Making Farmstead Cheese

It all starts with a milk tank full of milk and some heat.

Today we are making cheddar cheese. The milk is heated to a certain temperature and then culture, renet , and natural food colorings are added. More heat, more waiting. Each cheese has its own recipe. It is a long and tedious process, requiring exact measuring, precise temperatures, and specific acidity levels.

Here we are testing to see if the curd separates easily when cut, then we know its ready.

Cutting the curd

The curd must be cut every which way to make sure it is in relatively small pieces.

The whey is then drained off. Notice from previous picture how full the tank was and now the curd that is left.

The curd is being sliced into blocks in order to start the cheddaring process

Here is what we call the cheddaring process, all that means is layering cheese curd blocks on top of one another to drain off the liquid whey. The whey is then tested for acidity level several times during this process until reaching a certain level.

Layering again and again. The curd naturally sticks together and needs to be cut again when this is finished.

The cheese curd layers are pulled apart and then put through the shredder.

Lots of salt is added, I think it was 5 pounds worth.

The curds then need to be mixed thoroughly.

Here we are lining the cheese molds with cloth, preparing them for the curds.

A certain amount of curds get weighed, dumped and pressed into the molds.

Then covered

Stainless steal lids are put on...

A specialty: Tomato Basil Cheddar

Then the cheese molds are put up on end...

...the pins are then pulled out and the cheese curds are pressed, pressed and pressed some more by machine...the whey continues to drain out and they are left there over night.

In the morning the cheese is put into the aging room to age for at lease 60 days for mild cheddar. The cheese on the top shelf here are those that have been made recently and need to be vacuumed packed.

The cheese is being vacuumed packed

Showing some of the gouda cheese

Nicely packaged and labeled.

Another specialty

Starting to package the cheese for selling at the market.

Gouda cheese for sampling at the market.

To bad I don't have a picture if Silas and Tia enjoying the cheese...they ate so much of it.

At the Farm at Last!

It seemed like it had been so long since we visited the farm...Silas and Tia couldn't wait to get there. "We are going to Gramma Moo's!...When are we going?...I'm going to ride on the tractor with Grandpa, Mom!...Moooo Moooo Moooo...Lets go! Lets go!...We have to go!" are some of the comments we heard days and days before we planned to leave. When we finally arrived, Silas was off with his Uncles to the barn, and we really didn't get to see him much until days later when it was time to go home. He couldn't get enough of it...never a place is filled with so much excitement and things to do for a little boy then Grandma & Grandpa Moo's.

Good thing the pool was open, it was HOT!

Aunt Hannah, catch me!

Silas(the boy of many faces) swimming with his life preserver, Uncle Caleb.

Jonathan

Little Asher spent most of his time here in the cheese house while we made and packaged cheese...he was such a good boy!

My years of being in 4-H and showing cows came back into practice as I helped Sarah shave her cow for the show on Wednesday.

Caleb trimming her legs.

Grandma enjoying Asher.

Tia enjoying guitar lessons from Aunt Sarah.

Another place for our sleeping boy.

Aunt Sarah and her prize winner.

We sent Silas out to be with the pigs when he was bad:o)

Caleb and Jonathan out plowing.

"A farmer in the making." Grandma would say.

It took a while for Tia to build her confidence...she loved the cows from a distance.

Silas going out to spray the fields with Grandpa.

Cheese making coming up next!

Our little 10 pounder...

at 3 weeks

Weehawken Waterfront Park

Aunt Sarah came to help us out for the week after Asher was born, but by the end of the week we needed to get out of the house. So here we go to Weehawken overlooking NYC...great place for a country girl:o) We picked up some pizza on the way down and enjoyed the view while we ate.

The little kiddie playground...

A beautiful park in the midst of the city, lots of people playing games, running, walking, playing with their dogs, taking pictures etc...

Chasing Daddy

1 week old