Cheese Making

The April 23, 2009 monthly miniclass addressed recipes and uses of powdered milk. Those present saw how yogurt cheese was made and that it can be used in place of ricotta cheese in lasagna or ravioli or cream cheese in other recipes. We all sampled the cheesecake made with the yogurt cheese, and it was good.

If you are going to store all that wheat and flour, you need to learn how to make your own bread. It is not difficult, but start now. If you can make bread, you can also make doughnuts, rolls, hamburger/hotdog buns, cinnamon rolls and pizza. So, if you can make pizza dough, grow your own tomatoes and oregano or thyme, then you should learn how to make your own mozarella cheese for the topping.

Mozarella cheese is made from a gallon of milk, 1/2 tablet of rennet, some citric acid and salt. You will need a dairy thermometer and the citric acid which you can purchase in Kitchen Kneads in Logan, UT or on the internet. The rennet is sold in Macey's or other supermarkets and is called Junket Rennet usually used to make ice cream or custard. The box is quite small and is found in the baking aisle next to the jello and puddings. It's current cost at Macey's is $1.49 for 8 tablets.

To make mozarella takes very little of your time and energy. Heat a gallon of milk to 88 degrees. Add the required amounts of citric acid and rennet and let the whole thing sit in the pot undisturbed for almost 2 hours. At that time take a spatula and cut the mass of milk into squares about a 1/2 inch by drawing the spatula through the mass first one way and then the opposite way. Once done, heat the curds to 108 degrees and stir every 5 minutes. Drain the whey from the cheese in a cheesecloth-lined colander. After it drains for 15 minutes, add the required amount of salt, heat in the microwave and knead the cheese for about a minute. That doesn't sound too difficult, does it?

If you will be brave and try this, you will be able to add "pizza" to the recipes/dishes that you can serve your family now and when you may have to eat from you home storage. Try it now while getting these ingredients and items are available. Complete directions are available in the Junket rennet box as well as recipes for many other cheeses: cheddar, cottage cheese, cream cheese, ricotta cheese, etc.

Remember that now is the time to prepare. When a crisis hits in your life, the time for preparation is past. The things you need may not be available or the cost may have been driven beyond your means.

I lived in the area of New York City before moving to Nibley. When President Bush stopped all air traffic during September 11th, 2001 crisis, many travelers were forced to find rooms in hotels. The prices of those rooms doubled and tripled in many cases because of the owner's greed. If there is an emergency wherever you live, the same thing can happen. People can raise prices at will. If there is a pandemic and people are sheltering in place, manufacturing may cease as well, transportation may slow, gas may not be available, the banks may not open. Get what you need now! If you put it off, you may regret it and regret the hardship on the rest of your family. What will it take to get you moving?