"Whey"-ing Whether it's Worth it to Make Homemade Cheese

As a lover of so many DIY-things, I'm always saddened that making homemade cheese baffles me. I've made dozens, if not hundreds, of loaves of bread. I've canned, preserved, and jarred jams and relishes. But cheese seems so very time-consuming for results that either taste only marginally better or make a huge mess (RIP attempted homemade mozzarella ball of 2014).  When I decided to make ricotta today, I figured that it would be one in a long line of failed cheese attempts. Only, it was really easy, delectably different than store-bought, and only really took two bowls, and that's only because I wanted to keep the whey.

I used this ricotta recipe from The Kitchn, which seems to be a fairly standard recipe for ricotta. I will say that if you've never worked with heating milk around 200, there are a few good practices that the recipe omits. First, heat the half-gallon of  milk slowly to 200 on medium and don't increase the heat out of impatience. Heating it fast and quick will essentially guarantee that the milk will scorch or will be gritty. Second, stir very, very frequently, especially after it goes above 160, for the same reasons.

As a fairly impatient person myself, standing and stirring can be daunting, but it really makes a difference. Once the milk reaches 200, add 1/3 cup of white vinegar or lemon juice, the optional 1 teaspoon of salt, and let it rest, off the heat, for 20 minutes. Then, ladle the curds into cheesecloth covered bowl. Now, I've been into cold brew really hard lately, so I used a nut milk bag, which I hung off a cabinet shelf (not fancy, but it did the trick!). The original recipe says to let it drain anywhere from 5-60 minutes. I will say that if using the bag, it will be done in only 6 minutes. But if you're using cheesecloth, it will probably take longer because the bag has a really fine texture. 

You can discard the whey that separates from cheese, but I decided to take on a few projects. I cut up an organic red cabbage and made lacto-fermented sauerkraut that's currently fermenting in my office, as it's the most stable temperature in the house. I will say that the recipe calls for a plastic bag filled with water to be perched on top. After several drenching, clumsy attempts, I found it better to fill a smaller mason jar with water and placed it on top to keep the liquid from seeping up through the cabbage. I have no fix for the ensuing cabbage-smell that results from three days of room-temp fermentation. ;) 

I also used some dark rye flour to make deli rye bread from King Arthur Baking's site. Usually, dark rye makes bread really dense and rough, but subbing whey in for the water (after the whey had cooled down to 110 degrees) made for the softest loaf of rye I have ever had. 

While the various projects were time-consuming, the ricotta was fresher and tastier than anything I get in a container from the store. The leftover whey inspired me to work on some fermenting projects I never would have thought to tackle, and there's still more whey yet. Guess I need to make another loaf of bread...