Both books are extremely helpful though

I bought this guy:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07477NMF4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It works great but the clip is more made for a grill rather than the side of a pot. I figured out a way to hang it off my kitchen cabinet for cheese making and the cord on the probe is plenty long enough.

I also have to say that it is fabulous for smoking a brisket, if you want something that serves more than one purpose and are into that kind of thing.

Cool! Hope I didn't sound critical. Here are some recommendations I've gotten that look good so far:

Cheesemaking.com
http://amzn.com/B004CFAWPC

I also use a sous vide.

https://www.amazon.com/Sous-Vide-Supreme-Water-SVS10LS/dp/B003AYZIB4/ref=sr_1_15?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1498400205&sr=1-15&keywords=sous+vide

I use this one because I can put the milk right in it with no water bath needed. Works absolutely perfect.

https://www.amazon.com/Firebird-Thermoelectric-Operation-Chiller-Refrigerator/dp/B013CTHQV6/ref=sr_1_13?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1498400267&sr=1-13&keywords=wine+cooler

I also use a wine cooler like this to keep my cheeses. I can fit 4-5 cheeses on 1 shelf. I try to keep the grouped with with similar cheese so they don't cross contaminate any lingering molds or flavors.

Looking at your pot there's definitely going to be a delay due to the thickness of the pot.

I use a thin stainless steel hotel pan, and I wish I could find something that would transfer the heat faster. You may want to go and find the thinnest pot you can find for your setup or just get a hotel pan. If you get the hotel pan, don't forget to get a lid as well.

If you get a slightly heavier paper towel that can hang while wet you can hang it so that the bottom is in the water and use this behind it to speed up evaporation. Or any kind of fan blowing on the surface of the water will increase evaporation but blowing air through something wet will work better. It's basically an improvised humidifier.

This book is the best one I've found: http://www.amazon.com/200-Easy-Homemade-Cheese-Recipes/dp/0778802183

It's got plenty of "the basics of cheesemaking" information in addition to hundreds (two hundreds anyway) of recipes.

If you're willing to spend some money, a meter is a lot more accurate and easier to read. Extech makes a decent entry level meter.

The issue with cutting cheeses is that they are often sticky and will grab the side of the blade. That's why wire works so well. I use a plastic cheese knife that has multiple wedges that works really well.

Similar to this one: The Cheese Knife OKP2 , The Cheese Knives with a Unique Patented Blade, Yellow https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004XRH0FY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_tq2RDb4334NSQ

Just about any knife that has a way of reducing the surface area in contact with the cheese should do well.

If it's waxed, it should be fine.

In the future, for natural-rind cheeses, you can use a "microwave rice cooker"-type tupperware thing, because they often come with racks to keep the cheese off the bottom.

I'm using one of these currently, because I already had it. Since it doesn't have a vent, I leave the top "almost" sealed. With a small bowl of water inside (with some cheap cheesecloth crumpled up in the water to aid in diffusion) the humidity stays right around 85%.

I put a hygrometer inside so I can check the humidity any time (and see a history of high and low temp and humidity).

They came with the containers i got for maturing.
https://www.amazon.de/Lock-HPL836-Multifunktionsbox-5l/dp/B0000AN4CV/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1509968964&sr=8-8&keywords=lock+and+lock

This is where I started, and there is an Artisan version too https://smile.amazon.com/Mastering-Basic-Cheesemaking-Fundamentals-Making/dp/0865718180

Campden tablets, 1 tab per 20 gallons.

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.

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...

Used the 2 day lancashire recipe from this, along with a few tweaks. I'm vac-packing instead of cloth-banding as recommended as I'm away for 3 weeks and don't want it to die :(