In a North Raleigh neighborhood is a great opportunity to make cheese. Recently I was able to take an express cheese making class with Richard Nathan. This was my first time making cheese and to be honest I was a bit intimidated. Cheese seems like a pretty complicated process, but Richard’s cheese making process was really easy. We started by making Fromage Facile which has just 3 main ingredients: whole milk, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Once you make the base cheese you can add your favorite ingredients and make the cheese your own. Check out the recipe from Claudia Lucero below.
Richard fell in love with cheese while on his honeymoon with his wife in France and ever since then he has been making cheese, He shares his love of cheese by teaching others.
There are three types of cheese making classes:
- Cheese making express class where you make Fromage Facile.
- Basic Cheese making Fundamentals where you learn the fundamental concepts behind cheese making.
- Intermediate Cheese Workshop In this class you will learn to make a
more complex style and type of cheese from start to finish.
I would highly recommend taking a class with Richard. He is has a great teaching style that allows you to learn a new skill very easily.
To register for a class, check out their website.
Fromage Facile
Print recipe
Ingredients
- 128fl oz Whole Cow’s Milk [Not ultra-pasteurized] (1 Gallon)
- 32fl oz Cultured Buttermilk (1 Quart)
- 8 tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Salt [or to taste]
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Line the colander with cheesecloth, wet or dry to drain the cheese curds later. | |
| Step 2 | |
| Pour the gallon of cow’s milk into the pot. Then heat the milk at medium to 175° F. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Stay close and monitor the heat, stirring every few minutes to prevent a skin from forming on the surface of the milk. Check too, for sticking milk at the bottom of the pot. (Reduce the heat if you feel any milk sticking.) | |
| Step 4 | |
| When the milk temperature hits 175°F, add the buttermilk and lemon juice and stir thoroughly. You should start seeing some coagulation! | |
| Step 5 | |
| Once you’ve completely stirred in the buttermilk and lemon juice, take the pot off the heat. Leave it undisturbed for 5 minutes. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Return to the cooling pot. You will clearly see a separation between curds and whey now. Stir the curds gently for a few seconds just to check out the change in texture. Pour the curds and whey into the cloth-lined colander. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Allow the curds to drain until they resemble thick oatmeal—it should take just 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the salt. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Your Fromage Facile is ready to eat! Pack the cheese into a dish to form it into a wheel. | |
