Beginner's Soft Cheese Kit

See how to gift a kit containing temperature-sensitive goodies.

Make 11 different types of soft cheese with this one cheese making kit! Includes everything you need to make soft cheeses, except for common kitchen equipment and milk.

Our Soft Cheese Kit makes eleven delicious, homemade cheeses:

• Lemon Cheese
• Yoghurt Cheese
• Queso Blanco
• Chèvre
• Crème Fraiche
• Fromage Blanc
• Neufchatel (American)
• Cream Cheese
• Quark (In a Bottle)
• Bondon Cheese
• Feta

The kit comes with detailed, easy-to-follow directions demystifying all the steps in the cheesemaking process and can be used with regular full cream milk, straight from the supermarket. Recipes are easy to handle, 2 and 4-litre quantities, depending on which cheese you choose to make.

How Does It Work?

Making Soft Cheese is fun and easy. Most soft cheeses are made with these simple steps:

1. Milk is warmed.
2. Cheesemaking ingredients are added.
3. The milk coagulates into a single curd.
4. The curd is placed into a cheesecloth and hung to drain off the whey.
5. The curd is sometimes pressed to remove more whey, with salting taking place before or after this process.
6. The cheese is refrigerated and is often ready to be eaten immediately.

This Kit Contains:

• 24-page Recipe / Instruction Booklet
• 200 mm Dairy Thermometer
• 1 x Mesophilic Soft Curd Starter Culture 
• 1 x Mesophilic Hard Curd Starter Culture 
• 50 ml Liquid Vegetable Rennet (with a dropper cap)
• 50 ml Calcium Chloride (with a dropper cap)
• 250 gm Cheese Salt
• Reusable Tight Weave Cheese Cloth
• Free Sterile Jars

You Will Need: (most of which can be found in your kitchen)

• Stainless steel pot to place your milk in large enough to hold four litres
• A second, larger pot to place your first pot in, to act as a water jacket, so you can indirectly heat your milk (Stock Pot Set) 
• Large stainless steel or enamel colander
• Stainless steel perforated spoon
• Stainless steel curd knife
• Stainless steel ladle
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Mini measuring spoons (optional)

How Much Cheese Does Soft Cheese Kit Make?

This kit contains enough ingredients to make over 100 batches of cheese of up to 800 grams each.

How Do I Store The Ingredients In A Soft Cheese Kit?

We ship these products Australia wide, however, this kit contains ingredients that do require long term storage in a fridge or freezer, as marked, on arrival. Extended time out of a fridge or freezer will decrease the shelf life.

What Is The Shelf Life of Cheese Cultures?

When stored correctly freeze-dried lactic cultures are typically viable long after any date on the pack, and will last for years in the freezer.

What Qualifies As A Soft Cheese?

Fresh, unripened, soft cheeses are simple to make and most can be stored in a fridge for up to 5 to 7 days. As these cheeses do not ripen, they are very mild and refreshing. These cheeses are also called 'soft curd cheeses' as a clean break is not required.

These cheeses make wonderful dips and spreads and go well with salads and fresh fruits. Soft cheeses can be used in cooking, both main dishes and desserts.

How Do You Dose Cheese Culture For Domestic Use?

We are often asked, "if my culture pack is enough for 100 litres, how do I work out how much to use for four or eight litres"? We supply sterile jars with the culture so that you can see how much culture you have available to inoculate 100 litres of milk. Estimating by eye is acceptable as this is a living culture that will soon grow, and too much can't hurt.