Cheesy Sunday

Today I attempted to make some Farmhouse Cheese.  I am a very beginner when it comes to cheese making and this is the first pressed cheese I have tried.
My first obstacle was my pot.  I poured in two gallons of milk and the pot was almost full.  Oh no! Quick text to hubby and he told me of another pot I could use.  He is a home brewer so we have a lot of big pots.
There was a lot of letting the milk get to a temperature, putting something in it, letting it set at that temperature, stir every 5 minutes.  Not something that can be done if you have someplace to go.  I just sat with the milk/cheese, watched Dr. Who and knitted on the red hat.

Here I am slicing the curd.  It looks just like milk, doesn't it?  The first time I did this I was amazed.

Here are the curds and whey after I stirred the curds.

Here are the curds being drained.  I had to turn them with my hands and it was a bit gross feeling.  Then I had to salt them.

Here are the drained curds going into the press for the first time.

The curds needed to press for 15 minutes with 4 pounds of weight.  Thank you peanut butter jar.

After 15 minutes the cheese?  is taken out and put back into the press upside down.  I should have been a little more gentle taking it out of the press.  It just sorta flopped out before I was ready for it.  Silly cheese.

And here it sits for 12 hours.  It will be several days or weeks before I can try it.
I hope this was not the most boring blog post you have ever read!!
Sadly, last night the little, red trainer hat had to be frogged.  I tried it on and it was too loose.  So I scrapped the pattern and went down a needle size and am just making a ribbed hat.  It will still be bright and cheerful and I think it will fit much better.  I got about 3 inches knitted today while playing with the curds.
Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
Happy Crafting!!!