Pumpkin . . . Fall 2011

Pumpkin . . . Fall 2011

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Sous Vide Cheesemaking



Mark bought me a very high tech Sous Vide machine for Christmas this year. I use it at least once a week on our grass fed meats and poultry and I cannot wait to start using it to cook our fresh vegetables and seafood this spring and summer.

Just a few weeks after Christmas I began to think about using this machine in other ways . . . . one idea was making cheese with it. A Sous Vide machine cooks everything at a very precise temperature. Food is vacuum sealed in food grade bags with seasoning and cooked at low temperatures under water.

My cheese thermometer had recently broken so I had not made cheese in a while and wanted to make some raw milk ricotta for a spinach lasagna. I used the Sous Vide to heat up the milk to around 172 degrees F and then added vinegar to the milk (4 tablespoons per quart or 16 tablespoons per gallon. I gently stirred the milk and put the top on the Sous Vide and came back about 15 minutes later to remove the curd that had floated to the top. I drained the curd in a fine mesh colander lined with four layers of cheesecloth for about an hour and used it in my lasagna recipe ~ The cheese turned out perfectly! I have now been using it to make Feta, Mozzarella, Cottage, Cream etc. Once the cows at Olde Sow Farm are on pasture again, I can't wait to start making some Camembert!




What a versatile machine. I not only can use this to cook fantastic meals out of our meats, vegetables and fruits - but it takes the guesswork out of making cheese!

Buy local . . . . . eat well . . . . .
Posted by Kilby Ridge Farm at 11:23 AM

5 comments:

  1. the little farm that couldMarch 19, 2011 at 1:43 PM

    That is an amazing contraption! I'd never heard of one until you mentioned it last time we talked. Will you be selling cheese off the farm?
    Happy Almost Spring
    The Gooch's

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  2. Kilby Ridge FarmMarch 20, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    Hi Dawn! Great to hear from you. I am hoping to sell cheese made from our sheep milk in a few years. Can give you a free sample of my own cheese (can't sell it as I don't have a cheese license). The kids and I are missing the milk from Olde Sow and I make most of my cheese from Jess's milk. Lambs are not here yet. Should be arriving any time after the first of April and I will let you know. So glad it is spring . . . . see you soon.

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  3. the little farm that couldMarch 22, 2011 at 8:56 AM

    Great! I'd love to try some. I told Mike about your snazzy machine. I sent you an email to let you know our new home email address...maybe I goofed? Hoping Mark won't be too busy this year to come give Timmy and Fiona a haircut :-)
    Looking forward to seeing this years lambs!

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  4. samiApril 11, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    Hi Violet,
    I am looking for cheese recipes for my SVS, would you post yours? I have made ricotta numerous times, but not sure how to Mozzarella or cream cheese.
    Thank you,
    Sami

    ReplyDelete
  5. sf@walcapDecember 29, 2012 at 3:46 PM

    God bless the Internet. I have been using my machine to make yogurt in large bowls and wanted to see if anyone had used their machines as a cheese maker. Thank you. Any issues to date. Also, I love the machine but do you ever get paranoid about leaching plastic into meats?

    ReplyDelete

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