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Home Dairying in Ireland

A word of introduction:

Moving to Ireland twenty years ago produced much joy in our lives, but some slight homesickness for things left behind...like specific dairy products. Ireland's dairy produce is of tremendously high quality, but there are basic differences in the way some kinds of dairy products are treated.

We discovered that Irish sour cream is much less thick than US sour cream, and not nearly as sour (strange again, in a country where travellers passing through in the 1700's remarked that the Irish had "seventy several" kinds of sour milk products, and the sourer they were, the better the locals liked them). Irish cottage cheese is much wetter and also much less tangy than even the US "large curd" type.

So, on and off over the last ten years, we have been involved in trying to reproduce US-style sour cream and cottage cheese (as well as a couple of cheeses the Irish have failed to clone, or have cloned unsuccessfully and given up on, like Monterey Jack). The following recipes are what we've found to give good versions of the US-based originals. Sometimes -- in the case of the sour cream, especially -- the results can be better than the originals, which use stabilizers and artificial thickeners to make up for or conceal the fact that (for example) commercial sour cream almost never has cream in it any more.

This has led to other experimentation with dairy products. Occasionally we make our own butter from the local cream. Normally we've been doing this for pleasure, but friends in the US have provided us with another reason: price! Butter prices in the US sometimes seem to go straight through the roof with no reason...and at such times, it can be cheaper to make your own butter from scratch. So we include directions for this here. (Part of this process involves making your own buttermilk, as well, so if you live in a buttermilk-scarce area, this recipe is for you. See below.)

Also included here are recipes for some UK specialties which friends in North America have asked for...specifically clotted cream. It will never be quite as wonderful as it would be in Devon, but if you're willing to go to the trouble to make it from scratch, you'll at least have an idea of what a Devon cream tea can involve.

Warning: except for when the cottage cheese recipe is made with skim milk, all these recipes contain significant amounts of butterfat. If you're on a low fat diet, better not get involved with the sour cream. Regarding the cottage cheese, though, this recipe is an excellent way to let you control both the fat content and the salt in what you're eating.

In the recipes below, "mesophilic starter" is sometimes called for. If you have a source nearby for buttermilk in which the culture is still "live", you can substitute that. Or you can obtain mesophilic starter from a source like the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

How to make your own butter (and buttermilk)

Recipes for making sour cream at home

Click here for the first method of sour cream making (in which you do not pasteurize the cream first).

  • Click here for the second recipe, in which you pasteurize the cream.

    How to make cottage cheese from scratch

    This is the best recipe we've found, and the most recently acquired. Thanks to Jonathan White, formerly at Egg Farm Dairy, now [happily!] at Bobolink Dairy.

    
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
     
    
          Title: Cottage Cheese from Scratch
     Categories: Dairy, Diet
          Yield: 4 Servings
    
     
     
    
      Cottage cheese, turn-of-the-century style (19-20th, that is!):
    
      
      Take a volume of skim or part skim milk, heat to 145F, hold for 30
      minutes, cool to 90.
    
      
      Add a good mesophilic cheese starter (natural sour cream will do.  I
      have also used buttermilk).
    
      
      In 12-14 hours, the acidity from the starter will set the milk to a
      soft curd.
    
      
      Carefully cut the curd into half-inch cubes, then let it sit for 30
      minutes in the vat to toughen.
    
      
      Begin heating the whey GENTLY, about a degree per minute, while gently
      stirring.
    
      
      "Cook" the curd this way to about 124-129F, or until the curd passes
      the drop test (doesn't explode when dropped on the floor).  Quickly
      drain the whey, replacing it with an equal quantitiy of chilled clean
      water, to shock it and rinse away the whey.
    
      
      Weigh the dry curd, then add an equal weight of "dressing" , which
      should be a 10% milkfat cultured cream.  Add just barely enough salt
      to be detectable by taste.
    
      
      (Recipe courtesy of Jonathan White at Egg Farm Dairy,
       formerly at http://www.creamery.com: now [happily!] at Bobolink Dairy)
    
     
    
    MMMMM
    
    
    
    

    How to make Monterey Jack cheese at home

    A surprisingly easy cheese to make at home. The flavor is seriously superior to most storebought Monterey Jacks.

    
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
    
     
          Title: Monterey Jack from Scratch #1
     Categories: Cheese, Dairy, Vegetarian
          Yield: 4 Servings
    
     
    MMMMM----------------------STARTER CULTURE---------------------------
    
          2 c  Whole milk
        1/2 c  Buttermilk
    
    
    MMMMM-----------------------FOR THE CHEESE----------------------------
    
          6 qt Whole milk (or 4 qt whole
               -milk and 2 qt nonfat)
               Cheese rennet (from health
               -food store or other source:
               -see below)
    
    
    MMMMM--------------------NECESSARY EQUIPMENT-------------------------
    
               A thermometer which will
               -register from about 80 F
               -to 120 F in easy-to-read
               -increments
               A large stainless steel or
               -enameled pan (mine holds
               -8 liters)
               A larger pan in which the
               -first one will fit, double
               -boiler style
               A long metal spoon
               A long-bladed knife
               A colander
               Freshly washed cheesecloth
               -or muslin (I use a linen
               -dishcloth)
               A piece of string
               Table salt
               A flat pan, such as a pie
               -pan
               A brick (for use as a
               -weight:  I use the weights
               -from my husband's weight
               -bench)
               Optional:  plain paraffin
               -wax for coating the
               -finished cheese
     
    
      (24 hours before cheesemaking:)
      
    
      Make the culture.  -- In a 3- to 4-cup jar with a lid, both just
      rinsed with boiling water, combine 2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup
      buttermilk, both freshly opened.  Cover:  hold at 70-75 degrees F for
      24 hours.
    
      
      (The day of cheesemaking:)
    
      
      Pour the whole milk for the cheese into an enameled or stainless
      steel pan (not under any circumstances cast iron).  Set the pan on a
      rack, or on top of jar lids, inside the larger pan, making sure
      there's at least an inch of space between the inner and outer pans.
      Warm the milk slowly to 86 degrees F.  Add 1/4 cup of the starter.
    
      
      Maintain the temperature at 86 degrees F for 1 1/2 hours.
    
      
      Prepare the rennet:  If you're using rennet tablets, crush the
      recommended number of tablets in 1 cup of cold water, and add to the
      milk.  If you're using liquid rennet, mix it in 1/4 cup of water (or
      the amount directed) and add to the milk.  In each case, use the
      amount of rennet recommended for 4 quarts of milk.  (I know, you'd
      think it would be six, but that's what the directions say.)
    
      
      Add the rennet to the milk.  Stir carefully for 1 minute:  then
      maintain temperature of 86 degrees for another hour, leaving the pans
      undisturbed as the curd sets.
    
      
      At the end of this additional hour, use the long-bladed knife to cut
      the curd, straight down from the top to the bottom of the pan, then
      the same again but crosswise:  then the same again, diagonally.
      
    
      Begin increasing the temperature of the curd, taking 30 minutes to
      bring the temperature up to 98-100 degrees F.  As curds firm,
      "circulate" them with spoon every 5-10 minutes.  DO NOT STIR -- just
      push gently.  When ready, a curd dropped 12 inches holds its shape
      and doesn't spatter.
    
      
    
      When curds are properly firmed, line a colander with 3-4 layers washed
      cheesecloth and set the colander in the sink.  Pour the curds and whey
      (the pale, separated-out liquid) into the colander.  Let drain
      briefly, then rinse curd gently with a stream of tepid water.
    
      
      Mix salt to taste into the curd (add salt, work it in, check the
      taste, add more if neccessary).  1 1/2 to 1 3/4 tsp. salt seems to be
      plenty for this kind of cheese.  Note that the flavor will be *very*
      bland if no salt is added.
    
      
      Pull up the corners of the cheesecloth to make a bag:  twist to make a
      tight ball, and squeeze to force out additional liquid.  Tie the top
      of the bag shut with the string.  Set the ball, with the loose fabric
      spread out on the bottom, in a wide pan.  Set another flat dish on
      top of the cheese, with your brick of weight in it.  Let stand
      overnight in the refrigerator to press and extract liquid.
    
      
      After being pressed for 24 hours, the cheese is ready to eat.  It can
      also be stored longer (though most of the time it seems to get eaten
      immediately...).  To store, dry it unwrapped in the refrigerator:
      after 8-10 days it will develop a dry rind of a darkish cream color.
      Or you can wax it -- in this case, as soon as you unwrap the cheese,
      wipe it with acidulated water (1 cup water, 1 tablespoon vinegar) and
      pat dry:  then chill cheese, and dip into melted paraffin wax until
      1/8 inch thick shell builds up.
    
     
    
    MMMMM
    
     
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
    
     
          Title: Monterey Jack from Scratch #2
     Categories: Cheese, Dairy, Vegetarian
          Yield: 4 Servings
    
     
     
    
      Notes on the above:
    
      
      (a) For those of you who'll be adding chiles:  they should be added
      after salting the curd.  If using fresh chiles, you should probably
      parboil them (5 minutes or so) to make some kind of attempt at
      sterilizing them. Pickled ones seem not to produce any problems, and
      neither do dried or powdered chiles.  Additionally, the chile flavors
      seem to intensify the longer the cheese is kept.  The problem is
      *keeping* the stuff:  the flavor of fresh homemade Jack cheese is far
      superior to that of the store-bought kind, and you'll find it won't
      last long. NB:  cheese which has been aged 8-10 days in the fridge
      seems to melt better.
    
      
      (b)  The trickiest part of all of this is keeping the temperature of
      the milk from jumping too quickly, and keeping it steady for prolonged
      periods. You may want to experiment a little with your double-boiler
      apparatus, with water in the inner pan instead of milk, to see how
      quickly the temperature goes up when you change burner settings on
      your stove.
    
      
      Some of the trickiness involves the way temperatures will continue to
      "float" upward even after you've turned the burner down or off.  It is
      important not to let it get out of control:  otherwise the extra heat
      will kill the organisms in the starter.  Residual heat "float" can be
      slowed up by slipping ice cubes into the milk one at a time until the
      heat stabilizes.  Don't overdo this, obviously.
    
      
      (c) Equally obviously, vegetarians can substitute vegetarian rennet
      for the non-vegetarian kind.  I usually make mine with vegetarian
      rennet, just for convenience's sake.
    
      
      (d) Cleanliness in the utensils is very important in this process:
      everything should be freshly scalded out with near-boiling water
      before you start, to keep alien "bugs" from making lie difficult for
      the friendly ones in the starter.
    
      
      (e) For those of you with livestock:  chickens and pigs like the
      leftover whey mixed with meal or feed.
    
      
      (f) The quantities given in the recipe make a wheel of cheese weighing
      between 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 pounds.
    
     
    MMMMM
    
    
    
    

    How to make quark from scratch at home

    Here's a quark recipe that we haven't tried. Quark is important in German baking and desserts.

    
    
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05
    
     
          Title: Quark from scratch
     Categories: Dairy
          Yield: 4 Servings
    
     
     
    
      Real Sourmilk Quark
      2 liter whole milk or low fat milk (1.5%)
      6 tablespoons fresh buttermilk (make shure it
      has live cultures in it and that it is fresh.)
    
      
      Heat milk to 30 degree Celsius and stir
      in buttermilk. Do not overstir, 3-4 swirls
      are enough. Take pot of the stove, cover
      with lid and let stand at room temperature,
      until the milk is thick (depending on climate
      1-3 days). The right time to cut the milk is
      reached, when the milk remains firm where it
      is being cut with a knife, it does not run
      together anymore. Now cut the milk with large
      knife 6-8 times in a criss cross fashion.
      After 5 minutes, stir the milk with a wooden
      spoon carefully. Let rest for another 5
      minutes. Spoon the thick milk without distur-
      bing it too much onto a cheesecloth and hang
      up to drip dry to the desired consistancy.
      You will get about 200-300 gramms of Quark for
      each liter of milk. Refrigerate Quark
      immediately at 5 degree Celsius. Use within 3
      days.
    
      
    
      
    
      Buttermilk Quark (especially good for desserts)
      2 liter whole milk or low fat milk (1.5%)
      0.5 liter fresh buttermilk (see above)
    
      
      Mix milk with buttermilk (no heating required)
      and leave in a covered pot at room temperature
      for about 3-4 days, so that the milk sours.
      Spoon the curdled milk onto cheese cloth and
      drip dry to desired consistancy. Refrigerate
      immediately to 5 degree Celsius. Use within
      3-4 days.
    
     
    
    MMMMM
    
    
    
    

    How to make clotted cream at home

    
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04
    
     
    
          Title: Clotted Cream
     Categories: Dairy
          Yield: 8 servings
    
     
    
         20 fl Heavy whipping cream
          2 qt Milk (or more)*
    
     
      *Preferably extra-rich milk, if you can get it in your area.   --
      Choose a wide-mouthed bowl or stainless steel bowl with sloping
      sides.  Fill it with milk, leaving a deep enough rim free to avoid
      spillage.  Add 20 fl double cream.  Leave in the refrigerator for at
      least several hours, and preferably overnight.  Set the bowl over a
      pan of water kept at 82 degrees C (180 F) and leave until the top of
      the milk is crusted with a nubbly yellowish-cream surface.  This will
      take at least 1 1/2 hours, but it is prudent to allow much longer.
      Take the bowl from the pan and cool it rapidly in a bowl of ice
      water, then store in the refrigerator until very cold.  Take the
      crust off with a skimmer, and put it into another bowl with a certain
      amount of the creamy liquid underneath;  it is surprising how much
      the clotted part firms up -- it needs the liquid.  You can now put
      the milk back over the heat for a second crust to form, and add that
      in its turn to the first one.  The milk left over makes the most
      delicious rice pudding, or can be used in baking, especially of yeast
      buns. .
       -- from Jane Grigson's OBSERVER GUIDE TO BRITISH COOKERY
    
     
    
    MMMMM
    
     
    
    MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04
    
     
          Title: Making your Own Devonshire or Clotted Cream
     Categories: Misc, British
          Yield: 1 servings
    
     
       In winter, let fresh, unpasteurized cream stand 12 hours, (in summer,
      about 6 hours) in a heat-proof dish.  Then put the cream on to heat -
      the lower the heat the better.  It must never boil, as this will
      coagulate the albumen and ruin everything.  When small rings or
      undulations form on the surface, the cream is sufficiently scalded.
      Remove at once from heat and store in a cold place at least 12 hours.
      Then skim the thick, clotted cream and serve it very cold as a
      garnish for berries, or spread on scones and top with jam.
    
      
      Reprinted from Joy of Cooking Published in Countryside magazine -
      Summer 1990
    
     
    MMMMM
    
    

    Don't forget to visit our other Irish food pages!

    Find out What Irish People Eat

    See Pictures of Irish Food

    Discover Why We Have No Recipes for Corned Beef and Cabbage
    (though we'll tell you where to find some if you insist)

    Learn The Secret to Making Authentic Irish Coffee

    Visit Our Authentic Irish Recipe Collections

    Find out about The Best Irish Cookbooks

    Learn How to Make Soda Bread the Authentic Irish Way (with video tutorials)

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