Kitchen Chat

[barleychown]

We have a chain store called Winco...they carry many, many different things in bulk, like flours, sugars, beans, pastas, ect.

Basically, they have big bins of each, you scoop out as much as you want into plastic bags, and pay by the pound.

I'm hoping to find a 25# bag of soy beans, so I don't have to drag home 10# at a time.

[landofoz]

Wow - that is a lot of beans.  We can't buy much in bulk until we get a bigger house--2 years and counting towards that!! 

[duh]

I'm a lot closer to a new place.  Hopefully it will have room enough that I can store some things.  right now I'm buying just enough for the month so I won't have so much to move.

[MassMama]

Great information in this thread! .. Thanks everyone.
I have not tried that many new things.. Did watch a show on how to make cheese and was wondering How and where do you find all the supplies? Sounds like a fun project! 

[duh]

I would like to have the directions on how to make cheese.  But I have no idea where you would find the stuff to do it.  And I think the equipment needed would change depending on how much you wanted to make at one time. 

My kitchen news today is that i got a complimentary copy of the new Cooks Illustrated magazine along with an invitation to subscribe for 1995 for the whole year.  That's a really good price but since i have the weg site I don't need it.  I sure wish it was transferable but it says not.

[duh]

there seem to be a number of cheese websites that offer products.  Here is one that looks good.  http://www.thecheesemaker.com/?gclid=CNCmuePYjJECFTyKOAod8W6zIA

[landofoz]

We made cheese while my mom was on one of her I'm-not-crazy-I'm-A-Good-Mom trips.  It took renet (baby calf stomach lining - I refused to have anything to do with that), cheesecloth, and a bunch of milk or cream.  We used a candy thermometer for temps.  I don't know how it turned out - couldn't bear the thought of baby calf stomach!!   

[MassMama]

that is also made out of veggies now Sarah.. I am soo going to try this. as soon as I find out what I really need for it  Ohhh Sarah.. 

[barleychown]

I have yet to attempt a hard cheese, which is the kind that requires rennet. When I do start down that path, I will be using the veggie subsitute, as I too have problems with the thought of calf stomach.

This is the recipe I use most often...it's great for use in baking.

http://www.recipezaar.com/13373

[MassMama]

  Never even thought about checking out the Zaar.. thanks I will try this Sarah..
All the things I have looked  at have all the enzyme and such.. Kinda makes me nervous! I think I will barrow a book from the library and see what I can come up with I love mozerella too and it seems quite easy to make.. takes about 30 mins in some recipes

[duh]

candy apple jelly?  I definitely want the recipe that sounds soooooo good. 

I wish I could say I've tried something new this week but I haven't.  I've been to sick to do anything but just hold on and hope it passes.  And it finally is.

[landofoz]

Thanks for the cheese recipe.  What exactly constitutes fresh milk?  Until I turned 18 and moved out of my folks house, we got it from a big holding tank at a dairy farm.  That is a very far cry from what is on the grocers shelves.

[MassMama]

That is Fresh Milk Sarah.. I know it is going to be hard for me to get to but I am going to contact an Ice cream dairy place near me and ask them if I can get the fresh stuff ... If I sign a waiver or something .. It should not be that hard to get something real in this world huh

[duh]

There was a program on the tv awhile back where it was a no no to sell milk that wasn't homogenized.  Me I love the real stuff.  A friend of ours had it when I was a kid.  Breakfast at their house was a treat.  I'd love to be able to get it again.

[landofoz]

Homogenized isn't the issue so much as pasteurized.  Homogenized just means that you smashed all the fat (cream) molecules into the same size as the rest of the stuff, so it won't separate.  Pasteurization kills off all the bacteria and whatnot. 

If that doesn't pan out, Rita, you may be able to post on the freecycle of your area for information about getting milk from a farm.  There has got to be a farm willing to share with ya! 

[duh]

what was I reading that said you could use pasteurized milk to make cheese.  I'll have to see if I can find the article again.

[MassMama]

Did a TON or reading on this and it is the homoganizing that does the damage ... ALL milk has to be pasturized for the cheese process.. Yeah it kills off some of the good stuff but at the same time that is where all the enzymes come in .. Calcium chloride is what brings the fats back into the milk after homoganizing it .. and there are some others you can use to bring the others ..
If milk is not pasturized you can't use that cheese for 60 days and it HAS to be a hard cheese that you are making.. there is a bacteria that will form that could Kill you!!
Also if anyone is interested you can make cheese out of store bought milk I will post the starters and how to make them and the use of different chemicals that you need to make cheese.

[duh]

Your cheese making thread is great.  Thankyou for doing that. 

I'm sitting here wishing I could get to the grocery store.  But I can't leave the house.  I'm been bathroom tethered for days now.  The one time I thought I was safe I got to bus stops away and had to come home.  So I'm munching on canned and frozen stuff.  And what I can get from the 7-ll store. 

I hope this stops soon.