Whether you are making cheese at home or for commercial purposes, cheese making involves three fundamental components: the ingredients, equipment/appliances, and the process. It is easy to acquire the right ingredients for cheese making and the process can be achieved through instructional books.
However, finding the right equipment for making home-made or commercial cheese can be quite overwhelming. Here is a guideline to help you understand the necessary cheese making equipment required to become a successful cheese maker.
First things first – Cleaning the equipment
It is essential to maintain cleanliness in the kitchen. This means that your equipment should be pristine and ready for the next use. Make sure to clean and sterilize the cheese equipment right after using since cheese making process involves the use of friendly bacteria hence creating an ideal and clean environment for this bacteria to thrive in is essential.
Why make cheese?
You may not be a cheese connoisseur but there is a difference in making your own cheese and buying ready-made cheese from food stores. Here are the benefits of making your own cheese.
- Cheap – Once you have the necessary equipment needed to make cheese, it becomes inexpensive to produce your own. Making cheese from home also enables you to try out different varieties using various ingredients without having to spend much.
- Healthy production – Home-made cheese is fresh and contains no artificial ingredients. Thus, you do not face the risks involved with ingesting foods containing food coloring and GMO-heavy ingredients since you get to use natural ingredients.
- Easy and fast – After you grasp the cheese-making process, it becomes easy to make your own cheese from home. This then enables you to make cheese efficiently saving you on time and money spent on buying cheese from food stores.
See yogurt strainer bag.
Cheese making equipment
- Cheese pot – This is one of the most required cheese making equipment. You can use a pot that has a non-reactive material such as heat-safe glass, stainless steel or unchipped enamel. These non-reactive materials are also easily sterilized and do not produce an adverse chemical reaction. Also, your cheese pot should be relative to the amount of cheese you want to produce.
- Measuring equipment – This is in the form of cups and spoons. Choose non-corrosive materials for the cups and spoons to use when measuring various ingredients. Also, consider the size of the measuring equipment as you would want to be precise during the process.
- Thermometer – This comes in handy when you need to maintain the necessary temperature required in making cheese. The cheese-making bacteria thrive at a certain temperature and extreme hot or cold temperatures will give you poor results.
- Draining mats – In the cheese making process, drying and aging of cheese is important in order to acquire the best results. Drying mats help in providing air circulation
- Timer – This is an essential yet ignored equipment. A timer helps you to keep track of the process conveniently.
- Skimmer – This is a long-handled spoon that is used for incorporating rennet, stirring, adding starter culture, and scooping curds. Choose a skimmer made from a non-reactive material and is easy to clean and sterilize.
Also, see where to buy rennet.
To wrap it up, making cheese is a fun process. In addition to the necessary equipment for making cheese, have a notebook in which you can take make a list of the ingredients and procedure for every time you try out a new variety or also note down any mistakes you encounter in order to avoid them the next time you make cheese. Thus, you no longer have to become overwhelmed once you think about cheese making equipment.
