Written by Zephyr
When staying at Rancho Margot, we decided to learn how to make cheese. I love cheese!
We got up early at 6:00 o’clock and went to milk cows on the farm. This was the first time I had tried to milk a cow.; I did not like the feel of it because it was squishy and hairy. Sorcha had a turn and didn’t mind it. Phoenix was the best at it and it squirted everywhere! I couldn’t watch because it looked gross!
After breakfast, we sieved the milk and then heated it (pasteurised it) to get rid of any bad bacteria.
When it had cooled down a bit, we mixed the milk with liquid rennet.
Rennet is responsible for coagulating the milk and helping to separate the watery way from the solid curd. Originally, cheesemakers used animal rennet that was harvested from the stomach lining of young animals. Because this type of rennet is not always available or affordable and is not acceptable to vegetarians, cheesemakers created microbial rennet as a substitute. Microbial rennet uses fungi, yeast, or mold that has coagulating properties. Microbial products are available as tablets, powdered, or liquid rennet.
Quickly it went hard. We then had to cut it in straight lines across the tray, first horizontally and then vertically, then we had to mix it with a metal spoon.
We fed the piglets all the leftovers from the cheese making process. I was surprised how easy it was to make cheese. The cheese we made was a soft, mild cheese called ‘queso (cheese) fresco (fresh)’. It’s very different from cheddar cheese which is left to age. But it is quite nice to eat.
Sky Yonder 
Hello lovely
Oh Zephyr you did make me laugh about the squishy and hairy milking of the cow 😂
I think I might have felt the same!
Your writing was fabulous and I loved your description of all the processes of cheese making
Really looked like fun to make and to try a different variety of cheese must have been a good experience! You will always appreciate what goes in to the making of cheeses whenever you eat it from now on .. realising that it doesn’t just come in packets from the shop!
You are certainly discovering lots of exciting things and seeing so much to write about!
I will look forward to the next instalment
Hope you enjoy Thanksgiving weekend and having Turkey before Christmas!
Lots of love
Grandma xxx💕💖💕xxx
Sent from my iPad
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Dear Zephyr,
Like Grandma I was laughing at your description of the cow milking process. Me gusta queso mucho también! This is an amazingly well written post which reminded me of the one time I learned how to make cheese. Luckily I did not have to get up at six to milk the cows though (: Did you get to try all the cheese flavours and if yes, which one was your favourite?
Sending lots of love to you
Ori
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