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The class, Raw Cheese I, covered the basics of making butter, yogurt, ricotta, and clabbered milk cheese. Working with gallons of liquid gold procured from the northland, Klehm walked us through the makeup of milk in its various varieties (cow, sheep, goat, buffalo . . .) and the processes by which the USDA strips it of most of its best elements through homogenation and pasteurization. Fresh raw milk (which Nicholas Day wrote about for the Reader in August 2005–the link is a PDF), argue its legion fans, not only is easier to digest, because it hasn’t had all the lactase (the enzyme that makes it possible to for us to digest lactose) bled out of it, but also tastes great–rich and grassy and alive. Because the fat globules haven’t been pulverized by homogenation, it’s also a lot easier to work with. To demonstrate, Klehm tried to shake butter out of a pint of ultrapasteurized organic cream and got nothin’ but a lot of froth and bubbles. Recipes like this one for using store-bought ingredients suggest heavy whipping cream that’s sat in the fridge for a few days; to find raw-milk sources in your area, try realmilk.org‘s “where” page.
Ricotta and yogurt require the application of a little more heat, but are still pretty easy. Heat some milk to 160 degrees for 90 seconds, then let cool to room temp. Add a starter (plain, additive-free yogurt from the store works fine–yogurt begets more yogurt) and then just keep it warm for 24 hours–wrap the pot in a towel and stick it on the radiator or in an unlit oven or–my fave–pour it into a Thermos and snuggle into bed with it (though this method may be more appropriate in January).
