A funny thing happened on the way to the press

A Funny thing happened on the way to the Press: Over view of the Cheese making
process & preservation methods."

The goal of this class is to give you a basic understanding on the cheese making process,
where to get supplies, and how to age your cheese. There will be some limited sample
for us to try. There will be a limited number of handouts. There is no cost for the class.

PART ONE:

Crown Tourney Crafts Person Fair 2010 (photo by Cathryn of Chester)

Cheese 101
Green Cheese1 How to Make

“Grene chese is not called grene by the reason of colour, but for the newness of it…
Softe chese, not to new nor to olde, is best…Harde chese is hote and dry, and euyll to
digest. Spermyse is a chese the which is made with curdes and with the juce of
herbes…Yet beside these…natures of chese, there is a chese called rewene chese, the
whiche, yf it be well orderyd, doth passe (surpass) all other cheses.”2

This style of cheese in the Middle Ages was called Green Cheese, New Cheese, Farmers
Cheese, Chese auyn, or Slipp-Coat Cheese. This type of process to make soft cheeses is
also called “Bag Cheeses”. Green cheese is a term that refers to a type of cheese that was
eaten quickly, not aged to a hardened state. Soft cheeses are among the oldest and easiest
types of cheese to make.

1
Definition of “Green Cheese” – “The terminology is also used to refer to a young Cheese, i.e. one that has
only been matured for a short time”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_cheese
2
Sass, Lorna, J., To the King’s Taste, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975, pg.48

“My Lady of Middlesex makes excellent slipp-coat Cheese of good morning milk,
putting Cream to it. A quart of Cream is the proportion she useth to as much milk, as
both together make a large round Cheese of the bigness of an ordinary Tart-plate, or
cheese-plate; as big as an ordinary soft cheese, that the Market women sell for ten
pence…”3

Columella (Lucius Iunius Moderatus) lived in Italy not far from Rome until about 70
A.D. and he owned farms. What makes Columella important is that he wrote about
farming and many aspects of animal husbandry, plants, and making cheese.4

I would like to start with Columella as one of the sources that describes in detail many
aspects of making both soft and hard cheeses.

One of the first things he tells us is the difference between soft cheeses (fresh) and aged
cheeses. He says "...if the cheese is made of a thin consistency (soft), it must be sold as
quickly as possible while it is still fresh and retains its moisture." What is he telling us,
one that the cheese has high moisture content, two that it is made fresh, and three it is of a
thin consistency. This could mean a soft cheese like a Farmers Cheese, or a cheese like a
cottage cheese. Columella goes on to describe the next type of cheese "...if however, it is
of a rich and thick consistency, it bears being kept for a longer period". Here I believe he
is talking about a cheese that has lower moisture content such as a semi hard cheese, or a
pressed cheese with lower moisture content so that it will not spoil and can be keep
longer.

I will talk a lot about using Rennet in making my cheeses, using an acid, or a plant to
cause the curd to form. Here in the First Century we have a written record of this
process: "Cheese should be made of pure milk which is as fresh as possible....It should
usually be curdled with rennet obtained from a lamb or kid, though it can also be
coagulated with the flower of the wild thistle or the seeds of the safflower (Carthamus
tinctorius), and equally well with the liquid which flows from a Fig-tree...".5 So for your
cheese to taste it best us milk that is the freshest you can get. Here is also a reference to
two plants for making the curd form Wild Thistle Flowers, and the seeds of the
Safflower, and a tree.

Rickii Carroll (Cheese Making Made Easy) and many others recommend using the
indirect method of warming your milk. How old is that statement? What documentation
do I have that milk was left near the hearth to warm the milk indirectly? Here we are told
that "A pail when it has been filled with milk should always be kept at some degree of
heat: it should not however be brought into contact with the flames....but should be put to
stand not far from the fire..."

There are a number of cheeses that are being reproduced from the descendants of cattle,

3
The Project Gutenberg eBook “The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby”, www.gutenberg.org/files/16441, “To
make Slipp-coat cheese”
4
Columella II de re Rustica V-IX, Translated by E.S. Forster & E. Heffner, Book VII, pg.285~289
5

goats, and sheep that were being kept during the middle ages. Besides using animals that
might be familiar to someone from the Middle Ages they are also using techniques that
have been handed down for more than a thousand years. One example would be cheeses
being molded and drained using woven baskets such as Canestroato Pugliese according to
the history of this cheese it is made from sheep milk in the early autumn in Italy. It is
molded using woven baskets that give it a rustic appearance. In his writings Columella
describes this process "...when the liquid had thickened, it should immediately be
transferred to wicker vessels or baskets or moulds..."6

For hard cheese pressing the curds with some type of weight is necessary to compress the
curds and to drive out as much whey as possible to keep the cheeses from spoiling. In his
writings he describes this process "...as soon as the cheese has become somewhat more
solid, they place weights on the top of it, so that the whey may be pressed out;....then they
are placed into a cool, shady place, that it my not go bad....it is often placed on very clean
boards, it is sprinkled with pounded salt so that it may exude the acid liquid,...when it has
hardened it is pressed again....".7 Here we read that not only that moulds and wicker
baskets are being used to form and drain the curds from the whey, but also that salt and
pressure are being used to express the whey from the curds and to prepare the cheese for
a drying stage (allowing it to form a rind) for long term storage.

Another famous cheese from Italy is Mozzarella, is made by taking the curds and
washing them in extremely hot water then it is pulled or kneaded to form a smooth ball of
cheese. How old is this process again Columella tells us "...the method of making what
we call "hand pressed" cheese is the best-known of all: when the milk is slightly
congealed in the pail and still warm it is broken up and hot water is poured over it, and
then it is either shaped by hand or else pressed into box-wood moulds."8

The very first types of cheeses I made were soft cheeses, herb cheeses, and brine
cheeses. I think the following words from Columella tells us about these processes:
"Others allow thyme which ahs been crushed and strained through a sieve to coagulate
with the milk and curdle it in this way, similarly, you can give the cheese an flavor you
like by adding any seasoning which you choose....Cheese also which is hardened in brine
and then colored with the smoke of apple tree wood or stubble has a not unpleasant
flavor..."9

So here in the first century in just three pages Columella has described all of the
processes of making cheese, aging, and flavoring that I talk about with you. These
writings wrap up in a small package all of the information that is dotted throughout other
writings during the middle ages. I want to continue to share with you other sources that
talk about the cheese making process.

But for now lets move on to the cheese making process:

6
7
8
9

There are many sites on the Internet like Fankhauser’s Cheese Page10 at
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML, and wonderful books that
will walk you thru the process of making soft or hard cheese. But the basics do not
change and have not changed since man had worked out the process of making cheese. I
also highly recommend “Cheese Making made Easy” by Ricki & Robert Carroll11; this is
the book that got me started making soft cheese, and also covers making hard cheese as
well.

Method #1: This is NOT the quick method. It will take 3 to 5 days to finish a batch of
cheese; I normally use this, as I prefer the taste of the long method.

You will need the following items to start making your cheese:

(This list is common to most cheese making sites and was listed on the website above as
well as in “Cheese Making made Easy”).

Supplies such as cultures and Calcium Chloride can be purchased from
the New England Cheese Company www.cheesemaking.com.

Supplies:

1 stainless steel pot (this needs to be of the heavy thicker bottom type or your milk
may burn)
1 colander/ strainer
1 yard of fine woven cheesecloth (or a clean tea towel/ or lose woven undyied fabric)
Cotton Twine (or a heavy duty rubber band12 and a dowel rod or long-handled
spoon)

*Make sure that all items being used for making your cheese are cleaned well and no
soap or bleach remains in the pan or cloths being used.

Making Basic Cheese

• 1 gal milk (This needs to be whole milk that is low temperature pasteurized.
I found mine at Blooming Foods, or you can try to get raw milk. If you know
someone, you can try fresh goats’ milk.). Or you can use regular Whole Milk
from the store but you will need to add **Calcium Chloride)

There is a side note here you can use regular milk from the store, but you will
need to add Calcium Chloride and some heavy whipping cream or ½ & ½.13

10
Fankhauser’s Cheese Page at http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML
11
Carroll, Ricki & Robert, “Cheese Making made Easy”, Storey Books, 1996, Chapter on “Soft Cheese”
pages 27~45, this chapter covers using lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, and yogurt in making soft cheeses
12

• 1/4 cup vinegar plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar all work (when
I use vinegar I use the apple cider), or you can use fresh lemon juice – which
is what I prefer, flavor-wise. You can also use 3 drops of rennet (an animal
product) in ¼ cup of cool water. This normally leaves no after-taste. You can
also use ale, Thistle, Fig Bark (please see reference above). After talking to a
number of brewers about the Ale making process during the Middle Ages I
believe it is the acidity in the alcohol from old Ale, that helped form the curds.
For more information on using ale in period, see “A Pottage on fish day”,
below.)
• 4 oz of live culture yogurt. When I need cheese quick, I use yogurt from the
store, and I like the Greek live culture yogurt the best. You can also use live
culture buttermilk, or a live culture sour cream. It is the culture that you actually
need to make your cheese. Or if you are a purist you can purchase a Mesophilic
Culture on line (www.thecheesemaker.com) and follow the directions and make
your own. I put mine in clean ice cube trays and freeze them, and then place them
in a plastic bag. Each cube is about 1oz, and keeps for a couple of months. This
is a pretty common method to keep your starter.
• Sea Salt (or what is called a coarse flake salt) Do not use iodized salt. Salt
serves several purposes; it draws out more of the whey and acts as a
preservative. The dryer you can get your cheese, the longer it will keep. But
a word of caution here; if you get your curd too dry, your cheese will not have
a good flavor and will not hold a firm shape.

Step 1: Place the milk and yogurt in the stainless steel pan on the stove and slowly warm
the milk to 75~90'F (this is also called the low temperature method). This can also be
done by leaving a sealed gallon of milk out on the counter till it comes to room
temperature. This also adds in bringing up the acid content and flavor of milk. This
method is similar to what they did in period by leaving the milk to warm by the hearth
overnight. Then place in the pan and add the yogurt (or what ever you are using as your
starter).

Step 2: Add 1/4 cup of vinegar/lemon juice/ or 3 drops of rennet (diluted in a small
amount of water) and stir until well mixed.

Step 3: Cover and let sit at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours or until the curd has
formed. (This can take up to 24 hours or longer if your house is on the cool side.) This
will look like a firm whitish mass in a liquid (the “whey”).

Step 4: Place a colander lined with cheesecloth into another pan. Ladle the curds into the
cheesecloth, pull up the side and tie with the twine and hang over a bowl for another 12
to 24 hours until it stops dripping. At this point untie the cheesecloth and add sea salt to
taste.

Step 5: Place cheesecloth and cheese back into the colander and into another bowl.
13
Home Brew Talk, Information under “Tip!”, http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f130/what-brands-store-
bought-milk-work-making-cheese-114585/,

add a small plate and a weight. (I use a regular brick that I have placed into a plastic bag,
but a large canned good will work too. You are looking for about 5~7 lbs. of weight.)
Place this into your refrigerator or another 24 hours.

Step 6: At this point your cheese is ready to eat, cook with, or add an herb such as dill,
garlic, chives, ginger, garlic, saffron, etc. You can also make this a sweet cheese by
adding honey and dried fruit for use on bagels or toast.

This cheese will keep up to 4 to 6 weeks in your refrigerator in a covered container;
with our modern refrigeration my cheese has kept longer. This cheese is also
excellent for making cheesecakes, or in cooking (such as a filling). I used mine
mixed with rosemary to stuff chicken breast and quail, and to make lovely savory
cheese tarts & pies.

Side Note: Do not get rid of the whey; it makes a wonderful secondary cheese (Ricotta,
Prim, or Gjtost) when reduced over slow heat in a double boiler. Gjtost has the color of
caramel and is slightly sweet from all the milk sugar left in the whey. Whey is also good
for use in your cooking, or making breads.

Earlier I referred using ale to help form the curd. Below is the copy of the period recipe
where they are using ale. I am currently working out the amounts and balancing the taste
of the cheese. I will post the results on my blog spot.
14

You can also visit my blog spot called the Medieval Cheese Forum at
www.medievalcheese.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/Medievalcheese
for additional information on cheese making.

14
Renfrow, Cindy, Take a Thousand Eggs or More, Vol. 1, 1998, United States,
pg.40~41

Three Soft Cheese (A&S Constellation 2010) from right to left a Green Cheese, Dill Cheese, Garlic Cheese

PART TWO:
Hard Cheese 101
“….I also saw the earth with people on it. The people were carrying milk in their
vessels, and they were making cheese from the milk. Some of the milk was thick,
from which strong cheese was being made; some of the milk was thin, from which
mild cheese was being curdled; and some of the milk was spoiling, from which bitter
cheese was being produced.”15 Written by St. Hildegard of Bingen.
Outline
Materials
Milk (Raw/Whole/Skim)
Starter (Mesophillic/ Thermophillic)
Rennet (Animal/Vegetable)
Additives (Molds)
Calcium Chloride
Supplies
Stainless Steel Pots (2~4)
Slotted Spoon Stainless
Colander
Cheese Cloth
Cheese Mold
Cheese Press
Thermometer
Reed/plastic Mats
Draining Board (Maple/ or old cutting board)
Weight (5lb/10lb)
Plastic Tub with tight fitting lid (2x size of the cheese round)

Basic Hard Cheese:
Warm the milk
Add the starter
Allow to sit
Add the Rennet

15
Classen, Constance, The Color of Angels: Cosmology, Gender, and the Aesthetic Imagination, Rutledge, 1998, pg.15

Allow to sit until clean break is present
Cut the Curds
Allow to rest
Heat the Curds
Rest
Place in Cheese Cloth lines molds
Press
Cure outside of Cheese
Age
Eat

Types of Rinds:
Washed Rind (Swiss)
Bloomy Rind (Brie, Camembert)
Natural Rind (Stilton)
Some Does:
1. Use whole milk (raw if you can get it)
2. start simple and build your skills
3. Do not get discouraged by mistakes or failures
4. Do keep a journal a simple flip one works well
5. Do try to keep every thing as clean as possible (salt & Vinegar)
6. Do not be afraid to try different things.
7. Do have patients!
8. Read everything you can find about the type of cheese you want to make.

Some Don’ts:
1. Do not use bleach
2. Do not try to rush (or at least know where you can and can not)
3. Do not use milk labeled UL (Ultra Pasteurized)
4. Do not be afraid to ask questions
Resources on the Web:
www.cheesemaking.com The New England Cheese Company
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/cheese/cheese.html Fankhauser’s Cheese Page
www.medievalcheese.blogspot.com The Medieval Cheese Forum

Book Resources:
Home Cheese Making, by Ricki Carroll (2002)
Artisan Cheese Making at Home, by Mary Karlin & Ed Anderson (2011)
Making Artisan Cheese: Fifty Fine Cheeses, by Tim Smith (2005)

Period Sources:

Please reference Illumination to the left, look
on the left hand side, and notice the wooden form that the bundle of cheese is being
pressed in and the container below to catch the whey. Above are two images taken from
a modern video showing traditional cheese making. The form and methods have not
changed since the 14th century.

Cheese manufacture, 1390-1400, Illustration from "Tacuinum Sanitatis", illuminated
medical manual based on texts translated from Arabic into Latin, in the collection of the
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.16

Columella on Cheese Making:
(Both soft and pressed aged cheeses)

(Although an early source from 70 A.D. Columella was a contemporary of Pliny & Cato,
and at this point in time this was the most complete written source of instructions I have
found for making cheese both pressed & soft)

"Cheese should be made of pure milk which is as fresh as possible....It should usually be
curdled with rennet obtained from a lamb or kid, though it can also be coagulated with
the flower of the wild thistle or the seeds of the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius), and
equally well with the liquid which flows from a Fig-tree...".
"A pail when it has been filled with milk should always be kept at some degree of heat: it
should not however be brought into contact with the flames....but should be put to stand
not far from the fire..."

16
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, http://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/1276116.jpg

"...when the liquid had thickened, it should immediately be transferred to wicker vessels
or baskets or moulds..."
"...as soon as the cheese has become somewhat more solid, they place weights on the top
of it, so that the whey may be pressed out;....then they are placed into a cool, shady place,
that it my not go bad....it is often placed on very clean boards, it is sprinkled with
pounded salt so that it may exude the acid liquid,...when it has hardened it is pressed
again....".
"...the method of making what we call "hand pressed" cheese is the best-known of
all: when the milk is slightly congealed in the pail and still warm it is broken up and
hot water is poured over it, and then it is either shaped by hand or else pressed into
box-wood moulds." (fig. 2)
"Others allow thyme which has been crushed and strained through a sieve to coagulate
like by adding any seasoning which you choose....Cheese also which is hardened in
brine and then colored with the smoke of apple tree wood or stubble has a not
unpleasant flavor..."17

Translated by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson)
Del modo di fare il formaggio ò vero cascio Cap 51
Il cascio ò formaggio che si fa, lo fanno in questo modo, cioè. Quando il latte è
quagliato, lo rompono & lo mettono sopra il fuoco, e lo fanno scaldare fin tanto, che si
faccia una massa nel fondo della caldara, e poi lo cavano fuori & formano il formaggio
secondo che a lor piace, & poi lo salano, & lo fanno seccare; e con tale ordine tutti i
pastor fanno il formaggio, ma molto di questo si guasta; e chi lo volesse fare di estrama
bontà & che mai si guastarai, faccia in questo modo cioè. Piglia aceto fortissimo, & mel
commune, tanto di uno quanto di altro, & fallo bollire insieme, & quando si rome il latte,
per ogni trenta libre di latte, mettevi una scudella di detta compositione, & non lo
scaldare troppo; e poi formale pezze del formaggio di quella forma che si vuolve, &
subito che sia fatto salalo cosi caldo; e questo è il vero e gran secreto da fare il formaggio
bonissimo, & che non si guasterà mai. Percioche lo aceto & il mele sono materiale
incorruttibili, & per la loro virtù conservano il formaggio.

The way of making cheese or real cheese (it may be the difference between
formaggio being a molded cheese and Cascio a pressed cheese). Chapter 51.
The cheese that one makes, one makes in this way, that is: when the milk is coagulated
one breaks it and puts it over a fire and it is heated until it makes a mass at the bottom of
the pot. Then one takes it out and shapes the cheese, dependent on ones wishes, and then
salt it and put it to dry. But many times made this way it will spoil. If one would wish to
make a high quality one that never spoils make it in this way. That is: take the strongest
vinegar and common honey, more of the one than the other, and put them to boil
together. When one breaks the milk for each 30 “libre” of milk put in one “scudella” of
this mix and don’t heat it too much. Then make the pieces of cheese in whichever shape
you like and immediately a it is done salt it thus warm. This is truly the great secret to
make the very best cheese that never spoils because vinegar and honey are incorruptible
materials and their virtues preserve the cheese.
17

Libra – about 12 oz, libre - plural of libra
Scudella – small bowl between 430 -600ml18

Part Three:

Pressed Cheeses
Taken from: Libro Settimo, 238. Seventh book, page 238. Pages 475-476 of 771 on the
webbed images.
Romoli, Domenico. La Singolare dottrina di M. Domenico Romoli. In Venetia : presso
Gio. Battista Bonfadino, 1593.
From the website: http://www.bib.ub.es/grewe/grewe1.htm

La natura del cascio salato vecchio, & del vecchio non salato Cap
XLVI
In quel modo che da gli antichi è laudato il cascio fresco che habbia un pochetto di sale,
cosi per il contrario è vituperato il Cascio vecchio, ò che sia salato, o nò; perche dicono
tutti che il Cascio vecchio che ha in se molto sale diventa secco, morde lo stomaco, &
accende il sangue, genera melanconia perche è caldo, & secco, et peró deve esser fuggito,
et con esso anco l’altro cascio vecchio non salato, perche fanno al corpo non piccioli
nocumenti, & tanto piu è cattivo, quanto piu haverà dello acuto, & del pungitivo, perche
non vi è punto dentro acquosità, & di humido, onde genera oppilatione nel fegato, et le
pietre ne i rognoni. Sarà la regola de i Casci, che quanto più il Cascio si aprossima
all’esser fresco, è men cattivo, et quanto più và verso il vecchio, più difficil digestione, e
fa doler più il capo: è grosso a nodrire, conruttibile, et devo da uscir dello stomaco, & non
fa giovamento alcuno, perche non fa buon sangue, & non humetta, anzi dissecca la
humidità, et stringe la orina convertendosi in humeri colerici.

The nature of aged salted cheese, and of that aged and not salted,
Chapter 46

In the same way that one gives age and improves fresh cheese that has a little bit of salt,
thus to the contrary it is vituperative (makes harsh) old cheese, or that which is salted,
because one says that all old cheese that has in it a lot of salt becomes dry, it bites (dries
up) the stomach and it heats up the blood, it generates melancholy because it is hot and
dry, and therefore it should be shunned and with this also the other old cheese that is not
salted, because it gives to the body not little injury, and much more it is evil, what is
more it is sharp and pungent (stinging), because there is not a point within of wateriness
and humidity, wherefore it causes obstruction of the ducts of the liver, and stones in the
kidneys. The rule of the cheese, that how much more the cheese is closer to being fresh it
18
Compendio de i secreti rationali di M. Leonardo Fiorvanti Bolognese, Medico & Cirugico. (The Compendium of rational secroets
of M. Leonardo Fiorvanti of Bologna, Medic and Surgeon). The full text of this document is available via BNF Gallica, Translated by
Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson), http://gallica.bnf.fr

is less evil, and the more it goes towards the old the more difficult it’s digestion, and it
gives aches to the head, and it gives fat nourishment, induces gas, and must exit from the
stomach and does not give any youth, because it does not make good blood, and is not
humid, in fact it desiccates humidity and shrinks the urine agreeing with choleric
humors.19

Columella on Cheese

Columella (Lucius Iunius Moderatus) lived in Italy not far from Rome until about 70
A.D. and he owned farms. What makes Columella important is that he wrote about
farming and many aspects of animal husbandry, plants, and making cheese.20

One of the first things he tells us is the difference between soft cheeses (fresh) and aged
cheeses. He says "...if the cheese is made of a thin consistency (soft), it must be sold as
quickly as possible while it is still fresh and retains its moisture." What is he telling us,
one that the cheese has high moisture content, two that it is made fresh, and three it is of a
thin consistency. This could mean a soft cheese like a Farmers Cheese, or a cheese like a
cottage cheese. Columella goes on to describe the next type of cheese "...if however, it is
of a rich and thick consistency, it bears being kept for a longer period". Here I believe he
is talking about a cheese that has lower moisture content such as a semi hard cheese, or a
pressed cheese with lower moisture content so that it will not spoil and can be keep
longer.

I will talk a lot about using Rennet in making my cheeses, using an acid, or a plant to
cause the curd to form. Here in the First Century we have a written record of this
process: "Cheese should be made of pure milk which is as fresh as possible....It should
usually be curdled with rennet obtained from a lamb or kid, though it can also be
coagulated with the flower of the wild thistle or the seeds of the safflower (Carthamus
tinctorius), and equally well with the liquid which flows from a Fig-tree...".21 So for your
cheese to taste it best us milk that is the freshest you can get. Here is also a reference to
two plants for making the curd form Wild Thistle Flowers, and the seeds of the
Safflower, and a tree.

Rickii Carroll (Cheese Making Made Easy) and many others recommend using the
indirect method of warming your milk. How old is that statement? What documentation
do I have that milk was left near the hearth to warm the milk indirectly? Here we are told
that "A pail when it has been filled with milk should always be kept at some degree of
heat: it should not however be brought into contact with the flames....but should be put to
stand not far from the fire..."

19
Translation of Libro di cucina/ Libro per cuoco (14th/15th c.) (Anonimo Veneziano)
Translated 2003 to January 2005 CE by Helewyse de Birkestad, OL (MKA Louise Smithson) from the
transcription of Ludovico Frati (ed.): Libro di cucina del secolo XIV. Livorno 1899 prepared and made
available online by Thomas Gloning.
Last updated March 28th 2005.
20
21

There are a number of cheeses that are being reproduced from the descendants of cattle,
goats, and sheep that were being kept during the middle ages. Besides using animals that
might be familiar to someone from the Middle Ages they are also using techniques that
have been handed down for more than a thousand years. One example would be cheeses
being molded and drained using woven baskets such as Canestroato Pugliese according to
the history of this cheese it is made from sheep milk in the early autumn in Italy. It is
molded using woven baskets that give it a rustic appearance. In his writings Columella
describes this process "...when the liquid had thickened, it should immediately be
transferred to wicker vessels or baskets or moulds..."22

For hard cheese pressing the curds with some type of weight is necessary to compress the
curds and to drive out as much whey as possible to keep the cheeses from spoiling. In his
writings he describes this process "...as soon as the cheese has become somewhat more
solid, they place weights on the top of it, so that the whey may be pressed out;....then they
are placed into a cool, shady place, that it my not go bad....it is often placed on very clean
boards, it is sprinkled with pounded salt so that it may exude the acid liquid,...when it has
hardened it is pressed again....".23 Here we read that not only that moulds and wicker
baskets are being used to form and drain the curds from the whey, but also that salt and
pressure are being used to express the whey from the curds and to prepare the cheese for
a drying stage (allowing it to form a rind) for long term storage.

Another famous cheese from Italy is Mozzarella, is made by taking the curds and
washing them in extremely hot water then it is pulled or kneaded to form a smooth ball of
cheese. How old is this process again Columella tells us "...the method of making what
we call "hand pressed" cheese is the best-known of all: when the milk is slightly
congealed in the pail and still warm it is broken up and hot water is poured over it, and
then it is either shaped by hand or else pressed into box-wood moulds."24

The very first types of cheeses I made were soft cheeses, herb cheeses, and brine
cheeses. I think the following words from Columella tells us about these processes:
"Others allow thyme which ahs been crushed and strained through a sieve to coagulate
like by adding any seasoning which you choose....Cheese also which is hardened in brine
and then colored with the smoke of apple tree wood or stubble has a not unpleasant
flavor..."25

So here in the first century in just three pages Columella has described all of the
processes of making cheese, aging, and flavoring that I talk about with you. These
writings wrap up in a small package all of the information that is dotted throughout other
writings during the middle ages. I want to continue to share with you other sources that
talk about the cheese making process.

22
23
24
25

But for now lets move on to the cheese making process:
There are many sites on the Internet like Fankhauser’s Cheese Page26 at
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML, and wonderful books that
will walk you thru the process of making soft or hard cheese. But the basics do not
change and have not changed since man had worked out the process of making cheese. I
also highly recommend “Cheese Making made Easy” by Ricki & Robert Carroll27; this is
the book that got me started making soft cheese, and also covers making hard cheese as
well.

Method #1: This is NOT the quick method. It will take 3 to 5 days to finish a batch of
cheese; I normally use this, as I prefer the taste of the long method.

You will need the following items to start making your cheese:

(This list is common to most cheese making sites and was listed on the website above as
well as in “Cheese Making made Easy”).

Supplies such as cultures and Calcium Chloride can be purchased from
the New England Cheese Company www.cheesemaking.com.

Supplies:

2 gallons whole milk (or raw whole milk if you have a source)

½~1 tsp. Rennet & ¼ cup of cool water (non-chlorinated) amt varies depending on
the type of hard cheese.

1 pkg. of Mesopholic Starter (or Thermopholic Starter depending on the type of
hard you are making)

Cultures specific to the type of cheese you are making

Sea Salt

1~3 stainless steel pots (this needs to be of the heavy thicker bottom type or your
milk may burn)
1 colander/ strainer
3 1 yard pieces of fine woven cheesecloth (or a clean tea towel/ or lose woven
undyied fabric)

26
27
Carroll, Ricki & Robert, “Cheese Making made Easy”, Storey Books, 1996, Chapter on “Soft Cheese”
pages 27~45, this chapter covers using lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, and yogurt in making soft cheeses

*Make sure that all items being used for making your cheese are cleaned well. I use salt
and Vinegar to clean my pots, cloths, and cheese molds. I do not recommend using soap
or bleach they leave a residue in the pan or cloths being used.

Making Basic Cheese

• Warm the milk using indirect heating method to 86~90º. Once your milk
reaches the desired temperature if using commercial whole milk add, the
Calcium Chloride at this time and stir.
• (This can also be whole milk that is low temperature pasteurized. I found
mine at Blooming Foods, or you can try to get raw milk. If you know
someone, you can try fresh goats’ milk.)
• Then add your Starter and wait the prescribed amount of time for the milk to
ripen. Usually a minimum of 10 minutes, and maybe as long as 30 minutes.
• Next add the diluted Rennet to the milk stir 1~2 minutes cover and allow the
pot and milk to sit undispurded for 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the
amount of Rennet used and the type of cheese you are making. In period
they also used ale, Thistle, and Fig Bark (please see reference above). After
talking to a number of brewers about the Ale making process during the
Middle Ages I believe it is the acidity in the alcohol from old Ale, that helped
form the curds. For more information on using ale in period, see “A Pottage
on fish day”, below.)
• When a clean break is seen cut the curds to the prescribed size and allow to
sit 5~10 minutes at the target temperature.
• Here you will need to consult the specific information for the type of hard
cheese you are making. But here you are cooking the curd to get it to give up
more of the whey and shrink in size. When the curd is reduced in size
according to the directions for the type of cheese you are making proceed.
• Place the still warm curds into a cheese cloth lined mold. Fold over one edge
of the cloth over the cheese, place the follower and place into the cheese
press.
• Apply the require amount of weight for the prescribed amount of time.
Remove the mold from the press take the cheese out of the mold and flip it
over. Return it to the cheese cloth lined mold and return it to the press for
the required amount of time.
• Next either place the cheese into a salt brine or apply Sea Salt to the out side
of the cheese round. Do not use iodized salt. Salt serves several purposes; it
draws out more of the whey and acts as a preservative. The dryer you can
get your cheese, the longer it will keep. But a word of caution here; if you get
your curd too dry, your cheese will not have a good flavor and will not hold a
firm shape.

Side Note: Do not get rid of the whey; it makes a wonderful secondary cheese (Ricotta,
Prim, or Gjtost) when reduced over slow heat in a double boiler. Gjtost has the color of
caramel and is slightly sweet from all the milk sugar left in the whey. Whey is also good
for use in your cooking, or making breads.

15 minutes into the cooking
curd process.

30 minutes into the curd cooking process.

Curds are holding to gather Warm curds in lined mold

Follower placed Mold in Cheese press

Brining day 3 after brining

Earlier I referred using ale to help form the curd. Below is the copy of the period recipe
where they are using ale. I am currently working out the amounts and balancing the taste
of the cheese. I will post the results on my blog spot.
28

Part Four:

Cheese Preservation Methods

Outline
Methods:
Brining
Salting
Drying
Ash
Lard
Wax
Olive Oil
Leaves (Oak, Elm, Grape, Hickory)
Pickling (Using Brine, or Whey)
Wine (Rubbing out side with or soaking)
Tannin (Packing with grape seeds & Skins)
Smoking
Micro-organisms
Cheese Bandaging
Herbs

28
Renfrow, Cindy, Take a Thousand Eggs or More, Vol. 1, 1998, United States,
pg.40~41

Components of Cheese:

Chemical Composition (%) of Milks of Selected Species of Mammals. (Data compiled
from Scott (1986)).29

Animal Fat Protein Milk Sugar Minerals
Cow 3.8 3.0 4.8 0.75
Goat 6.0 3.3 4.6 0.84
Sheep 9.0 4.6 4.7 1.00
Buffalo 6.0 3.8 4.5 0.75
0.38 (see note
Camel 4.3 (?) 2.75
below)
Human 4.2 1.1 7.0 (Lactose) 0.17

“The Fat in the milk helps to produce flavor, aroma and body in mature cheese.
Cheese made from skimmed milk is hard in body and texture, and lacks flavor.
However, only a small amount of fat (as low as 1%) can produce a background
flavor. Protein exists in two forms in milk as a suspension/colloidal (casein) and
in a soluble form (whey proteins). For example, lipases, proteases and lactase
enzymes hydrolyze the fat, protein and lactose respectively into different
components. In this case, these enzymes, which occur naturally in the milk or
which are sometimes supplied by the indigenous bacteria in the milk and the
added starter culture, can change the milk fats and proteins in the process of
ripening the cheese to produce the delicate flavors and aromas that make mature
cheese so enjoyable. Lactose the main sugar in cow milk.”30

Fat
Protein
Enzymes
Lactose

Resources:

Gode Cookery, www.godecookery.com
Preservation
Chemistry,http://www.chemistryland.com/CHM107/EarlyChemistry/PreservationChemis
try/PreservationChemistry.html
The Basics of Making Cheese, http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/cheese.htm
Master Guiles class & hand our on “Food Preservation”
29
Milk a Basic Material, http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/cheese.htm
30
Milk a Basic Material, http://www.cip.ukcentre.com/cheese.htm

Note on Camel Milk:
“Camel cheese is almost impossible to make. It does not coagulate easily and bovine
rennet fails to coagulate the milk effectively. In camel herding communities camel milk
cheeses use spontaneous fermentation, or lactic fermentation to achieve a sour curd. In
Sudan, the Rashaida tribe uses this method to store surplus milk in the rainy season,
pulverizing the dried curds and adding water for consumption in the dry season. In
Mongolia camel milk is consumed as a product at various stages of the curd-making
process. Recent advances in cheese making technology have made it possible to
coagulate camel milk with a vegetable rennet and camel rennet.”31

You can also visit my blog spot called the Medieval Cheese Forum at
www.medievalcheese.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/Medievalcheese
for additional information on cheese making.

31
Camel Milk, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_milk

.

Cheese manufacture, 1390-1400, Illustration from "Tacuinum Sanitatis", illuminated
medical manual based on texts translated from Arabic into Latin, in the collection of the
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.32

32
Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, http://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/1276116.jpg

Dairymen and Cheese Sellers (Mid 13th C., San Marco, Venice)33

33
At the Table of the Monks: Cheese, Of Course (Part V)
http://gherkinstomatoes.com/2009/05/22/at-the-table-of-the-monks-cheese-of-course-part-v/

Warming
milk

Slotted
ladle &
strainer

34
warming the milk

35
Draining whey

34
From Tacuinum Sanitatis (ÖNB Codex Vindobonensis, series nova 2644), c. 1370-1400)
http://www.godecookery.com/afeast/foods/foods.html

35
Take 1000 Eggs or More, pg. 45, from Schweizer Chronik, c. 1548

Part 5:

Making your own Starter 36

I talked about the basics of making your own soft cheese, and as part of that process you
need to add a starter to your milk. A starter is necessary to help develop a good flavor in
your cheese and the proper amount of acid. What your starter is made of will also affect
the taste of your cheese, such as buttermilk, yogurt, or a commercially purchased starter
kit.

Type #1:

This is one of the most basic starters you can make at home and has a nice tart flavor.
Take 2 cups of fresh milk at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, until it curdles (this is
also called clabbered milk). It is now ready to us as a starter in your cheese making
process.

Type #2:

The process to make this starter takes a about 7 days to finish the complete process. The
starter made using this process has a mellower flavor than the method above. Take 1 cup
of warm milk and add 1/8 cake of regular yeast to the milk let this mixture stand for 24
hours. After 24 hours pour out half the yeast and milk mixture and add 1 cup of warm
milk. Repeat this process everyday for the next 7 days, pour of half the mixture and add
1 cup of warm milk. You will need to keep the mixture in a warm place for this process
to work. After the 7th day add the mixture to 2 cups of warm milk and let it stand for an
additional 24 hours. At this point you now have a starter that can be used in your cheese
making.

Once you have added the starter to your milk save 2 cups of the clabbered milk from the
start of each batch of cheese. You can keep it covered in your refrigerator for up to a
week before using.

Making your own starter adds and additional level of control in your cheese making
process and brings you one step closer to how they may have made cheese in the middle
ages.

36
Carroll, Ricki & Robert, “Cheese Making made Easy”, Storey Books, 1996

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