“What do you do for fun?”

Although it seems like a fairly boring conversation starter, it actually made me pause. What do I do for fun?

There is a lot of mental health research on the importance of having hobbies. Since hobbies decrease stress, engaging in activities that are absorbing and relaxing is more than just “fun,” it is also healthful.

I had to answer that question, “I cook.” Really, I just like to mess around in the kitchen, walk through farmer’s markets to see what is in season, and forage for berries and herbs as I walk in the country.

Over the past several years, that has led me to a new hobby – cheese making. I don’t quite remember why I decided to take this on.  I suppose it is partly because I came across a farm that sells raw milk in Damascus, Pennsylvania. There needed to be something I could do with this milk besides drink it with warm chocolate chip cookies. The obvious answer seemed to be cheese. (The Hardlers sell raw cow and goat milk and are happy to give a tour of the barn and a chance to pet the animals.)

In any event, I began to do some research on line. I was dissatisfied with the blogs I came across and ended up buying two books on how to make cheese at home. There is a lot of biochemistry involved. Not only do you have to have the correct cultures, there is a real science to the degree to which you heat the milk and how fast you get the milk hot. Then you have to add rennet to curdle the milk, let the cuts “heal,” and, after molding the cheese, age it at certain temperatures and humidity for specific amounts of time. Why did I think I could do this in my city kitchen?

The first cheeses I made were chevres. These seem to be pretty basic and don’t require much aging (or equipment). I had fun finding wild grape leaves on the side of the road to wrap some of them in and rummaging through my sisters garden and meadow for lavender, thyme, oregano, mint, basil and tarragon to make my own version of Herbes de Provence.

I then moved on to bloomy rind cheeses – Valency with vegetable ash, Camembert and Chaource. These are really fun. They don’t take long to make and you get all that gooey goodness inside the rind.

This summer I am determined to try some hard cheeses. These take much longer to age and require different cultures. My plan for a tomme fell flat when I realized I don’t have Thermophilic C culture. I will mail order it this week so I can start it next time I come up to the country. The cultures I did have match the ingredients for a Morbier type cheese. I am trying a mixed milk Morbier with half cow and half goat milk. I am using Mesophilia B and a blend of cultures with bacterium linens which will help create an orangish rind. As a reminder, Morbier cheese typically has an orangish hue to the rind and a stripe of ash in the middle that separates the morning from the afternoon milk. In my version, the ash will separate the cow milk from the goat milk.

Often, cheese recipes ask for calcium chloride before adding the rennet. Since I use raw milk for the cheese and dilute the (vegetarian) rennet with well water, the calcium chloride isn’t necessary.  See? Lots of biochemistry!

This recipe is from Artisan Cheese Making at Home by Mary Karlin.

Start to finish the cheese will take 2 – 4 months. 3 hours to make the cheese, 13 hours to press, 6 hours to brine, 12 hours to dry and 2-4 months to age.

1 gallon raw cow milk

1 gallon raw goat milk

¼ tsp Meso II powdered mesophilic starter culture

Brevibacterium linens powder

½ tsp liquid rennet diluted in ¼ cup cool nonchlorinated water

1/8 tsp vegetable ash mixed with 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Kosher salt (preferable Diamond Crystal brand)

Other equipment you need:

• Butter muslin
• Cooking thermometer
• 8 inch tomme mold
• weights to press the cheese.

Day 1

In separate non reactive cooking pans, heat the milks over low heat to 90 degrees F. It should take about 20 minutes. Heat the cow milk in one pan and the goat milk in the other.

Sprinkle ½ the Meso II starter and a pinch of b linens on top of each batch of milk. Let it rehydrate for 5 minutes then stir using an up and down motion with a whisk. Cover and maintain at 90 degrees for about an hour. I wrap the pans in dish clothes to insulate them. After an hour, add ½ of the rennet solution to each batch of milk. Stir with an up and down motion using a whisk, cover and let sit, maintaining a 90 degree temperature for 30-45 minutes. You will be looking for a “clean break.” That means you see some whey separating from the curds and when you slice the curds you see a clean line.

Cut the curds into ¾ inch pieces and let sit for 5 minutes. Over very low heat, slowly raise the temperature to 100 degrees F over 30 minutes stirring a few times. Let the curds settle for 10 minutes. The, using a measuring cup, remove half of the whey and replace it with enough 110 degree water so the curds reach 104. Gently stir for 5 minutes, then let the curds settle.  Remember, you do this to both pans — the goat milk pan and the cow milk pan.

Line 2 colanders with damp butter muslin. One is for the goat milk, the other for the cow milk. Let the curds drain for about 20 minutes. Line a draining rack with a damp towel. I use a large sushi mat on a cookie sheet for my draining rack. Place an 8 inch tomme mold on the rack and line it with damp butter muslin. Transfer the contents of one colander to the mold and press the curds into the edges with your hands. Using a fine mesh strainer, carefully dust the surface of the curds with the ash/salt mixture to within ½ inch of the edge. Gently add the second batch of curds on top of the ash layer and press into the edges with your hands. Pull up the cloth tails and smooth out any wrinkles. Then cover the curds with the cloth tails and the “follower” and press at 5 pounds for 1 hour. Remove the cheese from the mold, unwrap, flip and put it back in the mold. Then press at 8 pounds for 12 hours or overnight.

Finally, make a near saturated brine solution and put the brine solution in the refrigerator.

Day 2:

Remove the cheese from the mold and cloth and place in the brine solution for 6 hours, flipping at least once.

Remove the cheese from the brine solution and pat dry. Place on a cheese mat and air-dry at room temperature for 12 hours or until it is dry to the touch.

Place the cheese on a mat in a ripening box (I use a Tupperware with a sushi mat on the bottom) to age for 1 week. Flip daily using a paper towel to wipe away accumulated moisture in the box.

Twice a week, you need to wipe the cheese down with a light saline solution — 1/2 tsp salt to 1/2 a cup cold water.  To do this, put about 2 Tablespoons of solution in a bowl and wipe down the cheese with a corner of a clean butter muslin.  This helps control the bacterial growth and keeps the cheese from getting moldy.