Cheese Making

The path

1. 1
   Level 1Free

   Fresh Cheeses

   Mozzarella, burrata, feta and a cheese board

   15 Steps, about 40 minutes each. Curious cooks who've never made cheese. If you can heat milk and read a thermometer, you can do this.

   1. Chapter 1: Acid cheeses. Ricotta, paneer and labneh made, cooked with, and cultured butter churned.
   2. Chapter 2: Stretch. Mozzarella stretched, troubleshot and made again, burrata filled, and pizza night with your own cheese.
   3. Chapter 3: Brined and cultured. Cream cheese and feta made with cultures, and a cheese board night with everything you've made.

   1. 1
      Fresh ricotta

      A batch of fresh, creamy ricotta made from milk, cream and lemon juice.

      Smitten Kitchen
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   2. 2
      Pressed paneer

      A firm block of paneer, pressed and ready to cut into cubes.

      Cook With Manali
   3. 3
      Strain labneh

      Salted yogurt hung in cheesecloth to strain overnight into thick labneh.

      The Mediterranean Dish

   See all 15 Steps

   1. 4
      Cook with your cheeses

      A meal made with your paneer, and your labneh finished as a dip or rolled into balls.

      Swasthi's Recipes
   2. 5
      Cultured butter

      Cream cultured overnight, churned into butter, washed and salted, with buttermilk on the side.

      New England Cheesemaking Supply
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   3. 6
      Milk and gear check

      Mozzarella milk bought, labels checked, and gear laid out for your first stretched cheese.

      Cultures for Health
   4. 7
      30-minute mozzarella

      Your first ball of mozzarella set with rennet, stretched until glossy, and shaped.

      The Happy HomesteadNew England Cheesemaking Supply
   5. 8
      Troubleshoot and remake

      A second batch of mozzarella, fixing whatever went wrong the first time.

      New England Cheesemaking Supply
   6. 9
      Burrata

      Mozzarella shaped into a pouch and filled with stracciatella: shredded curd and cream.

      New England Cheesemaking Supply
   7. 10
      Pizza night

      Pizza made with your own mozzarella, shared with someone.

      Cultures for Health
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   8. 11
      Start cream cheese

      Milk and cream cultured and set with a drop of rennet, left overnight.

      New England Cheesemaking Supply
   9. 12
      Strain and flavor

      Your cream cheese drained to a spreadable texture and flavored two ways.

      Cultures for Health
   10. 13
       Make feta

       A batch of feta curds set, cut, drained into a mold and salted.

       New England Cheesemaking Supply
   11. 14
       Brine the feta

       Your feta cut into blocks, salted and sunk into brine in the fridge.

       New England Cheesemaking Supply Help Center
   12. 15
       Cheese board night

       A cheese board with your feta, cream cheese and at least one other cheese, shared with friends.

       The Mediterranean Dish
       Show your group
2. Level 2Unlocks after Level 1

   Pressed Cheeses

   Your first pressed and aged cheddar

3. Level 3Unlocks after Level 2

   The Cheese Cave

   Bloomy rinds and a home aging setup

Where it ends: a board of cheeses you made

Free lessons in Fresh Cheeses come from Smitten Kitchen, Cook With Manali, The Mediterranean Dish, Swasthi's Recipes, New England Cheesemaking Supply, Cultures for Health, The Happy Homestead, New England Cheesemaking Supply Help Center. We link to their work and never copy it.