# How much milk do you need to make cheese?



## adadriga (Jun 12, 2009)

I'm sure it depends on the type and kind of cheese that one decides to make, so if I could get some idea on what someone has tried with success I would be grateful to learn from your experience.

Thanks,
Mark


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

Mark, I think it also depends very much on the milk. I'm getting never-before-seen-by-me results from our new cow - her milk solids must be sky high.

for example - 3.5 gallons of standard dairy farm raw milk would yield 5 camembert molds filled 80% of the way. Same amount of Biscuit milk (milk from Biscuit, our cow) yielded 6 camembert molds filled to overflowing.

I think the average hard cheese rule of thumb is 1 lb of cheese for 1 gallon of milk. You can increase that yield if you make ricotta from the whey.


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## suzyhomemaker09 (Sep 24, 2004)

I'm not sure I've ever seen any cheese making recipes that call for anything less than 1 gallon....most are from 2 to 5 gallon recipes.


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## cathleenc (Aug 16, 2007)

for practical reasons I can't use more than 4 gallons at a time and won't bother with less than 2 gallons. 

practical reasons: you need a 5-gallon pot to heat 4 gallons of milk, and the 5-gallon pot needs to be inside an even larger pot, filled with water, to act as a thermal jacket/bath. I plain old don't have those large pots nor can I lift more than 4 gallons of milk+ pot high enough to put it into and take it out of the larger pot. Not to mention that the hard cheese capacity of my kardova mold (which I use for all hard cheeses currently) can only hold the yield from 3 gallons of milk.


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## WhistlingWoman (Nov 15, 2009)

So far I've only made soft cheeses, and I usually make it in either one- or two-gallon batches. I've done a four-gallon batch, but we don't eat that much soft cheese and I ended up throwing some away. To heat the milk to the right temperature, I put the pot of milk in a sink of hot water instead of in a double-boiler on the stove. It always seems to get away from me if I use the stove. I've also used the "warm" setting on a crockpot for a one-gallon batch, with pretty good results.
A really easy first cheese can be made by heating the milk to about 88 degrees or so and stirring in about a cup of regular cultured buttermilk from the store. Leave it for 12 hours or so and it thickens like yogurt. Then drain it by hanging it in a square of butter muslin for a while. It makes a mild sour cream substitute if you leave it kind of wet, and makes a spreadable white cheese if you hang it for a longer time. I suppose you could press it for a firmer cheese, but I've never done that so I can't vouch for it.
Have fun!


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## adadriga (Jun 12, 2009)

Good info, I really enjoy the HT forum, always learn something. I looked around on the internet also, good info there too. 

Thanks,
Mark


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

I have found that my larger cheese are more successful for some reason. The smaller cheeses are harder and drier. You can make a Velveeta-type cheese from 1 1/2 gallons of milk. The recipe should be in the archives. If you can't find it and would like to have it, just pm me.


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## madness (Dec 6, 2006)

The Ricki Carrol book has some 1/2 gallon goat cheese recipes. I've made a few gallon batches of things trying to see if they work - cottage cheese for one. But I go ahead and make huge batches of soft cheeses - they freeze wonderfully!

For soft cheese, I typically make 2 four gallon batches at once. Only for a brand new recipe will I follow the instructions to the letter, including the batch size. So occasionally I make one gallon or two gallon batches.

For hard cheese, I either do the same and press them together or I make a 12 gallon batch in a beer brewing pot. All the recipes I've used call for 4 gallons so that's the smallest hard cheese I've ever tried.


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