Basket Cheese Making Recipe

Handed down by word of mouth to Rosanne Coreano of NY, this recipe produces a rather mild cheese. It is eaten either by itself or enjoyed on Bruchetta or toast, drizzled with olive oil, a pinch of garlic salt and a slice of ripe tomatoe, Yum.

Ingredients

• 1 gallon milk
• 1 tsp rennet
• 2 pinches salt

Recipe

1. Heat the milk to luke warm (86-90F)and add the rennet. Turn off heat and let set for about 40 minutes.
2. After the milk has set turn the heat back on to low and heat again for about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon pull the curds to the side of the pot. Keep moving the curds for about 10 minutes with the slotted spoon. (This breaks up the curd and keeps them drain in.)
3. Remove the curds from the pot with your slotted spoon and place into a basket. (our M222 or M232 is ideal for this) Return the basket with the curds in it back into the whey and cover the curds with the whey pressing the curds into the basket with your hands.
4. Remove the basket from the whey and set another mold inside of the first one and put a 6-8 oz glass of water on top of it, this is used as a weight for pressing the cheese. Press this way for 2 hours.
5. Take out the cheese and turn over, salt to taste, return to the basket and continue pressing for 1 and a half hours longer. Remove the cheese from the press and refrigerate.

This cheese will have a 3 day shelf life. So get that Bruchetta and Enjoy.