(no subject)

[which_chick]

This evening I'm going to see if I can make queso blanco, a soft white cheese. I am aware that some people have lives where they go out to bars and flirt and snog and so forth on their Friday nights, but apparently I have the sort of life where I spend my Friday night fucking around in the kitchen with moo juice. On the off chance that mine is to be the life of a research witch (an unripe Sunset Wonder picked three minutes before noon...), this is milk from a Jersey cow, milked out by a redheaded boy of rather dubious purity. Evening milking, mind you.



At least, that's what Ash said. "She's a lesbian cow." I quite sensibly pointed out that dairy cows only give milk because they are providing it for their offspring, the aforesaid offspring being the result (and the purpose, some would say) of heteronormative procreational sex which this cow had clearly participated in because she was producing milk. Ash, to his credit, came back with "Dairy cows are artificially inseminated -- it's not like she had any choice in the matter, you know? I bet if a real bull showed up, she'd be like 'Put that thing away, I don't want any of that.' Yep, that's what she'd say." This should clearly demonstrate why I like Ash. He's a delight. Ash also explained Completing the Square (the method for solving quadratic equations) to me in passing. I still don't really get it, and since my eighth-grade algebra teacher let on that one could solve all quadratics using the quadratic formula, I have been less than pressed to master Completing the Square. Iffn it's an obvious factor, I factor. Otherwise, it's the quadratic formula for them all.

Anyway. On with the cheesemaking.

1 gallon raw, whole cow's milk. (You can't buy this at the store. Your best bet, short of buying a cow, is to make friends with someone who owns a cow.)
large pan for cooking milk
colander
cheesecloth (I'm using very light weight linen because that's what I have on hand)
string for suspending cheesecloth
thermometer for measuring temperature
spoon or whisk for stirring
1/4 cup of vinegar

Heat milk to 180 degrees, stirring constantly.
When it gets there, add vinegar while stirring milk.
Milk should curdle.
Cook ten to fifteen minutes more.
Decant into cheesecloth-lined colander.
Let cool half an hour.
Tie corners of cheesecloth, hang bundle until it stops dripping.
Add salt (optional), put in fridge.
You're done!

That's the general idea, anyway. I will let you know how it works.

Comments

[sara-merry99.livejournal.com]

So how did the cheese making go? My P-San was trying to make mozzarella for a while, but I don't think he had the kind of success he wanted. I think you'd make a fabulous research witch!

[zhasper.livejournal.com]

Research witch - someone's been reading a little terry pratchett?

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

I'm a fairly enthusiastic Pratchett fan without crossing that line into frightening stalker behavior. I like his stuff. I have most of it on my shelves. I have a book signed by the man himself (http://www.livejournal.com/~which_chick/2004/09/11/), no mean feat considering he lives across the Atlantic from me. (I managed to snag that on his signing tour after Worldcon last year, where he was GoH.) I also pimp Pratchett to others when that seems like an appropriate thing to do.

[ornery-chick.livejournal.com]

It's a fine public service to pimp Pratchett to the uninitiated. I just gave two books to my sis this past week. Witches Abroad and Hogfather. Really, anything with the Witches or the Ahnk Morpork City Guard is liable to amuse me immensely.