A couple of years ago I bought a cheese making kit to make fresh mozzarella and made several successful batches, even posting pictures here. Then, they changed the temperature of pasteurization. As it turns out, the difference of five or six degrees in that process is the difference between good cheese and a big vat of mess.
I was recently tipped of by a Facebook friend, the milk sold at My Organic Market (MOM) is pasteurized at the lowest possible temperature. We have a new MOM in town so I ventured in there for the first time on Sunday to try their milk. I got a gallon of whole homogenized milk for my test. (You can buy un-homogenized milk, too.)
I gasped at the price of a gallon of organic milk, almost $2 more than grocery store milk per jug. Even though the milk is more expensive, it made more cheese. My directions say one gallon of milk yields ¾ lb of cheese and I found that to be true when commercial milk worked. My Sunday batch with the organic milk yielded almost a 1 ¼ lbs! I guess organic cows have richer milk?
The cheese itself turned out good, but maybe a little stiff, almost 'squeaky.' I don't think I need as much rennet as I used. I'll have to try another batch soon. Anyone have any tomatoes in their gardens yet?
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