Cheesemaking in My Home
smokingonabike.com/2015/09/27/cheesemaking-in...
smokingonabike.comPosted Sep 27, 2015, 4:30 PM UTC
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smokingonabike.comI wrote this hoping it could be a one-stop-shop to link to newcomers to cheesemaking who ask, "what do I need to get started?". Also people who have already gotten started might find some useful ways to save money on equipment they need in the future.
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Please don't encourage this. Just because you haven't been sick, doesn't mean it's a safe practice. There are plenty bacteria that don't die by hot water alone.
Edited to add: how do you sanitize your hands if all you use is boiling water?!
This is absolutely true. You can only be lucky for so long.
It's better to kill 100% of harmful bacteria than 99%.
Thank you for your post, I appreciate your approach to keeping cheesemaking affordable. On the topic of sanitizing, I'll agree with others here. This is similar to ignoring safe canning practices. The likelihood of getting sick is small, however, the microbes that will get you sick in these cases are the kinds that kill you, or permanently damage your nervous system. For cheeses, it is listeria, salmonella, brucella and E. coli.
You do mention having a pot of simmering water. If you had boiling water and your supplies went into that for 10 minutes (at sea level), you are doing a reasonable job of sanitizing.
BTW, you aren't sterilizing, even with Star-San. You are sanitizing. Sterilizing is removing all microorganisms completely, beneficial or harmful. Sanitizing is to remove filth and pathogens that might negatively impact health.
Thanks for the corrections. I'll update the post to use the right terms, and I'll remove the recommendation for hot water (and hopefully replace it with something better from this thread!)
I wash 'em frequently with soap and water.
Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I'm always glad to learn more. What sanitation processes do you all follow? What do you recommend for doing cheesemaking at home?
I'm sorry, you sanitise your hands with soap and water? ...oh lord.
You take some starsan or whatever you've got over there, make a bath, and every single time you touch anything you dip your hands in first. You dip your utensils before you start and every time in between.
I'm here to share and learn, so I'm glad to be corrected, but there's no need to be insulting. Improved sanitation is great and I will improve my methods, but it's not like I'm taking a dump in the curd pot.
I am glad that you want to learn, but literally every site that teaches about cheesemaking talks about the importance of sanitising. If you're going to spread content, you NEED to make sure that it's safe for others.