I’m so happy I found this forum! I am very new at cheese making… so far having only made soft cheese - quark, several makes of chevre, yogurt, and now a cream cheese. I own a goat share and receive a gallon of raw milk every Friday, so I’m trying to make something new every weekend. Next weekend I’ll be attempting crottin - the first cheese that will require cutting the curds and using mold (the shaping kind). I’m very excited.

Thus far I’ve only made soft, unaged cheese, so I gently pasturize my milk before before starting the make. The book I’ve been working off of (along with online sources) has me heating the raw milk to 146F and holding it at that temperature for 30 minutes, then chilling the milk back to 40F in an ice bath, and refigerating until ready to use. I know this is a total newbie question, but I can’t seem to find the answer anywhere - can I just chill the pasturized milk to 86F and then add my culture, or is it imperative that it chills completely before heating it up again to the right temperature? To me, it makes no sense to chill it all the way down if I’m just going to heat it right up again, but since I’m still in the learning phase I want to cut back on possible mistakes as much as possible.

Reading all your posts about the harder, aged cheese has me so excited to advance to the next steps of cheese making. Thanks for your help in advance!

Anne Marie

No, it’s not necessary to cool it completely if you’re going to use it right away.  It is the heat that kills the bacteria, the cooling is for storage purposes. 

I think you’ll enjoy the hard cheeses much more.  But you’re going to need to increase your milk supply.  I’m thinking you’ll need at least two gallons, and preferably four gallons to make a decent hard cheese.  Saving milk for two to four weeks will not work, as the milk will not be fresh enough.

BTW, if you are confident in your milk source, you might just use raw milk.

Thank you for the feedback! Right now I’m trying to follow recipes as closely as possible, which is why I’m pasteurizing my raw milk when the recipe calls for pasteurized milk, but from most of what I’ve read, raw milk creates a superior cheese. Maybe if I volunteer to help milk the goats the farm will let me take more milk home. I’d love to get several gallons to make a good hard cheese. I’m all about taking baby steps though, perhaps in a few weeks I’ll try something hard. Thanks again.

Welcome !!
And as Rich said