Make Cheese From Frozen Milk
If you enjoy cheese, try making your own at home. While most cheese recipes call for fresh milk, you can make great-tasting cheese by using frozen milk from cows, goats, horses or sheep. Making cheese from frozen milk does not affect the taste of the cheese, but it may affect the shape and size of the curds because milk separates when it freezes. Shake the milk periodically while it thaws to ensure that it mixes well, and you will have quality milk for delicious homemade cheese.
Instructions
1. Thaw the frozen milk in the refrigerator. Shake the milk once or twice a day to mix it and to speed the thawing process, which may take up to two days. Thawed frozen milk must be used within seven days, so plan your cheese making accordingly.
2. Add starter to the completely thawed milk the night before you make the cheese. Place 2 tsp. of buttermilk into the milk and heat it to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in a large pan or pot. Cover the milk with a lid and allow it to sit out overnight at room temperature.
3. Squeeze lemon juice from a fresh lemon. You will need 4 to 5 tbsp. of fresh lemon juice.
4. Heat the milk to a full boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently to prevent scorching the milk. Remove the milk from the heat as soon as it boils.
5. Add 1/4 tsp. of calcium chloride and stir it gently into the boiled milk with a wooden spoon.
6. Add the lemon juice a little at a time, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon to help the milk separate. Use care when stirring the curds because previously frozen milk tends to form fragile, mushy curd structures.
7. Stop adding lemon juice when the mixture separates into curds and whey--that is, when the milk forms into clumps resembling cottage cheese, and the liquid whey remains behind in the pan. Cover the pan with a lid.
8. Line a colander with cheesecloth and place a bowl under the colander. Pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth and sprinkle 2 tsp. of salt over the curds. Use kitchen strings to tie the bag shut and allow the curds and whey to hang for three hours as the whey drips into the bowl.
9. Remove the finished cheese from the bag. Refrigerate your homemade cheese or place it into a cheese mold to cure for eight to 10 hours.
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