Up until a few weeks ago I had been living under the impression that making your own pumpkin puree was hard. Like, so wildly hard that there was no reason to ever attempt it. Have you ever made pumpkin puree from scratch? I just didn’t see the reason to do it, and this coming from someone who has made her own butter. And then I was talking to one of my colleagues from work and everything changed.

We were talking about what we were going to make for the upcoming cake sale (where I made pumpkin butterscotch cookies), and we got to talking about cooking with pumpkin. She said she’d made a pumpkin pie once and that she had made her own puree. I was gobsmacked. And then we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: What?! You made the pumpkin puree?!

Her: Yeah, how else do you do it?

Me: Get it from a can!

And then we both looked at each other slightly confused. At least, that’s how I remember it.

Needless to say, after this conversation I felt a little silly. Why was I so dependent on a can? Where had I learned that making my own pumpkin puree would be so hard? Now I was determined to try it out for myself.

What I learned is, the hardest part of making your own pumpkin puree is ensuring that you don’t get attached to your pumpkin. I went to Waitrose with my friend Sarah and picked out what I thought was fine pumpkin. She pointed out it was ugly looking on one side. I said, “It’s fine, we’re going to eat it.” And then I got home and told Ryan I bought a pumpkin. He got excited and asked if we were going to carve it. “No,” I said, “we’re going to eat it.” A word of advice to you my friend: don’t name it, don’t carve it, don’t get attached to your pumpkin!

Even though I wasn’t carving the pumpkin, preparing the pumpkin for cooking starts much the same way. You slice off the top and then scoop out the insides. I cut the pumpkin in half before scooping out the insides. Save the seeds if you’re into that. Then cut your pumpkin in quarters and put on a roasting pan to then cook the slices in the oven. Put the slices in the oven plain – no seasoning or oil. This is so you have the purest pumpkin puree, which I think is really the reason to make this yourself. Sure, opening a can is easier but by making this yourself you’re getting the freshest ingredients with no unknown or unnecessary additives.

When choosing a pumpkin buy one on the smaller side. Save that big impressive gigantic pumpkin for carving. My research said that big pumpkins result in less flavor and a less pleasant texture. This guy here weighed 1.2 kg (2.64 pounds) and resulted in 393 grams (about 1 3/4 cups) of puree. This is probably just slightly less than what you’d get in a can from the super market. The end result was really tasty (because yes, I ate some plain with a spoon). It’s smooth, but less perfectly smooth than a can. I credit that with magical additives used in the canning factory plus also my food processor is mediocre.

What I like best about making my own pumpkin puree is how excited I am to use it. I am itching to make a pumpkin pie and I think I’ll be especially proud when the finish product is extra homemade.

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman.

Messy level: I am giving this four spoons only because I hate, hate, hate cleaning the food processor. It’s so many pieces and such a pain! Also, it’s a little messy in peeling the pumpkin. Some pieces of skin just peeled off, and some fought back a little. It was annoying, but it was a good excuse to taste test what was stuck to my hands.

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

 

Print

Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

Serves: 1¾ cup

Ingredients

• 1 smallish pumpkin (or more depending on desired final amount)
• water, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
2. Cut the top of the pumpkin off near the stem. About 1" of the top cut off is fine.
3. Cut the pumpkin in half.
4. Use a spoon to scoop out all the seeds and inner gunk. You can throw this away or set the seeds aside to roast if you like that.
5. Cut the cleaned pumpkin in half again so you have 4 pumpkin quarters.
6. Put the pumpkin quarters on to a roasting pan.
7. Roast the pumpkin for 45 minutes or until you can easily stick a fork into the flesh.
8. Remove the pumpkin from the oven and let cool until you can safely handle them.
9. Use a knife, a peeler, or your hands to remove the pumpkin skin. It will mostly come off easily, and where it's difficult just use a peeler.
10. Put the pumpkin flesh into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you notice your pumpkin is too dry then you can add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until you have your desired consistency. (I added 2 tablespoons of water) If you're finding your pumpkin is too wet you can strain off some of that liquid after you're done with the food processor.
11. Transfer your pumpkin puree to a bowl if you're going to use immediately or store in an air tight container in the refrigerator if you'll be using it later.

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[Note: some photos and recipe formatting updated in October 2016]

This apple pie is my favorite dish during the holidays. I will eat this pie for dessert, breakfast the next day, and then again for lunch if there’s any left. I want to make sure I get as much of it as possible so that when the slices run out, I have no regrets. I am jealously possessive of this pie in a way that goes against the holiday spirit.

When I was a kid, my mom would make an apple pie for me and a pumpkin pie for my brother. Dessert time would come around and she would ask, “what do you want?” Sometimes, Eric said apple and I would boil with rage. That was my pie and he was doing this on purpose to infuriate me because he knew I wasn’t going to eat his pumpkin pie. I have no evidence to prove this is true, but it’s how I felt at the time.

I love this pie so much, that in college my mom would make one pie for the holiday meal and one pie for me to take back to my dorm.

Last year, we hosted Thanksgiving for Ryan’s family and I just had to make this pie. It would not be Thanksgiving otherwise. I had helped my mom make this pie before, but usually I just mixed the apples and sugar. Then, I’d eat the apple slices until she told me to stop. Last year was my first year doing it by myself. So the week before, my mom helped me make the crust. The day before, Ryan and I had an apple coring-peeling, slicing sweatshop where we produced a giant mountain of apple slices. All was going well…until it wasn’t.

2012 Thanksgiving pie that I burnt (this is before I tried to fix it)

I made the rookie mistake of not checking on the pie. When I finally took it out of the oven, the crust was a little bit burnt. I was hysterical and inconsolable.

“I’ve ruined dessert!” I cried to Ryan.

No he assured me, I hadn’t. The pie would still be good (and it was). And even if it wasn’t, Ryan’s mom brought a pumpkin pie and I had made cupcakes, so there was still plenty for dessert. But even so, I was disappointed that I’d burnt my pie. So I called my mom to whine some more.

“Mom! I’ve ruined dessert!” I moaned, while Ryan stood nearby shaking his head.

She was sympathetic and then came up with the brilliant idea of scraping off the burnt part, adding new crumbs, and then when I reheated it the new crumbs would cook to the perfect brown. I wasn’t able to remove all of the dark spots, but her scrape and re-apply method really worked out (so keep that in mind if yours gets too dark).

My mom’s well loved, ripped, and beat-up cookbook

Anyway, Thanksgiving arrived and the pie was devoured. I felt pleased with myself not only for making the pie, but being adult enough to share it with others.

This year, I’ll be eating my mom’s pie. But I made my own a few days early so I could be sure get enough (and so not have to share too much).

This recipe is adapted from my mom’s recipe, which is adapted from the oldest and most beat-up Betty Crocker cookbook. That book is so old, I have no recollection of the cover ever being attached to it.

[Update: Hi all! I’ve added the easier to read and print format of the recipe below. Keep scrolling if you want to see the original writing with step by step photos.]

Apple Pie with a Crumb Top

 

Print

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

Author: Cooking is Messy

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

Pie crust

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅓ cup+ 1 tablespoon shortening (or butter, or ⅓ cup lard)
• cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Apple filling

• 8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (Gala or McIntosh are recommended)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of salt

Crumb topping

• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick cold butter

Instructions

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.
2. Start with the pie crust! In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt.
3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. To do this, use 2 butter knives and cut through using an "x" motion or use a dough blender.
4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tablespoon to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tablespoon and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this can sometimes be up to 5 tablespoons.
5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of a 9" pie plate.
6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.
7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge.
8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling.
9. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C.
10. If you haven't already peel, core, and cut your apples into thin half-moon sized slices.
11. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the cut apples into this mix and stir it all together. Snack on a few apples, it's worth it.
12. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.
13. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and ½ cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter (just like you did earlier with the shortening). You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.
14. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. This is important for two reasons. 1. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. And 2, it will catch any juices that drip out of the pie and so your oven won't fill with burning sugar smoke.
15. Put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes.
16. Cover the pie with tin foil. This is to keep the exterior color golden brown while the interior continues to bake.
17. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.
18. Let cool then serve!

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Pie Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup+ 1 tbsp shortening (or butter, or 1/3 cup lard)

cup of cold water (you won’t need it all)

Filling:

8 medium sized apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used a mix of Gala, Fuji and Cameo)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick cold butter

Directions:

1. Put a small cup of water in the freezer.

2. We’re making the pie crust first. In a large bowl, mix the 1 cup flour and 1/2 tsp salt.

3. Cut the shortening into the flour until you have what looks like pieces the size of small peas. (Cut the shortening/lard/butter using 2 butter knives or with a dough blender)

4. Take the water out of the freezer. Add 1 tbsp to the flour. Mix it into the flour with a fork. Keep adding 1 tbsp and mixing with a fork until a dough forms and it isn’t sticking to the side of the bowl. For me this was almost 5 tbsp, but the recipe book says it should be 2-3 tbsp.

5. Gather the dough into a ball and put it on a well-floured counter. Roll out the dough until it’s about 2″ larger than the size of your pie plate.

6. To get the crust in the pan, I find it easiest to fold the dough into quarters and place it into your pie plate. Gently unfold the crust and press it into place on the pie pan.

7. Gently pull off dough that is overhanging the edge of the pie pan. If you’re feeling fancy, roll the excess crust into snakes, put it on the crust on the rim of the pie plate, and them crimp it to make a pretty edge. I used a spoon and pinched a little point to make it look pretty.

8. Put the crust in the fridge while you work on your filling. Now preheat the oven to 425°.

9. Peel, core, and cut your apples. This year instead of an apple-prep sweat shop, I used what I call an “apple crank.” It does all three jobs in one, all you have to do is turn the handle and it pushes the apple through the corer, peeler, and slicer. I think it’s awesome, and I felt like it made good slices. After cranking, I cut the apple in half so I had half-moon slices. This is a divergence from my mom, who likes her slices even thinner, so she cuts the apples by hand.

10. In a large bowl mix the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Mix that with your cut apples. Mix until everything is coated. This is MY FAVORITE PART. I love eating the apple slices, so be sure to save yourself a few to snack on.

11. Take the pie crust out of the fridge, put in the apple filling that you just made.

12. Now for the crumb topping! In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Cut in 1 stick of cold butter. You should have some big peas and some little pea sizes. Sprinkle this generously over the top of your pie filling.

13. Put the pie plate on a cookie sheet. It makes it easier to take in and out of the oven. Then, put the pie in the oven for about 30-35 minutes. If at this point it is your desired golden brown, put a tin foil cover gently over your pie.

14. Cook for 15-20 more minutes (so a total of 45-50 minutes). The pie is done when you can easily stick a knife through the pie and it meets little resistance from the apples.

15. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Messy level: This is pretty messy because there are so many steps. The crust can stick to the counter and tear which can be mess number one. I feel like the apple-crank really keeps the mess down when making the filling because it makes preparing the apples most efficient. Still, the sink was filled with ribbons of apple peel. And finally, a crumb top is just asking for me to drop things everywhere. However, it’s worth it. It makes the kitchen smell and feel festive.

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Rhubarb from Star Hollow Farm

I’ve wanted to bake with rhubarb for awhile. The thing is, I always remember rhubarb in September when the summer is almost over and rhubarb season has long passed. The one time I did notice rhubarb at the farmer’s market it was mostly green and I got nervous because I thought it was supposed to be mostly red. So I’ve let forgetfulness and fear stand between me and rhubarb.

But this year, my lovely friend Anna came to the rescue! She got me some rhubarb from her family farm, Star Hollow Farm, which means I can be sure it’s in season and I didn’t have to worry about choosing which stalks of rhubarb to get.

I’ve been curious about rhubarb in part because I’d never had it before and also because it pairs well with strawberries, which are my absolute favorite fruit. But honestly, I’ve also been drawn to rhubarb because I really like Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion. I get the bebop-a-reebop song stuck in my head because it’s just silly and happy. If you know what I’m talking about, thank you for being a part of my nerdy community. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a video. The song isn’t until about 4:50, but you should watch the whole video because it’s a great example of Garrison Keillor’s storytelling and the great sound effects of the show.

Anyway, I was so happy with the way this pie looked and tasted. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never made this pie before, but I was really please and impressed with myself. I went to work and brought a big piece to share. And I made my coworkers look at pictures of how pretty it was. Excitedly, I told my coworker I made a pie. He was skeptical.

Me:  I made a pie this morning

Him: What do you mean you made a pie?

Me:  I made a pie.

I mean seriously, when I say I made a pie, I flipping made it! When someone says they made a pie, the first question should be what kind, followed by can I have a slice? But, after some questioning about if I made the crust, and did I brush an egg mixture on top, he seemed sufficiently satisfied that I had in fact made a pie.

And you can make one too. People seem intimidated by pies – especially crust – but it’s not a crazy mystery. It’s not too hard and it took me about an hour and a half total time (maybe less), which includes the 40 minutes of cooking time. One thing more before we get started, this pie is super juicy. It oozes out delicious goodness, but because of all the liquid it doesn’t hold the pie-slice shape very well. It doesn’t bother me because it tastes good. And all the juice goes really well with vanilla ice cream. So don’t feel discouraged if it looks like a ruby-red lump on your plate because it will be heaven in your belly.  So, if you’re interested let’s get baking so you can make impressive, beautiful, delicious, and old-timey pie worthy of Garrison Keillor song.

Ingredients:

Filling:

3 cups strawberries – chopped in quarters if larger, in half if small

3 cups rhubarb – chopped in ¾-1” pieces

1 cup sugar

¼ cup + 1 tbsp cornstarch

¼ tsp salt

Crust:

[Note: I made two pie crusts; one for the top and one for the bottom. If you only want to make one crust, then use the numbers in the parenthesis. If you’re making both then use the numbers not in the parenthesis.]

2/3 cup + 2 tbsp shortening (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp)

2 cups all purpose flour   (1 cup)

1 tsp salt (1/2 tsp)

4-9 tbsp cold water (2-5 tbsp for 1 crust)

Other:

1 egg white

1 tbsp butter cut in small pieces

Directions:

1. About 10 minutes before you want to start baking, put a cup of water in the freezer.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Mix the flour and salt in a medium bowl.

4. Cut the shortening into the flour. If needed, mix gently with hands. You want the particles to look like small pea-sized clumps. [When adding the shortening do not just dump it all in and then mix it with a spoon. Cut the shortening usually means using a pastry blender to cut up the shortening into clumps. If you don’t have a pastry blender, add the shortening then use two knives. Hold the knives in an x and cut the shortening into small pieces.

5. Add 1 tbsp of cold water to the mixture. Mix with a fork or your hands. [I have better control and can tell when it’s “finished” when using my hands. The problem with using your hands is that it can warm up the dough too much.]

6. Repeat the above step, adding water 1 tbsp at a time until the flour is moistened, and dough has formed. The bowl should be pretty much clean and most of the flour should be incorporated in your ball of dough.  I usually need to add 4 tbsp of water.

7. Gather dough into two balls (if you’ve made enough for two). Generously flour a work surface. Flour your rolling pin. Be generous with your flouring!!! You don’t want the dough stuck you the counter, rolling pin, or your hands. Seriously! The dough can get too warm and flouring really helps it stay together.

8. Roll out both of your dough balls so that it is about 2” larger than an inverted pie plate.

•  The dough ball that will be your top can be rolled out on a piece of parchment paper. Once it’s rolled out to your desired size cover it with another piece of parchment paper. This is done so it keeps its shape until you’re ready to use it.

9. Place one of the rolled out crusts into the pie plate. I like to fold the dough in quarters, place in the pie plate, and then unfold the dough, and finally press it into shape. What’s great about making your own dough is that it’s really malleable. If you rip it, or if you have one side that’s too short, you can tear a bit from somewhere else and patch up your problem area.

10. Place the pie plate crust and the parchment crust in the fridge while you prepare the inside of your pie.

11. In a large bowl mix your chopped strawberries and rhubarb

12. In a small bowl mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Mix until there are no lumps.

13. Add the sugar mix to the fruit. Mix until combined and all the fruit is coated.

14. Remove pie plate from the refrigerator. Gently pour the fruit mix into the pie plate.

15. Dot the fruit with your small pieces of cut butter.

16. For the top you have options:

•  Cut a few slashes in the rolled out crust dough. This is to vent the insides. You can make the cuts pretty and decorative if you want. Then place the dough on top of the fruit mixture. Press the top of the crust to the edge of the pie pan (so it seals with the bottom crust.)

• You can cut strips of dough and make a lattice (which is what I did).  I’m not crazy about crust so I made big strips with big spaces between (you can make a tighter weave). My way looked pretty, but it didn’t hold its shape well when I cut a piece. Anyway, cut some strips (whatever size you like) and weave them together.

17. Once you’ve assembled your top you also have some styling options:

• You can use a fork and press the tines down all along the sides of the pie plate. This will bind the top and bottom crusts and also make a nice design

• Remove overhanging crust dough and roll it into a long “snake.”  Put the snake around the on the edge of the pie plate. Pinch the dough to make a zig-zag pattern. This will make a “crimped” looking edge to your pie. (This is what I attempted to do, but it didn’t zig-zag as much as I hoped).

See the edge of the pie? That’s my attempt at crimping the edge.

18. Put your egg white in a small bowl. Add a few drops of water. Whisk until a little foamy.

19. Brush egg white mixture on to tops of the crust.

20. Place pie plate on a baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes. Or until the crust is golden and the juices are bubbling.

21. Isn’t it the most gorgeous pie?! If yours is gorgeous, GO YOU! Hold yourself back and let cool for about an hour before serving

Messy Level: Medium-High. When I turned around to look at the kitchen, I was a little shocked by the mess. The messiness comes from making the dough. Shortening is greasy and sticky and gets on everything. And flour is just messy. It gets into every nook and cranny of my kitchen – but to do this right you need a lot of flour so I just have to accept it. And finally, the pie is super juicy.  You really need the cookie pan under the pie plate because juices will drip over. And, once you let it cool and cut it, there will be delicious juice everywhere. Don’t be afraid to get a spoon and slurp it up.

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Cheese from Rome and a little key chain for scale

Ryan and I have been crazy about mozzarella since we studied abroad in Rome (we were there at different times). What’s crazy fancy and expensive here in the states is all over the place (and not expensive) in Italy. My roommate and I would buy huge balls of mozzarella at the grocery store and then eat it with a fork as an afterschool snack. It was creamy, gooey, salty, and terribly indulgent. Who just eats a ball of cheese for a snack? Answer, cheese lovers and twenty-year-old girls.

Anyway, the first time I thought about actually making cheese myself, in my own kitchen, with my own hands was after I read Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I love this book and think pretty much everyone should read it. The book is about Kingsolver and her family’s decision to spend a year living in a rural area and they will only eat local foods or foods they produce. They do allow for some exceptions and the book is about their adventures, mishaps, and challenges. For story alone, it’s a book that’s funny, heartwarming, and captivating. If you’re in to seasonal, local foods and cooking this book is even better. There are great recipes broken up by season and they are so easy and delicious.

One of the recipes is for mozzarella, but the first time I read it I was intimidated. I’d have to order specific ingredients (rennet and citric acid) and I needed a stainless steel pot. I decided it was too much and too hard. But the idea didn’t leave that if I wanted to, I could do it at home.

So, a few weeks ago I was lusting after this and that on Williams-Sonoma’s website when I saw they had a ricotta-mozzarella cheese making kit for $25 that included everything I needed. I thought it would be fun for Ryan and I to try it, so I bought it! And then I read the instructions…

I had forgotten about the stainless steel pot! I told Ryan we couldn’t make the cheese yet because we needed a specific pot – because apparently aluminum and cast iron (the only pots we have!) can be reactive with the cheese.

Ryan asked, “Don’t we have a stainless steel pot?”

Me, “We did… but I donated it.”

Oops. Flash back to 8 months ago, we were getting married, moving, and had just gotten a great set of fancy, high-quality pots. We didn’t need our cheap old pots anymore, or so I though, so I donated them. Sigh, bad move.

So then, I asked  Ashley, my neighbor and friend, if I could borrow a pot from her. We bartered and I took her pot and she took my kitchen chairs – and I thought I was on my way. But no, the pot wasn’t big enough.  I went to Target and bought a new cheap stainless steel pot that looks almost exactly the same as the old one. Now we were in business.

Before we started I asked Ryan if he thought it would come out well. He said no, and I had to agree. I didn’t think it was going to be mind blowing cheese either. And it wasn’t. But don’t get discouraged, I did eventually have cheesy success.

Making cheese is one of those things that takes practice. We were nervous and didn’t want to ruin it so we followed the provided recipe to the letter. And sometimes, reading it too closely causes anxiety. What does it mean when it says heat it and fold it as little as possible? Had we over worked it? Had we worked it enough? It didn’t look right, but should we work with it more? Is there a point where it’s irrevocably ruined? The first time, we just didn’t know.

Also, we didn’t know what it should look like or shouldn’t look like. It’s hard to know if you’re doing it right if you don’t know what doing it right looks like. The Williams-Sonoma kit directions were mostly fine and we were successful up until the point we had to work with the curds out of the pot. Our finished product ended up crumbly and a little lumpy. The texture was more like ricotta than mozzarella. Even though it tasted fine we were a bit disappointed. Ryan always tells me that we can’t expect it to be right the first time.

Our slightly lumpy first attempt

But I could tell that we were so close to doing it right. The next day I looked up the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle recipe and it was pretty similar to the Williams-Sonoma recipe, but it had more directions on what the cheese should look like and feel like at each step. As well, because I had done this wrong once before I was a little less gentle and a little more fearless this time. Finally, Barbara Kingsolver’s recipe is a little more encouraging, telling me to keep going, keep heating, keep folding, until I got it right.

And got it right I did. It became a smooth ball, with the right texture, and the right flavor. And it’s good cheese. I’ve been having it for lunch every day since. Be advised, the cheese is good but it’s not high-quality fancy imported good. It delightful and impressive to guests and should be made – but don’t give up yet on the store bought stuff.

Even so, Ryan and I are one tiny step closer to our cheese empire dream. We may never be international cheese mongers, but now at least we can share our creations with friends and family. And who knows, maybe we will come up with something new and exciting.

For the recipe below, I’ll try to right it as straightforward as possible but I warn you that it will be a little anecdotal. I want to tell you what we did at each step and how I think we did well or could have improved. This recipe is really a mix of Williams-Sonomas and Barbara Kingsolver’s. Blending the two is what I found worked best. Happy cheesing.

Ingredients:

Large stainless steel pot

Kitchen Thermometer

Non-wooden slotted spoon

~ 2 quart microwaveable bowl

1 ½ cups cool water

¼ tablet rennet (Barbara Kingsolver used ¼ tsp liquid rennet)

1 ½ tsp citric acid

1 gallon pasteurized whole milk (I’m told you can use 2% or whatever you like, but that it’s easier with whole. And DO NOT get ultra pasteurized milk because it won’t work)

1 ½ tsp cheese salt (more or less to taste)

Herbs (optional)

Directions:

1. Pour ½ cup of the water into a small bowl. Dissolve the rennet tablet in the water
2. Pour remaining 1 cup of the water into another small bowl. Dissolve the citric acid
3. Pour the milk into a large pot. Heat on low-medium heat until it reaches 55°
4. Pour in the citric acid solution. Stir occasionally with the slotted spoon.
5. When the milk reaches between 88-90° slowly stir in the rennet solution. Use an up and down motion to stir this together. Stir for about 15-30 seconds.
6. Heat until it reaches 105°. You should begin to see it curdle and the early formation of curds and whey. The curds are the white more solid looking pieces. The whey is the yellowish liquid. If the curds look like yogurt then gently stir the mixture for about a minute. If the curds look like clumps of melty cheese it’s time for the next step!
7. Using the slotted spoon move the curds to the large bowl. Now the first time I did this, Ryan and I just used the slotted spoon to move the curds. It took forever, the curds were slippery, and a lot of whey was still in the bowl. Also because it took so long I think the temperature of the curds went too low and that led to our failure. The second time I did this, I used the slotted spoon to move the big pieces of curds. Then I used a fine mesh sieve and poured the contents of the pot through the sieve. The curds that got caught in the sieve I moved to the large bowl.
8. Now there will likely be whey in your bowl. Gently press on the curds to squeeze out more whey. Pour out the extra whey so you have just curds. To do this, Ryan and I put a lid on the bowl and strained out the whey. Still, some stubborn whey was left behind. Then what I did was hold the curds back with my hand and tip the bowl over the sink and pour out the whey. This gave me greater success and flexibility because I was able to tip the bowl further and get more out.
9. Microwave the curds on high for one minute. Note: There is a method of making cheese using the leftover whey, but I haven’t tried it so won’t be including that information
10. Take the curds out of the microwave and knead the mixture. This should push out some more whey. You might want to do this with spoons or while wearing rubber gloves because it gets hot. I was a beast and did it barehanded. Yes, I am challenging you do be as awesome as me.
    

    The curds after removing the whey and doing some kneading

11. Pour out any whey
12. Microwave two more times for 35 seconds. After each microwave, knead the mixture and pour out excess whey.
13. Add the salt and herbs if you are using them. Knead them into the mixture so they are spread throughout.
14. Knead and pull the cheese until it’s smooth and elastic. It should be stretchy like taffy. If it’s not stretchy, and instead crumbly repeat step 12 until you can stretch it. Williams-Sonoma said the right temperature for this is 135°. Barbara Kingsolver said it was 175°. I found I was able to stretch at 135-140°. And this is the reason why making cheese well must take practice because you can’t always adhere doggedly to the directions, sometimes you have to go by what looks and feels right.
15. Once the cheese is smooth and maybe a bit shiny roll it into one or more balls. You can eat it immediately or put it in the fridge for up to a week!

Congrats you made cheese!! Before I made cheese I had a few friends ask me why I would make cheese. I love cheese. It’s in my top #5 favorite foods (pasta, chocolate, strawberries, cheese and I’m not sure about the fifth). I told Ryan and he said, “why make anything?” Today we can go out for every kind of food we want. Why make anything? Because it’s fun. It’s nice to spend time together. It’s fun to experiment and have an adventure. It’s a good chance to be creative. It’s fun to share. Why do you make things?

Messy Level: Medium. Scooping out the curds leads to whey spillage. Also, all the pouring out of whey, kneading, and folding leads to hands covered in cheese goop. It’s not a crazy mess by any means, but there will be flecks of curds and whey in weird places on the stove, sink, and floor.

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