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

4 December 1998, rvsd 29 Jan '99, 23 Feb. 99, 10 Mar 99, 13 Mar 99, 23 Mar 99, 25 May 99, 22 Nov. 99, 3 Jan 00, 5 Jan 00, 2 May 00, 24 July 00
This page has been accessed  times since 1 September 2000. 

Here is an abbreviated table of recipes on this site:

SUGGESTIONS TO FOLKS NEW TO CHEESEMAKING: While cheese making instructions often appear simple, there are skills and sensitivities which must be developed for successful cheese making.  I strongly suggest that you master the following products before you progress to more difficult cheeses.  I have tried to keep the ingredients for these recipes relatively easily obtained at your locall supermarket

1. Yogurt :  You master proper handling of milk, good aseptic technique with the starter, proper temperature control
2. Labneh :  Simplest of cheeses, made with yogurt.  Nearly fool proof, delicious results.
3. Basic cheese :  turn a gallon of milk into a pound of cheese:  learn to recognize the clean break, cutting the curd, curd management, pressing the curd.  Advance to a five gallon recipe if you have milk available.
4. Then try more challenging cheeses like mozzarella ( American is easier, Italian is more challenging), blue cheese , etc.

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.  In participating in Cheesemaker's Discussion Boards over the years, I 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.

NEW FEATURE:  The newest page is one on rennet :  what it is, how to prepare it, where to purchase it.

COMMENT PAGE:  Do you have comments on any of the recipes on this page?  We now (with the assistance of Jan Carter) have a page for comments and suggestions.  Follow the link to the Comment Page .

	Blue cheese	Inoculate your curd with a suspension of desired blue cheese to make your own home produced blue cheese.
	Neufchatel Cheese	An unripened soft rennet cheese, relatively easy for beginner cheese makers.
	"Farmer's Cheese" or "Chevre"	Another soft unripened rennet cheese, essentially the same as Neufchatel.

Alphabetical listing of Recipes and Topics. (See top of page for a short list .)

Thumbnailed image	Topic	Comments
	Bacteria, how to smear and stain	Considerable interest has been shown in the properties of the actual bacteria which ferment milk.  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.
	Bacteria in yogurt, buttermilk and sour cream .	Here is a Lab exercise I wrote to investigate the microbe in these foods.
	Basic Cheese for one gallon of milk	Turning fresh milk into hard cheese which can be waxed and cheddared.  Delicious
	Basic Cheese, for five gallons of milk Illustrated	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.
	Buttermilk	The simplest of fermented milk products
	Cheese press at home .	You can assemble a cheese press from materials around your home with instructions on this page.
	Cheese Videos	Here is a page of videos which I  took of the critical stages in the cheese-making process.  Thanks to Jan Carter for helping to convert the videos to web files.  (You will need Real PlayerG2 to play them.)  [29 July 2002: Recently there were problems with the movies page. They have now been ironed out, thanks again to Jan Carter, so check out these videos of the steps of cheese making.]
	Feta	A brined fresh Greek cheese, white, crumbly, and excellent in salads or with kalamata olives
	Ginger Ale, Home Made .	Instructions on the easy steps to turn ginger root into a delicious bubbly beverage.
	Gjetost	This Scandanavian cheese is made by reducing (boiling down) whey left over from making cheese.  Traditionally it is made from goat's milk (gjetost means "goat cheese.")
	Ice Cream	(Now illustrated!) Made simply from cream, sugar and vanilla.  Superb.  Can be made with half and half.
	Labneh	A simple yogurt cheese of the Middle East.
	Milk, nutritional content of	Here is a page I put together to demonstrate and discuss the differences in cow's, goat's and human.
	Milk, proper handling of	If you have dairy animals, or a source for fresh raw milk, here is a page describing sanitary handling techniques to minimize bacterial contamination from the time it is milked to when it is turned into cheese.
	Mozzarella (American)	A recipe modified from "Joyce's" on the Lactobacillus Board .  Easy, uses citric acid and microwave oven.
	Mozzarella (Italian)	A recipe for fresh mozzarella, white, tender, succulent (not remotely like the tough American pizza version)
	Rennet	Rennet, made historically from the lining of a suckling kid's stomach, is used to curdle milk into curds and whey. This page discusses its origins, and where you can purchase either from your local supermarket, or on the web.
	Ricotta Making Illustrated	A fine curd cheese made from the whey left over from basic cheese.  Illustrated steps for turning 5 gallons of whey into ricotta.
	Root Beer, Home Made .	Easy use of baker's yeast to make root beer in your kitchen.
	Yogurt	Use heat-loving bacteria to produce this famous healthful food. (Illustrated with photographs.)

 

	Whole Wheat Bread	By popular request--another fermented (non-cheese) recipe.  We have been eating this delicious wholesome bread for decades.

Links to other Cheesemaking sites, Discussion Groups, etc.Here are some that I have participated in over the years.  Unfortunately, some come and go according to how well maintained the board is, so please let me know if these links don't work:
 

Countrylife	has replaced the "Lactobacillus Board," once the most active of cheese making discussion boards.  You must become a member to post, but can read the messages without becoming a member. It is the most active board on cheesemaking that I know of at the moment, but has yet to achieve the level of the old Lactobacillus Board.
Artisan Cheesemakers-L	contains a couple recipes for making cheese, and tells how to sign up for membership in an email-based discussion group, if you like to do your discussing via email. (URL did not work for me the last time I tried it... Is it ALSO defunct? Rumor is that it went totally to an email format. Anyone know? Julia F??? You out there?)
Fiasco Farm Site	has a couple of recipes you might want to check out. (Ops... Someone should tell them that goats do not have upper incisor teeth as shown in their logo...)
Homesteading Today	is another site that is concerned with a variety of homesteading skills including dairy and cheesemaking.
Cheese Wizard's Discussion Board	may be finally defunct.  Since early 2001, the site was unattended and had serious problems.  It was good because it did not require membership, and posting of images and links were easy.  If you find that it has come back to life, please let us know.
Kenya Handbook on making cheese	This interesting site was written for small producers in developing countries.  It has a good introduction to cheese making, and contains recipes for Filata (a mozzarella-like cheese), Feta, and "Alpine Farmhouse" cheese.

WHERE TO GET SUPPLIES?
 

New England Cheesemaking	I have purposely tried to develop recipes which use ingredients found locally in supermarkets.  Ask the manager for help.  However, if you are looking to buy from a specialty source, many folks report  that  New England Cheesemaking has served them well.  (I do not officially endorse any commercial establishment from these pages.)

This "Cheese Page" project is a continuing process, and I hope it is helpful to you.  Check back periodically, I expect to be adding additional recipes.  I welcome your feedback .