Making Cheese in Thailand

I grew up in the town of Morristown, NJ, the home of the original ‘Seeing Eye’ guide dogs for the blind, founded in 1929.

I watched persons who were blind and had come to my small town from all over the world to train with their new dogs.

I realized at a very young age that these persons were as normal as anybody else; they just couldn’t see very well.

A series of chance occurrences in Thailand, drawing on this background, led me to work for the (blind) founder of the largest foundation for the blind in SE Asia … chances that only occur when you get up and go places.

This is the area where I live – in one of the ‘deluxe’ rooms. I have a large bathroom where I have a stack of Rubbermaid-type storage boxes for a kitchen counter and a similar stack on my balcony where I have the electric wok and a 1300w round-type convection oven.

Apartments in Thailand often have no kitchen as there is so much street-food available that many never bother to cook – I bought my own refrigerator but a couple of batches of cheese draining cuts into my available food space.

Cheese / queso is used in the tropical countries of Mexico, Central and South America, so climate is not the total answer. Fresh made cheeses (paneer) are a big part of the SE Asia / India diet – but once you get to SE Asia and Japan, China, etc. it seems to have completely dropped from the diet, even though in Islamic countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia beef is part of the diet.

Pizza / mozzarella is now consumed in Thailand along with ‘ham & cheese’ sandwiches at my local 7-11 (one slice of ham and a slice of pale yellow process cheese). There is a big import tax on dairy products, but if you buy at the Makro in at least 1 kg (2.2 lb) quantities (Makro is the Dutch-based equivalent of Costco / Sam’s) the price of Italian and Dutch/Danish cheeses is not so bad.

I have long experiences visiting Cabot Creamery in VT and lived near and visited Rouge et Noir in Marin County, CA. That is from where my interest in cheese making stems.

Also, because of import duties, imported cheese in Thailand is very expensive and the local cheese, other than the industrial type, is very limited.

What are you making?

My cheese making is very limited, as I have no kitchen. I make a batch of cheese which I liken to Neufchatel from 6 liters (1 1/2 gal) of raw milk (which I pasteurize in two 3L (3Qt) batches ) then use mesophilic and flora danica cultures. After a few days draining, I press and let dry in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Then, I either eat it or give some to Thai friends.

Milk used for drinks in Thailand

I have an excellent daily source for raw milk. The place I buy it (in a 6L (1 1/2 gallons) plastic pouch) sells it for drinks made from coffee, tea, or fruit powders and the style is that the milk is boiled. It goes for 135 baht per 6L pouch which is about $4.50.

I do not have a hot plate — I use my electric wok as a double boiler to pasteurize the milk in my two 4 liter (1 gallon) stainless steel pots in 3L (3 quarts) batches… I cool down the pots in an ice bath before adding the cultures and later the rennet.

I like to occasionally bake some bread using some of the no-knead methods.