Heart to Hearth Cookery

Cutting the Curd

 The cow has freshened and it is cheesemaking time!  I have seven plus gallons of milk in the dairying kettle that has been heated until blood warm.  From the rennet stomach I had processed and dried, I prepared a rennet “tea” and stirred it into the heated  milk.  When all the milk in the kettle turned into one large curd “junket”, I used my cheese knife (as you see in the picture) to cut the curd.  The whey starts separating immediately.  After the cutting process, the curd is heated in the whey.  You can see in the right hand corner of the picture, just a part of the cheesebasket lined with a linen cloth readied for separating the curds from the whey.  The cheese is on its way and I will be spending the next several days tending the cheese in the cheese press and  then forming  the rind.  I will post more about the cheese as the process continues.  One of my many varied food history programs is a presentation on Curds and Whey, please visit my website- www.hearttohearthcookery.com– for more information.