¼teaspoonrennet diluted in ¼ cup water(I used dry vegetable rennet, as opposed to the preferred calf rennet, and it worked!)
2 to 3teaspoonssalt
Instructions
Clean all surfaces and equipment before beginning. Set up a draining station by placing the cheese forms on a draining rack (I use a sushi mat) in the sink.
Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed stockpot and warm over medium heat to 86°F, stirring gently. Remove from the heat.
Add the prehydrated cultures and mold powders to the milk, then stir in, using an up-and-down motion.
Add the calcium chloride solution and stir. Add the rennet solution. Stir in for 20 seconds, then stop the motion of the milk but stirring the opposite direction for a moment. As you add the rennet, start a timer and watch for the flocculation point**. When reached, stop the timer. Multiply the number of minutes elapsed by 5. This is how long you need to wait before you cut the curd. Goal time is 60 to 90 minutes.
At the timed moment, cut the curd into 1 ½-inch pieces. Then, without stirring, let the curd sit for 45 minutes. During this time, the curd will sink below the surface of the whey (honestly, my curds didn’t sink, but I let them rest like this anyway).
Remove the whey from the top of the pot until you see the surface of the curd again, then begin to stir (working from the top of the pot and moving downward) for 3 minutes. This action is more one of lifting and moving the curds than actually stirring. Allow the curds to rest in the pot for another 5 minutes.
Finally, scoop the curds out of the pot and fill each form. Fill the forms all the way to the top before moving on to the next form. Depending on the height of your form, you may need to fill it, then wait 10 to 20 minutes for the curd level to drop sufficiently, then fill again. If you are absolutely certain you can’t fill your curds into the prepared forms, add another.
Let the curds drain for 8 to 12 hours, flipping regularly, covered at room temperature.
Sprinkle ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt on the top of each cheese while it is still in the form. Let the salt soak in for half an hour, then flip the cheese and repeat the salting on the opposite side. Let the salt soak in for 10 hours more at room temperature. During this time, make sure the whey can flow freely away, so that the cheese does not sit in a puddle.
Remove the cheeses from their forms and set on a clean aging mat (again, I use a sushi mat for this), cover with cheesecloth, and allow the cheese to air-dry at room temperature for 1 day more. Finally, blot the cheese extra-dry with a clean paper towel. Place the cheese on the aging mat in the aging bin and place in a 45°F location (I loosely cover with a lid although the original recipe didn’t specify). If unavailable, store in the refrigerator.
For the first 2 weeks, with clean hands or wearing gloves, flip the cheeses every day, and remove any accumulated moisture with a clean cloth or paper towel. You should start to see Geotrichum candidium mold growing on the rind after about 1 week. It looks like shimmery velvet. Next, you should see a heavier white mold grown in–the Penicillium candidum.
When the cheeses are fully covered in mold, wrap in cheese paper to prevent the mold coat from growing too thick, or skip the paper and simply continue to flip and pat down the cheese rind on a weekly basis.
After 4 weeks, check the cheese for ripeness by looking for a softness at the center. The center should feel more like a soft peach than a firm eraser. When ripe, enjoy. Store, uncut, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks more, and no longer.
Notes
*To prehydrate cultures: two hours before beginning your batch of cheese, take 1 cup of warm (about 86°F) milk (just grab it from the milk you’ll be using) and sprinkle the freeze-dried cultures over the surface. Wait 2 minutes for them to hydrate, then stir in. Hold this cup in a warm location for up to 2 hours, and ideally no less than 1 hour before adding it to the vat when called for in the recipe.**To find the flocculation point: At the same time you start the timer, set a bottle cap (upside down) or a Styrofoam bowl (right-side up) on the surface of the milk. It should float. Use your finger to tap the cap or bowl. Keep tapping until it stops moving easily and seems to bounce backward toward your finger; at that moment, stop the timer. This is the flocculation point. Take the number of minutes that passed and multiply by the numerical factor given in the recipe.