Category Archives: Dairy Uses

How to Make Better Butter

Anyone can learn to make better butter!

There are two options in this article: making your own butter from scratch, or improving on the butter you buy. You may ask, why would I want to improve on the butter I buy? Great question!

REAL butter is a wonderful product! Years ago, they used to tell us it was bad for our health, but research has shown otherwise. Today, we know that REAL butter is actually a healthier fat than those manufactured products with chemicals and dyes and hydrogenated molecules that can potentially lead to cancer and heart disease.

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Now that we know that REAL Butter is good for us, we can teach you how to make it better. This is a project that you can even enjoy with your kids. Basically, it involves creating a variety of flavored butters by adding ingredients like fruits, nuts, spices and herbs. The options are endless and entirely up to your imagination.

So here we go… Continue reading →

Cheese Making Day, 2014

Cheese making day was a blast! I’m Robin, the social media manager at Homesteader’s Supply. My daughter Taylor and our friend Tammy joined me for a day of cheese making. Tammy brought four gallons of fresh, raw, whole milk and we put it to good use.

The first batch of cheese was Cottage. The milk got too warm too fast but the cheese turned out well anyway. It was drier than expected. Was that because of the temperature problem? We don’t know. Tammy added heavy cream at the end to improve the texture and it was perfect. The texture is much more coarse and less wet than store bought cottage cheeses we’ve had. We liked it much better.

Creamy curds

These creamy curds formed on top of the whey

Draining the whey while making cottage cheese

Draining the whey

Cottage Cheese

Cottage Cheese

Our second batch was Farmer’s Cheese. This is a lot like cottage cheese without culture.  Use a gallon of milk warmed to room temperature. Stir in 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Let the curds and whey separate. Pour off the whey, saving it for another use. Add salt to taste. Salt is a preservative but we agreed that we’d eat our cheeses long before they had a chance to spoil. Wrap the curds in fine cheese cloth and hang to drip for an hour or so.

Farmer's Cheese with Garlic & Chive seasoning

Farmer’s Cheese with Garlic & Chive seasoning

There was a lot of whey waiting to be used so we made traditional Ricotta. By heating the whey and adding vinegar we separated more solids from whey. The texture wasn’t as smooth as store bought Ricotta, and the flavor was great. We used the whey from the Cottage cheese for the first batch of traditional Ricotta. The second batch was with whey from Farmer’s Cheese, and was disappointing. There was so little left in that whey that it made about two tablespoons worth of ricotta.

Taylor seasoned the traditional Ricotta with basil pesto. It is fantastic as a side to scrambled eggs!

Traditional Ricotta with Basil Pesto

Traditional Ricotta with Basil Pesto

Bay, basil, sage, roasted bell pepper and olive oil makes a delicious marinade.

Bay, basil, sage, roasted bell pepper and olive oil makes a delicious marinade.

We wanted more Ricotta so our last batch was Whole Milk Ricotta, a lot like Farmer’s Cheese. “Rustic” describes it well. It wasn’t as smooth and creamy as we expected. Taylor roasted a red bell pepper to use in a marinade. She mixed extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil, chives and sage, bay leaves, salt and a little fresh ground black pepper and let it set while the cheese dripped. Spectacular! We will definitely make this often, especially when we’re entertaining.

We’ll be making cheese again soon. Up next – Farmhouse Cheddar!

We’ve been using the whey in sour dough bread, rice and quinoa. It’s a nice bonus from cheese making.

 

Best Basic Cheese Kit – Let’s Make Cheese!

I’ve dabbled in a little cheese making in the past – just enough to know I want to make more, and I want it to be delicious. I love really good cheese. Jerri Bedell, our beloved owner of Homesteader’s Supply, sent the Best Basic Cheese Kit to me to try out. You see…I have an idea. I think we should make cheese together. All of us! Well not all of us. Of course not everyone wants to make cheese. But how about some of us?

Here’s my plan. On Tuesday, May 13, I’m going to make cheese using the Best Basic Cheese Kit. There’s time for you to order the kit, get familiar with it, and be ready to make cheese that day. We’ll compare notes as we go and talk about the cheese we made. If you write about this in your blog we’ll share your link on Facebook, Twitter and in a blog about our cheese making day.

The cheese kit is only $44.88, and shipping is free in the lower 48 states.

Best Basic Cheese Kit

So about that cheese kit! This is the same supplies and equipment used by professionals to make cheese.  It contains some of the same quality products in our larger kits, just gives you the basic products you need to try your hand at making all kinds of cheese.  And what better than to buy your kit from a store that takes pride in helping our customers!

Best Basic Cheese Kit

Best Basic Cheese Kit

Our kit does not contain any citric acid or vinegar, and there is no need for a microwave.  Let’s face it, real cheese takes time to make…some faster than others. But if you want the best tasting, all natural cheese, then this is the kit for you.

With this kit you will be able to make many types of cheese, as it includes both basic mesophilic and thermophilic cultures, enough to make up to 24 lbs of cheese from each type.   And, these cultures are the only  type where you can make a mother culture for continued use, so they can last you a very long time.  We include that recipe. The Reblochon Mold is the best one to use as a form for soft cheeses and mozzarella, and as a press for harder cheeses like Colby and Cheddar, making one pound of cheese from one gallon of milk!  The rennet is vegetarian, and usually only needs 1/4 or 1/2 half tablet per gallon of milk. The calcium chloride is for making cheese with pasteurized milk, necessary to help for the curds.  And the bonus is you can even make butter and sour cream with this kit!

Everything that is included in this kit and more information about the kit is available on our website. Please let us know that you’ve ordered one of our cheese kits (doesn’t have to be this one in particular!) and will be making cheese with us. We’d like to blog about the project, include your photos and comments, and if you have one, link to your blog. You may comment here, leave a message on Facebook or send Robin an email.

The Ultimate Cheese Press

Now that the birthing and milking seasons are in full swing there’s an abundance of milk. It’s time to make cheese!

Our cheese press is made for home cheese makers, designed and manufactured by Homesteaders Supply right here in the USA! Homesteader’s Supply carries cheese making supplies. We suggest starting with our kits and replenishing as you go.

The Ultimate Cheese Press

The Ultimate Cheese Press

Made from a beautiful grained hard maple, with a lighter basic color with various shades of darker marbling. Each press is as unique as the wood it’s made from.  It comes with an innovative design that makes pressing cheese easy, and they all come out the same.  No need for pressure gauges, no lopsided cheeses… every one comes out great!  And this press will probably last you a lifetime with proper care!

Raw presses will be readily available soon. They are not oiled! You can choose the oil you’d like to use. Organic coconut oil works very well. We’ll make an announcement when the raw presses are in here in the blog, on Facebook and Twitter.

Some of the features of the Ultimate Cheese Press:

  • Perfect to make all types of hard and semi-hard cheeses.
  • Ergonomically designed handles and followers to reduce the stress to your hands and fingers.
  • Comes with 2 hoops, now larger and taller than other presses, to prepare a 1 lb to 5 lb cheese!
  • Designed to accept the hoops in perfect position every time!
  • Hoops are made of food grade heavy duty water pipe. Professional cheese makers prefer this type of hoop over the metal hoop type, as it won’t cause too fast of cooling the cheese during pressing time as stainless steel does.
  • Made with all food grade materials, will last a very long time, sturdy hardwood with heavy-duty stainless steel fasteners.
  • Easy to use; small enough to just place it into baking pan to allow for draining… therefore no mess, no fuss…
  • Finished wood with Canola Oil with no odor, no petro-chemicals, natural for food contact, makes the wood water proof, and all you need to do is reapply a very small amount of your own oil of choice when it appears dry.
  • We use real wood, not plastic. Latest research confirms that wood inhibits bacterial growth, which is not the case for plastics such as melamine. Now you know why everyone is going back to butcher block cutting boards!
  • No need for gauge… as you just turn to tighten as whey is released. So Simple! Easy to Clean! Just can’t say enough about this press… it’s the best!
  • With proper care, this cheese press should last a lifetime! (soap and water, no dishwasher!)
  • Dimensions:  Base approx 7″ X 7″,  Unit Height 11″, Large Mold 7″ tall, 6 1/2″ Diameter; Small Mold 7″ tall, 4 1/2″ diameter.

Wardeh Harmon, owner of GNOWFGLINS (visit the website – you’ll love it!) demonstrates the use of The Ultimate Cheese Press. You’ll see how simple this cheese press is to use in the video.

We’re proud to have designed this press and to have it manufactured right here in the United States. It’s a beautiful, functional, easy to use press that’s great for hard and semi-hard cheeses.

Udder Care Kit! Works for cows, goats, sheep!

This kit provides 3 necessary items for caring for your animals udders/teats. And you get enough to last quite a while! I swear by each and every one of these products… Cookie cow tested and Cookie cow approved. We went the entire year without any mastitis issues!!!!!

1 gallon Foam-N-Dip™ is a ready-to-use iodine teat dip that contains foaming agents, glycerine and lanolin. Foam provides superior coverage with less dip by extending the time of contact with the teat and by reducing waste and drippage. Foam-N-Dip™ may be applied with the Ambic Foaming Dip Cup. Contains .6% Iodine.

4 MultiFoamer Dip Cups, 4 different colors so you know which one belongs to which animal. Set comes with one green, one blue, one orange, and one yellow. Foam dipping can cut chemical usage up to 50%. New MultiFoamer makes a thick clinging foam which stays in contact with the teat for a longer time. MultiFoamer features more consistent foam generation, easier cleaning, built-in valve protection, and suitability for various types of foaming chemicals including Coburn Foam-N-Dip Foaming Iodine Dip. All Ambic Dip Cups are made of tough, durable, chemical resistant materials and have a soft squeezable bottle with wide mouth for easy filling.

1 Complete CMT Mastitis Test Kit The California Mastitis Test is an easy, accurate and inexpensive cow side mastitis test. Simply collect milk from each quarter into the four cups of the paddle and squirt in the reagent for an immediate positive or negative reaction. Complete kit consists of 4-cup test paddle, squeeze bottle reagent dispenser, directions, and 16 oz. bottle of CMT concentrate, enough for 1 gallon of reagent.

I add to this routine a stainless steel bucket filled with warm water and two terry cloth towels, one with a bit of soap… she gets washed and rinsed before each milking!!! What do you do to keep your cow or goat free from mastitis and maintain healthy milk????

Making the Ultimate Cheese Press

We found an amazing wood worker who lives here in Chino Valley and owns a shop in Prescott, Arizona. They make beautiful furniture and cabinets. Jerri was on a mission to find someone to build cheese presses for Homesteader’s Supply. This gave us control over the wood type, control over the quality and consistency we expected from a cheese press.
We moved away from pine and into a hardwood in the Mahogany family. It’s naturally resistant to bacteria and washes up nicely with simple soap and water. We had it finished with 100% Tung Oil which is FDA approved for food contact.

So, what’s involved in making the cheese presses? This big plate of wood took six hours to cut. The grooves were added to the bar that holds the hoops in place to keep the hoops from slipping off to the side when tightening down the follower. The knobs were designed to be easy to grip and clean. The followers were given grooves for gripping when needing to pull it out of the follower. All of these designs were developed over time when testing prototypes. It was actually a very fun process!!! After six hours, the parts were ready to be sanded free from the small bit of wood that secured them to the slab. Once they are all free, they are sanded and oiled with three coats of Tung Oil. with plenty of drying time in between. Finally the stainless steel hardware is added and the hoops are cut and sanded until ultimately….. You have the Homesteader’s Supply Ultimate Cheese Press!!!!

Homesteader’s Supply Ultimate Cheese Press