Irina Kamshilina

Cooking for someone is much more pleasant than for yourself))

Content

Making homemade, soft or hard cheese at home is an art that can and should be learned. Using such natural and available ingredients like cottage cheese and milk, easy to create a small cooking masterpiece in your own kitchen. Delicate creamy product without preservatives, dyes and harmful additives - great alternative fabulously expensive imported delicacies. The main thing is to choose your ideal recipe.

How to make cheese at home

Experienced cooks know how to make homemade cheese so that its taste is in no way inferior to European counterparts. It is prepared from fatty cottage cheese, cream and eggs, enzymes, a spoonful of kefir are added to some varieties. The main ingredients are heated over low heat until whey separates, which is then drained. The finished mass is discarded in a colander, squeezed or pressed under pressure, stored in closed containers or brine. The shelf life and maturation of cheese differ from those indicated on store labels, although such a delicacy will definitely not linger in the refrigerator for more than a week.

hard cheese

To make a head of hard homemade cheese, part of the milk is mixed with sourdough, and the rest is brought to 32-33 degrees, left warm. The starter and the enzyme dissolved in water are added to it. The resulting clots are cut into squares, left under the lid. The pan is put on a slow fire, the cubes are heated to 38 degrees for about 10 minutes. Part of the whey is drained, replaced with warm boiled water. The cheese mass is heated to 40 degrees for about 15 minutes, separated from the whey, salted and mixed. After that, it remains to compress, dry and let it ripen.

Soft cheese

Soft varieties can be prepared without the use of special enzymes from natural yogurt, homemade sour cream, heavy cream. The ingredients are combined, salt, spices are added, spices taste. Some types of cheese can not even be boiled, but simply left in a colander with gauze folded four times. With the help of a load, which is placed on top for 12 or more hours, excess liquid is removed and a denser, but delicate texture is imparted.

Fused

Homemade processed cheeses are spread on toast, used in cold appetizers and other dishes. They are made pure curd, mushroom, mixed with parsley. With simple recipe, including cottage cheese, eggs, soda and a little sour cream, any student can handle. The ingredients are interrupted with a blender, boiled in a steam bath for 10-15 minutes, spices and fried champignons are added. Pour into jars or molds, send to the refrigerator shelf. Cooking processed cheese, the most delicate, golden and glossy, often takes no more than an hour.

Cheese recipes at home

Proven recipes from step by step photos explain in detail how to cook cheese. Including such popular and sought-after varieties as suluguni, Adyghe, rennet, cheese, mozzarella and mascarpone. The secret of perfect home product very simple - before you make cheese, you need to buy high-quality ingredients, since its taste, aroma and texture depend on them. It is recommended to add salt to the nearest gram, otherwise it will interrupt the taste of the dish or leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

From milk

• Servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 57 kcal per 100 g.
• Cuisine: Indian.

The classic homemade cheese recipe is easy to perform and requires minimum quantity ingredients. From milk, fresh lemon juice and plain water, you can make an exotic, but very tasty Asian dish - paneer. This is one of the most popular types of cheese in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan. It has an unusual, slightly crumbly texture, does not melt, slightly sour.

Ingredients:

• fat milk - 6 tbsp.;
• water - 0.5 tbsp.;
• lemon juice- 3/4 st.

Cooking method:

1. Bring homemade full fat milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil 10 minutes.
2. Mix lemon juice with water, gradually add to milk.
3. If the main ingredient does not begin to curdle, pour in a little more lemon juice. After 2-3 minutes, remove the pan from the stove.
4. Fold gauze in four, put on a colander or sieve. Let the liquid drain.
5. Rinse the mixture carefully cold water to remove the strong lemon flavor. Lightly knead, giving a denser homogeneous consistency.
6. Cut into serving pieces.

From cottage cheese and milk

• Cooking time: 3 hours 30 minutes.
• Servings: 10 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 141 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Homemade cheese is a natural product with fantastic softness. creamy taste and dense consistency, thanks to which it is convenient to cut it with a knife. To make it a delicious yellow color, the egg can be replaced with two yolks. It is better to use cow's milk - ready meal from goat milk will have a too pungent smell, which many consider unpleasant.

Ingredients:

• fresh cottage cheese - 1 kg;
• milk - 1 l;
• eggs - 1 pc.;
• butter - 100 g;
• baking soda - 2 tsp;
• salt - 0.7 tsp;
• greens - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Before you make homemade cheese from cottage cheese and milk, take it out of the refrigerator and soften the butter.
2. Fill a large saucepan with a liter of milk. Bring to a boil while stirring.
3. Add cottage cheese, cook for 5 minutes on low heat until whey separates.
4. Discard in a colander lined with damp, double-folded gauze. Allow the serum to drain, connect the ends of the gauze. Hang over the sink without untying the resulting bag.
5. Beat butter with egg, salt, baking soda. You don't need to extinguish it.
6. Mix the egg-butter mass with the curd mixture. Add finely chopped dill, parsley or other fresh herbs, mix until smooth. Transfer to a saucepan.
7. Cook for 10 minutes on a steam bath until the mass acquires a viscous consistency.
8. Place in an oiled container. Press down with a load, remove for 3 hours in the refrigerator.
9. Remove from mold, cut.

From cottage cheese

• Preparation time: 4 days.
• Number of servings: 8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 194 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

To properly prepare a solid curd delicacy, it will take 4 days. The main trick is how to boil the cheese and give it the right consistency. To do this, he must mature and become moldy, which will give him a special, delicate taste and aroma. Such a product can be added to your favorite homemade salads, for example, the famous Greek salad. It will easily compete with feta sheep cheese and other elite varieties.

Ingredients:

• cottage cheese - 500 g;
• butter - 40 g;
• sour cream - 120 g;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• cumin - to taste;
• salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. cover cottage cheese lid. Leave it to mold.
2. After 4 days, pass the cottage cheese through a meat grinder along with sour cream, cumin, salt.
3. Melt the butter in a deep bowl.
4. shift curd mass to oil, heat over low heat. Stir until smooth.
5. Beat 2 eggs, add to curd. Heat up again.
6. Put on a greased dish, leave overnight in the refrigerator.
7. Cut into portions.

Adyghe

• Cooking time: 3 days.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 60 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast.
• Cuisine: Circassian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

The national Adyghe cheese at home is made from cow, goat, sheep milk. It is widely used in cooking, added to vegetable salads, soups, khachapuri, pies, dumplings. Before you make cheese at home, you should determine how it differs from classic varieties. This product has a pleasant curd texture and a unique spicy taste with hints of pasteurization. Moderately salty, may crumble slightly. The second name is Circassian.

Ingredients:

• pasteurized milk - 3 l;
• kefir - 1 l;
• salt - 2 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Heat the kefir over low heat until the whey begins to separate.
2. Drain the whey into a bowl. Leave to sour at room temperature for 48 hours.
3. Bring the milk to a boil after 2 days. Reduce heat, pour in whey.
4. After 7 minutes, remove the mass that has surfaced and separated from the whey. Squeeze through gauze. Salt.
5. Hang over the sink in a gauze bag.
6. When excess liquid drains, press down with a press. Drain the escaping water. Send to refrigerator.
7. After 24 hours, remove the press, cut homemade Adyghe cheese into portions.

Creamy

• Cooking time: 15 minutes.
• Servings: 2 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 292 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast.
• Cuisine: European.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Before you make cheese with an unforgettable creamy taste, you need to buy only one ingredient - good sour cream. The fatter it is, the tastier the product will be. It is added to cream desserts, soufflés, Norwegian rolls with salmon or pink salmon, biscuit cakes and even cheesecakes from a slow cooker. The main advantage of this cheese recipe at home is that it does not need to be cooked, and the whole process takes a few minutes.

Ingredients:

• sour cream 21-25% - 800 ml;
• salt - to taste.

Cooking method:

1. Fold the gauze in four, place in a deep plate.
2. Pour on thick gauze homemade sour cream. If desired, salt. If salt is not added, the product can be used for both snacks and desserts.
3. Tie the corners of gauze, hang the resulting bag over the container. The easiest way is to take a pan, put a long wooden spoon on top, tie gauze to it.
4. Leave for 20 hours or a day while the serum drains.
5. Transfer to a container, store in the refrigerator.

Mozzarella

• Cooking time: 30 minutes.
• Servings: 3 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 67 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast, for pizza.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

The picturesque beauty of Italy is not only the Colosseum, spaghetti and temperamental Celentano. It is also the famous mozzarella cheese, with which they prepare various casseroles, salads, pizza, caprese tomato appetizer, homemade lasagna and other dishes. Real Italian mozzarella is easy to recognize from the photo - it is a small elastic balls immersed in a brine liquid.

Ingredients:

• milk - 1 l;
• natural yogurt - 125 g;
• vinegar 25% - 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt - 1.5 tsp.

Cooking method:

1. Warm fresh milk with salt, without bringing to a boil. original product prepared only from buffalo or cow's milk.
2. Add yogurt, mix thoroughly.
3. When the milk curdles, pour in the vinegar.
4. Fold clean gauze in four, transfer to a colander. Fix over a bowl or pan where the whey will drain.
5. Drain the milk mixture into a colander. Raise with gauze, squeeze well.
6. Form tight balls.
7. Pour the whey into a container or lunch box, dip the balls. Cool down.
8. Leave for a day in the refrigerator. Drain the sourdough the next day. Store homemade mozzarella in a sealed container.

Mascarpone

• Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes.
• Servings: 5 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 180 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast, base for confectionery cream.
• Cuisine: Italian.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

It is difficult to confuse mascarpone with any other product - it has an amazing creamy texture, it is easy to apply on homemade or fluffy American waffles, sweet cakes. spoon cream cheese you can just spread it on your morning toast. In the manufacture of a soft delicacy, whose birthplace is Italian Lombardy, cow or buffalo milk is used. It is added to snacks, main and even sweet dishes, for example, the most delicate dessert Tiramisu with coffee, cocoa and savoiardi, the photo of which flaunts on the menu of the world's best restaurants.

Ingredients:

• cream - 200 ml;
• sour cream 20% - 800 ml;
• lemon juice - 2 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Before making homemade cheese, prepare a kitchen thermometer with a probe in advance and squeeze 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.
2. Mix cream with sour cream. Cream can be replaced with full-fat milk.
3. Put the mixture on a slow fire, stir. Using a thermometer, measure the temperature - it should not exceed 75 degrees.
4. Add lemon juice. Make sure that the curdled mixture does not boil. Remove from fire.
5. Put a clean, damp gauze folded in four in a colander.
6. Discard the mass in a colander, leave for an hour. Wait for excess liquid to drain.
7. Squeeze carefully - the harder you tamp, the less tender and tasty the mascarpone cheese will be.
8. Transfer to a container. Keep refrigerated.

Philadelphia cheese

• Cooking time: 40 minutes.
• Number of servings: 8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 58 kcal per 100 g.
• Purpose: snack, for breakfast.
• Cuisine: American.
• Difficulty of preparation: easy.

Philadelphia soft cheese is loved everywhere, but especially in America, in honor of one of the cities of which this amazing product was named. Rolls, crispy tartlets, homemade pies, berry cheesecakes, marzipan cakes, vegetable gratins, canapes and everyone's favorite eel rolls are prepared with it. A profitable analogue of the "creamy foreigner" can be made from ingredients that are easy to find in every refrigerator.

Ingredients:

• milk - 1 l;
• kefir - 500 ml;
• eggs - 1 pc.;
• citric acid - 5 g;
• salt - 1 tsp

Cooking method:

1. Mix milk with a spoonful of salt, bring to a boil over medium heat.
Adyghe cheese from purchased milk Did you find an error in the text? Select it, press Ctrl + Enter and we'll fix it!

In fact, this cheese is milk fermented with rennet. During the day, it thickens, salts, and then you can safely eat it. In many countries of the world there are such cheeses. For example, feta cheese, Imeretian, Mexican cueso cheese. These cheeses are stored for no more than a month. In addition, any of these cheeses, ripened in the refrigerator for another 2-3 days, can become the basis for Suluguni or Mozzarella cheeses.

So, we have 5 liters of fresh cow's milk. To be more precise - fresh milk. As it turned out later, fresh milk is better not to use, it should stand for several hours in the refrigerator. Many sources claim that cheese will never come out of paired cheese, but beginners are lucky! Our cheese turned out great!

We calculate the required amount of dry enzyme, dilute it in water at room temperature and set aside.

We heat the milk to a temperature of 38-40 degrees, constantly stir from top to bottom so that the milk warms up evenly and measure with a thermometer. Any manipulation in the preparation of cheese is very closely related to the temperature of the milk. Enzymes and fermenting bacteria are introduced at certain temperatures. This condition is not difficult, but mandatory. So, the desired temperature is obtained.

We introduce the enzyme and a couple of drops calcium chloride, it will help the formation of a cheese clot. Close the pan with a lid and forget about it for 30-60 minutes. If the cheese clot does not appear, you need to wait a little more. We had a dense clot appeared almost 2 hours later.

Now gently mix the clot and spread it with a slotted spoon in special cheese molds [cheese molds]. The clot must be laid out to the very top of the form, it will become very dense and decrease in size, giving off the whey.

When all the cheese is laid out in molds, one must not forget to turn it over periodically to give the cheese head a more even and beautiful shape.

After 4 hours, the cheese is finally compacted, it must be well salted on both sides and put in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning our cheese is completely ready and you can eat it.

So, here's what we have in the end - out of 5 liters of milk, we got 870 grams of cheese. This is a very good result!

After making the cheese, we have as much as 4 liters of whey left. Of course, you can bake pancakes for a couple of large families, put dough on pies, make okroshka on whey, but we will continue to make cheese further! Let's make Ricotta.

Ricotta Recipe

What is required for cooking:

• Serum after cooking homemade cheese - about 4 liters;
• Milk - 500 ml;
• Vinegar 6 or 9%;

ricotta is a traditional Italian cheese product. Ricotta translates as "re-cooked". Indeed, this type of cheese is made from whey after some types of cheeses have been prepared. For the preparation of ricotta, the whey obtained after making cheese from fresh milk using rennet is best suited. This is just our case! But there is one caveat. Our milk has given almost all of it to the homemade cheese, the whey is completely clear, not cloudy or pale white. But there is a way out - you just need to add a little milk to the whey. As homemade milk we used completely, then we will add the usual, bought in the store. For 4 liters of completely transparent whey, add about 500 ml of milk. If your whey is white and not transparent, then we cook only from it. You don't need to add milk.

Ricotta is very easy to make. The serum is heated to 90 degrees and a little vinegar or citric acid. Then everything is well mixed and left under the lid. We left until the mass cools down completely. During this time, the flakes will settle to the bottom and it will be very easy to get them out. Put the mass again in a special form and let the excess whey drain off. You can add spices, salt, herbs, garlic to your own taste.

From 4 liters of whey, two molds of 200 grams were obtained. For breakfast, the whole family can eat fresh Ricotta with bread or toast for a couple of days.

The recipe for Suluguni

To prepare Suluguni, we specially left one head of homemade cheese, it had to lie in the refrigerator and ripen for two or three days.

Cut the cheese into cubes about one and a half centimeters.

Heat a pot of water to 90 degrees hot water into a cup and pour cubes of homemade cheese into it. It is required, as it were, to melt the cheese and form one common mass out of it.

We change the water several times so that it is constantly hot. We interfere with the mass with wooden spoons in a special way - first we flatten the mass, then we fold it and make a cake again. This is how we form cheese layers.

The cheese should become soft and pliable yeast dough. Now we place it in a cheese mold, leave it to seal and drain excess liquid. Once the head of cheese has formed, place it in a saline solution (200 grams of salt per liter of water) for 24 hours.

Suluguni is ready!

P.S.: If you want to try your hand at home cheese making, keep in mind that we have everything you need to make any kind of cheese - from soft to hard. All products and materials for cheese production are sent cash on delivery to any location in Russia.

A selection for every taste: 14 cheese options!

1. Homemade mozzarella.

Ingredients:

For 2 servings:
●1 l of milk
●125 g natural yoghurt
●1.5 tsp. salt (you can have more, as you like) it turns out not very salty
●1 tbsp. vinegar essence (25%)

Cooking:

Heat milk with salt, but do not bring to a boil. Add yogurt, stir, add vinegar, mix well and remove from heat. Line a colander with clean gauze rolled up in about 4 layers, pour curdled milk into it (do not pour out the whey!), Squeeze the cheese well from the whey.
We form a ball from the squeezed mass. And put it in the whey, cover with a towel and let cool.
We put the cheese in a cup with whey for 24 hours in the refrigerator, then drain the whey. Store in a closed plastic container.

2. Homemade Philadelphia cheese first recipe.

Ingredients:

●1 liter of milk
●1 teaspoon salt
●1 teaspoon of sugar
●500 ml of kefir
●1 egg
●a small pinch of citric acid or lemon juice

Cooking:

Boil milk, adding salt and sugar to it. Bring to a boil and turn off the gas. Now add kefir (warm), stir until the mass curdles.
In a colander, fold the mass onto cheesecloth (it is better to make layer 4) and let the whey drain - this will take about 15-20 minutes. You should not squeeze the whey yourself, because not much of it should remain in the cheese. But you can stir not much (periodically).
Beat the egg with citric acid in a separate bowl (on the tip of a knife) until foamy.
Now add the resulting hot curd mass to the egg mass and continue to beat until smooth. We send the Philadelphia cheese to the refrigerator to cool. All!!! Homemade Philadelphia cheese is ready!

3. Philadelphia homemade cream cheese second recipe.

Ingredients:

●900 ml full fat milk
●1350 ml heavy whipping cream without sugar (35% fat)
●50 ml of buttermilk (can be replaced with kefir)
●2-3 drops of Rennet Microbial Enzyme
●1 tablespoon of salt

Equipment:

Thermometer
A piece of very fine gauze
Large saucepan (galvanized or stainless steel)
Scoop
large colander
large whisk
Large capacity (bowl)
Reliable gum

Cooking:

Heat milk and cream in a large saucepan until heated to 21°C. Don't boil.
- Add buttermilk.
- Add the rennet and cover with a lid. Keep at room temperature overnight.
- Sprinkle the surface with salt the next day.
- Separate the thickened mixture with a large whisk.
- Place cheesecloth in a colander and place on top of a container that will hold the whey.
- Carefully pour the contents into a colander and let it drain for 30 minutes.
- Gather the corners of the gauze together and tie them together with an elastic band (to make a bag.
- Remove the serum that has collected in the container. Put the cheesecloth in the colander and put the colander back in the container and put it all in the refrigerator and let it drain overnight. The next day Philadelphia cream cheese is ready!
You will get 680 grams of finished cheese.

4. A wonderful recipe for homemade cheese. Fast and "no problems"

Taste like suluguni or tender cheese. Can be made with dill, cilantro, walnuts, olives, paprika.

Ingredients:

●1 liter of milk
●1 tbsp. coarse salt
●200 ml sour cream
●3 eggs

Cooking:

Put salt in milk and boil it all. Beat sour cream with eggs (just mix evenly) and pour in a thin stream into boiling milk. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes. When large flakes form, add chopped dill (I also added finely chopped half of Chinese garlic). And then the cheese must be filtered through a sieve or cheesecloth. Squeeze, put the weight on the night and put in the refrigerator.

5. Homemade processed cheese from cottage cheese.

Such products are useful. Moreover, you know from what. This cheese is similar in taste to Yantar cheese, only more tender and without preservatives.

Ingredients:

● Cottage cheese 0.5 kg.,
●Butter 100 gr.,
●Egg 1 pc.,
●Salt and soda 1/2 tsp.

Cooking:

Beat cottage cheese, butter, egg, salt and soda in a blender until homogeneous mass. Put the curd mixture on water bath and cook, stirring until the mass begins to melt.
Grease a cheese mold with butter and pour the cheese mixture into it. Clean in a cool place for 8-10 hours.

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The love for culinary experiments and healthy eating made Olesya Bulut's page very popular on Kazakhstan's Instagram. She travels with master classes around the country, teaches how to cook cheese and cook oriental delicacies. And it all started with the desire to please loved ones with traditional Turkish cheese - beyaz peynir.

Main points of the interview:

• Kind of activity: cheese making, condensed milk cooking, product sales, master classes
• Business location: Kazakhstan, Taraz
• Occupation before starting business: a housewife
• Business start date: January 2017
• Organizational and legal form of doing business: IP
• Amount of initial investment: 30 000 tenge (5500 rubles)
• Source of initial capital: own savings
• Payback period of investments: 2-3 months
• Formula for success: Don't be afraid to try! »

Olesya Bulut is convinced that anyone can engage in cheese making. By her own example, she shows how easy it is to master the technology of preparing a product. It all started with the fact that Olesya began to cook cheeses and post the photo results on her own page on Instagram. Subscribers appreciated the beauty and began to ask to taste. Then came the requests to teach. So Olesya became a cheese teacher in demand in Kazakhstan.

How did you get the idea to start making cheese?

Six years ago we moved from Almaty to Aktobe (the family traveled a lot because of the spouse's work). And they faced such a problem that nowhere in the city was a variety of their favorite cheese called “beyaz peynir” sold. In Turkish it means " white cheese". My husband is Turkish, and there are a lot of cheese products in the gastronomic culture of his people. Beyaz peynir is the main element of the Turkish breakfast, it is also used as simple snack, and as a filling for pies.

The problem was solved simply - my Turkish neighbor volunteered to teach how to cook favourite dish. I tried - it worked. This is how the passion for cheese making began, it was interesting to try to cook more and more new types of cheese, there was excitement and a desire to improve.

How did it happen that a hobby outgrew a hobby and began to generate income?

The opportunity to professionally engage in cheese making in Kazakhstan appeared only 2 years ago, before that time there was no base of starter cultures, everything had to be ordered from abroad. There were no normal molds intended for this process. And when everything you need began to appear on the market, people felt interest and wanted to learn how to cook cheese.

In January 2017, my friend asked me to conduct an individual master class for her. And I decided to "test" on it. I liked “teaching” this way, the student easily perceived the material, and I thought: it’s time to share my knowledge with others. Moreover, by that time I already knew a lot.

Where did you study?

I read specialized literature and specialized forums. Cheese making is a whole science related to microbiology, read and studied works on the relevant topic. I recommend Olga Lazurenko - a great specialist in the field of cheese making, she has very detailed and understandable video tutorials.

In any business, one must strive to improve - that is why I study with great interest even scientific dissertations on bacteriological processes that relate to my work.

What can you name among your achievements to date?

I started my workshops in January 2017. Today there is something to be proud of: 40 individually held master classes and a tour that I went to conduct in the cities of Kazakhstan: two master classes were held in Taraz, two in Almaty, one in Shymkent, one in Karaganda and the last one is scheduled for Astana. Period - May-July.

Tell us more about what is included in your collective master class?

We invite 10-15 people to such an event, no more. The cost is 20,000 tenge (about 3,600 rubles) per person. You can participate for free if you act as an organizer (choose a studio room, inventory as large pots, provide approximately 50 liters of milk). Also, the organizer's duties include advertising the master class in your city, the opportunity to take pictures of the whole process and organizing a lunch for the participants.

What happens in the masterclass? Learn how to cook cheese with enzymes and sourdough. The second component is much more important - it affects the taste, color, smell and texture of the future product, makes the cheese the kind of cheese that we want to get. Often those girls who studied cheese making on enzymes come to me to “retrain” and are perplexed: “Why do we have all the cheeses for the same taste?” (the whole secret is in the right starter).

But I digress - I'll tell you what I teach in my master classes. We start with a theory in which I share my knowledge and experience about milk, sourdough and cheese (I do not hide anything). Then we move on to practice (we cook cheese and its variations, chechil, a la mozzarella, halloumi, feta). After cooking, whey usually remains - I will tell you what can be done with it.

Also at such an event I teach how to cook yogurt and delicious homemade condensed milk. We all get to know each other and communicate with each other, have a good time.

So tasty! Aren't you afraid that you are growing competitors?

Not at all, I'm glad to teach really useful things. The best reward for any teacher is when students send photos and videos with finished results (and, moreover, excellent results). I myself want to continue to grow and improve: I am only at the beginning of the journey.

Did you need any start-up capital to conduct the very first master class? Where did you get it from?

The money for the very first such events in the city of Taraz, where I now live, was given to me by my husband. It was 30,000 tenge (about 5,400 rubles) for the purchase of equipment - pans of various sizes and shapes. I was lucky: the family moved to an apartment with a large kitchen, and I invite students there (I don’t have to spend money on renting a room).

For each master class, milk is bought - for about 10,000 tenge (about 1,800 rubles) for milk. Milk is a separate item - it is purchased from trusted farmers, whose livestock is vaccinated and there is relevant supporting documentation.

About the cost of visiting master classes: this includes the cost of moving (I do not travel alone, but with the children and my mother, who undertakes to look after them (author's note - the heroine has three children, the youngest is not even a year old)). Each city has different prices for housing (in the capital, it is, of course, more expensive). Plus, I pay for the rent of the studio for the master class and the purchase of raw milk myself - my assistant organizers simply find what is required and tell me the final amount (an additional motivation is free attendance at the event).

Why not use store bought milk?

Think about what happens to bacteria during pasteurization? Milk is sharply heated, sharply cooled. The output product is just... dead. There will be zero benefits from such cheese!

Have you already reached self-sufficiency in your hobby business? How much time did it take?

Yes, I already left - it took me 3 months.

What is the most important thing in organizing such a hobby?

My main credo: "Do no harm!" Take milk - from the healthiest animals, cook cheeses - according to the best and proven technologies. That's who I am (that's why it works out so well). Now the whole world is trending healthy eating(healthy food) - on this wave, cheese making training becomes especially relevant.

Does the crisis affect business?

On the contrary, it seems that the imposition of sanctions “contributed” to the fact that most of the cheeses we loved became unaffordable. This is not a reason to despair - just roll up your sleeves and cook them yourself. In Russia now, as far as I know, the direction is becoming very popular. In Kazakhstan, we are only moving towards this.

Do you cooperate with any Russian companies?

In terms of equipment, I would especially like to note the UMilk company from Uglich. The equipment offered by her will be useful both for small cheese factories and for individual entrepreneurs like me. I often buy from them.

Perhaps only in Instagram- I post photos and videos of the process, I conduct live broadcasts. In addition to cheese making, I also teach my subscribers how to cook Turkish cuisine. There is a direction - mutual posting: I talk about any useful pages where you can buy cheese molds or organic ingredients for healthy food.

Of course, I would not call myself a blogger, there is simply no time for professional permanent blogging (laughs). But I have grandiose plans connected with the Internet.

I plan to open an online store where anyone can buy ingredients for making healthy products - from cheese to bread. Dealing with suppliers.

The only problem you have to face is the indignation of some: "Why is it so expensive?". And from cheeses to master classes. I think, on the contrary, my services (and products) are at the best prices - let's not forget: hand-made is more expensive than the in-line product. I carefully monitor the quality.

Moreover, it is not planned to use preservatives. Salt will be the main assistant in maintaining the suitability of products.

These two points - compliance with quality and reasonable prices - I will try to combine in my online store. Of course, here I need helpers.

Olesya, being already an expert in cheese making, tell me, what is your favorite cheese?

I'll probably call Halloumi (Cypriot cheese). Of course, ideally it is brewed from goat's milk, but if you use cow's milk, then it will be a la Halloumi. The beauty of cheese is that it can be fried, including on the grill. It is very unusual and, perhaps, the lightest.

And the most difficult one?

From difficult like french cheese Camembert: A soft, fatty cheese made from cow's milk. Recently Saint Marceline has settled in my heart of a cheese gourmet - French soft cheese with white mold from cow's milk.

What advice can you give to aspiring businessmen-cheesemakers?

First of all, don't be afraid to try! And the second main rule is to carefully study the theoretical base, if possible, apply modern developments in the chosen case. The desire to improve will come, and everything will work out!

You can become a farmer for one day - learn how to make cheese or milk a goat, understand the intricacies of making a cheesecake and taste unusual varieties of cheese and vegetables from the garden - in the village of Moshnitsy, Solnechnogorsk district, Moscow region. Here, for several years, the "lessons" of farm life have been taught by the American Jay Close. Correspondents of the portal "In the suburbs" went to his farm and found out what Jay teaches, how to make cheese at home, and how much the training costs.

What is taught on the farm

Jay Close's farm near Moscow, where you can not only buy, but also learn how to make your own cheese according to Dutch recipes, for many students is a start to their own production. Here you can meet not only Moscow summer residents and rural residents of the Moscow region, but also students from St. Petersburg, Lipetsk, as well as expats who come to the American’s farm as volunteers.

Learning takes place in practice. Jay not only reveals the secrets of Dutch recipes, but shows the production technology.

As the farmer notes, the process of making cheese is not easy - milk must be processed into fresh, so sometimes the cheese has to be boiled at night or wake up at four in the morning to get it out of the brine, turn it over, etc. Therefore, you have to sleep only two to three hours a day, notes Jay.

Such difficulties are associated with a large production volume - Jay makes about 20 kilograms of cheese per day. At home, everything is much easier. Raw materials can be used from your own cows, or you can find a farmer who will supply small amounts of milk.

Using this technology, it is possible to cook cheese from store-bought milk, but the taste and quality of the cheese will not be the same, the farmer notes. According to Jay, someone understands the essence of production in 10 minutes, but there are also such students for whom six weeks will not be enough.

As a rule, those who have a lot of experience in the kitchen learn quickly, but if a person cannot read a thermometer, and there are some, then it is difficult, Jay notes.

According to him, one of the students, who came from St. Petersburg, already after a week of training began to give master classes herself.

How cheese is made

In order to make cheese, you need to take fresh milk, rennet, vinegar, citric acid and additives depending on the type of cheese, says the farmer. A clean apparatus (pasteurizer) and milk freshness are important, adds Jay.

Jay himself studied cheese making in Holland and France. At the core of its production various recipes, which the farmer modifies to get something original.

The process of making cheese is quite monotonous. Milk is poured into a pasteurizer with a capacity of about 300 liters and heated to a certain temperature, depending on the type of cheese. At home, this device can be replaced with a water bath.

But the technology is only seemingly simple - the more you heat, the harder the cheese, the farmer explains.

After adding rennet, citric acid and other ingredients (depending on the type of cheese), the resulting mass must be poured into molds, put under a press, add necessary ingredients(mold, herbs, nuts, etc.), and then kept in storage at a certain temperature and humidity. The temperature should be no higher than 16 degrees, and humidity - 70%, says Jay's student Natalia.

Some types of cheese, such as mozzarella, can be eaten two days after preparation, and parmesan can be tasted only two years after preparation, the farmer specifies.

One of the processes of cheese maturation in storage is aging in brine for several days, depending on the volume of a piece of cheese. Only then it is wrapped in latex so that the mold does not penetrate, and left to "ripen" in storage.

Production waste is not thrown away. Jay will teach you how to use a serum that doesn't go on hard cheeses, make ricotta or cook a cheesecake.

How to get there

The farm is located in the Solnechnogorsk district, in the village of Moshnitsy. You can get there by train from Leningradsky railway station to Golovkovo station. The farmer can meet you by car near the station. You can contact him through the "Lavka.Lavka" project, or arrange an arrival on the page