Lactic Cheese

Yum.

I was a little concerned (maybe that’s too strong a word) when I smelled the curd for this one.  It smelled like yogurt, and I was worried that it would have a yogurty texture even after draining.

But, happily, I was wrong.

And there I go, getting ahead of myself again…

As I mentioned yesterday, I made a batch of soft cheese called, as you’ve already figured out, Lactic Cheese.

It’s very simple to make – just some milk, mesophilic starter, rennet, and a little time.

The previous post ended with the cheese hanging in some butter muslin, draining a-whey.  (Sorry.)

At about the four hour mark, I removed the bag o cheese from its wooden spoon hanger and took a peek.

Mmm…cheese.

It looked wetter on the inside, so I stirred it around a bit before re-tying it and hanging it again.

I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about the pictures of soft cheese draining from a wooden spoon that I really, really like.

Which is probably why I take so many of them.

Anyway, I let it hang for nearly another four hours, and then I decided it had drained enough.

Time for the unveiling.

One last bag-of-cheese-hanging-from-a-spoon picture, and then…

Mmmm, pretty cheese.

I tasted it – tangy, with a texture like softened cream cheese. 

I added some salt and ground black pepper to it, and tasted it again.

Yum.

It’s really good.  Reminds me, like I said, of soft cream cheese.

Only better.