I made cheese!

I had a cheese making kit from Gavin at the little green cheese on my Christmas wish list, but the local pharmacy had another brand on special so that is what I got.  The day after I got the kit I was busy in the kitchen sterilizing everything and starting my first batch of cheese.  How exciting!  This is something I have wanted to try for ages.

Firstly, this takes time!  You can do something in between, but you are going to keep going back and checking on it.  I used the local supermarket milk - four litres of it, and it just fitted nicely into my biggest pot.

Once the feta was done, I made whey ricotta.  You still end up with a lot of whey and I drank a bit, but it doesnt taste that wonderful. I made the feta brine with whey - it supposedly adds extra flavour.  I used some for soaking beans, that releases enzymes and helps with the bloating that comes from eating beans.  The rest went into the compost.  The ricotta was yummy with some fruit.

I made two nice big blocks of feta and marinaded them in brine for two days, and then removed them, thinking that I didnt want it to get too salty. In the meantime I had been adding it to salads, wraps and even with roasted veggies.  It is so yummy and tasty!  I am not really sure how long you can leave it in the fridge in brine, next timeI will leave it longer, probably up to a week.. I  froze some of the drained feta and that will be crumbled over salads etc.   I also marinaded some in olive oil, with fresh rosemary and lemon zest added.  It is very yummy.   

Feta is one of my favourite cheeses, and I think I will definitely be keeping fresh home-made feta in the fridge and freezer from now on.