FANKHAUSER'S  CHEESE PAGE David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D. Professor of Biology and Chemistry University of Cincinnati Clermont College Batavia OH 45103

I have been making cheese since the early 1970s when my wife, Jill and I began "homesteading" on a little farm in SW Ohio.  We were interested in achieving as much self-sufficiency as feasible in the late 20th century.  Our activities have included keeping a herd of dairy goats.  As a result, we have performed countless experiments making various cheeses, yogurt and other milk products.  I teach some of these techniques in my biology labs at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College.

I have been participating in a WWW discussion board on cheeses, and have seen many of the same questions arising over and over.  To answer the recurring questions, I have put together a collection of my recipes, protocols and suggestions for making and using these various milk products. This "Cheese Page" project will be a continuing process, and I hope it is helpful to you.  Check back periodically, I expect to be adding additional recipes.  [Unfortunately, the Discussion Board mentioned above has been malfunctioning for several months.  I have been participating in the interim on another forum, Cheese Wizard's Board.

My newest efforts have been to create Cheese Making Illustrated  and Ricotta Making Illustrated pages.  On these page you will find the steps of cheese making illustrated with pictures taken as I was turning 5 gallons of milk into cheese, and then the remaining whey into ricotta.  Linked to this page is also a new page on assembling a cheese press at home.

Here is a page which Jan Carter and I have produced which links to a number cheese making videos which demonstrate critical stages of the process.  (You will need Real PlayerG2 to play them.) Give me feedback if you would at FANKHADB@UC.EDU.

Considerable interest has been shown in the properties of the actual bacteria which ferment milk. Here is a Lab exercise I wrote to investigate the bacteria observable in yogurt, buttermilk and sour cream.  In order to observe these bacteria, you need to know how to smear and stain bacteria.  You can easily observe Lactobacillus and Streptococcus in yogurt, as well as Streptococcus in buttermilk with a simple microscope and stains purchased at your local pharmacy.

MILK PRODUCTS WHICH YOU CAN MAKE AT HOME:

Buttermilk        The simplest of fermented milk products
Yogurt             Use heat-loving bacteria to produce this famous healthful food. (Illustrated with photographs.)
Laban              A simple yogurt cheese of the Middle East.
Basic Cheese   Turning fresh milk into hard cheese which can be waxed and cheddared.  Delicious.
Ricotta             A fine curd cheese made from the whey left over from basic cheese
Mozzarella       A recipe for fresh mozzarella, white, tender, succulent (not remotely like the tough American pizza version)
American
   Mozzarella    A recipe modified from "Joyce's" on the Lactobacillus Board.  Easy, uses citric acid and microwave oven.
Feta                 A brined fresh Greek cheese, white, crumbly, and excellent in salads or with kalamata olives
Ice Cream        (Now illustrated!) Made simply from cream, sugar and vanilla.  Superb.  Can be made with half and half.

If you have dairy animals, or a source for fresh milk, here is a page on the proper handling of milk to minimize bacterial contamination and growth from the time it is milked to when it is turned into cheese.

Here is a page I put together to demonstrate and discuss the differences in nutrient content of milk: cow's, goat's and human.

If you find these topics interesting, and would like to participate in a web-based discussion of them, check out the following site for a Discussion Group of cheese and related milk products.  It is called the Lactobacillus Bar Discussion Lounge.

Although not exactly in the realm of cheese making, here are recipes for Home Made Root Beer or Ginger Ale.

[NOTE:  The Lactobacillus Bar Discussion Lounge has been messed up for months now (Since 18 Dec 99).  If you want to see a discussion board that is working, go to the Cheese Wizard's discussion board.  Also, the Artisan Cheesemakers website has some recipes, and an email based discussion group if you join.]

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