The art of cheese making isn’t as complex as the various cheeses you’ll get as an end result. In most cases, the utensils and equipment you need for artisan cheese making can be found in your kitchen cabinets. To get you prepared for your very first attempt at home, we’ve devised a list of the must-haves when it comes to creating your favorite cheeses.

A Pot or Kettle

When making a large batch of cheese, your ingredient sizes will go up some. You’ll need a good amount of milk along with other contents, so combining these ingredients in something of size will be necessary. For this, we recommend a large stainless steel kettle. This will help to maintain temperature and space when you start putting everything together on your stove top.  Cheesemaking Kettle

A Thermometer

Cheese making can be an intricate process when it comes to maintaining proper temperatures and consistencies. To ensure you’re following proper guidelines, get yourself a thermometer to measure temperature throughout the process. To make things easier, there are thermometers with clips to keep them in place on the side of your kettle. These also include easy to read dials to aid you in measuring with a quick glance.   Cheesemaking Thermometer

Measuring Utensils

There are a number of precise measurements that come with making artisan cheese at home. In order to assure you’re not getting a pinch too much of this or a little less than you want of that, invest in measuring utensils. Once you’ve got yourself one set, you shouldn’t need another as they are long-lasting and heavy duty. No matter how many times you measure a certain ingredient, you should always avoid risk by using the proper ration from a measuring spoon or cup.   Cheesemaking Measuring Tools

Strainer

Similar to a cheese cloth, a strainer is important in the cheese making process for draining whey form your curds. All you’ll need to do is dip the strainer or colander into your whey and curd mixture to extract the solid cheese from the liquid whey. It’s best to avoid using aluminum materials in your strainers. We recommend stainless steel with a double mesh layer to really separate the solids from liquids.   Cheesemaking Strainer

Cheese Press

To carry out the solidifying process, a cheese press is necessary in the cheese making procedure to remove all remaining liquid and whey from the cheese. Once you’ve removed your cheese from the whey with the strainer, you’ll apply pressure to the block of cheese with the press. After you’re done pressing the cheese, you can wrap it with a cloth and store it for the aging process.   Cheese Press

Cheese Cloth

To avoid excess moisture getting into your cheese, take the proper precautions and drain it out with a cheese cloth. You’ll simply press the cheese curds in your mold or press hoop until it stays in one solid piece. Then you’ll wrap the cheese with your cloth, allowing it to soak up any remaining liquid from your cheese. Once you’ve used your cloth once, you don’t need to throw it away as you can reuse it after cleaning and rinsing in sanitizer.   Cheesemaking Cloth

Now that you’ve got your list of helpful utensils for making cheese at home, it’s time to try the real thing! Odds are, you’ll be able to find most of these right in your pantry, but for any and all remaining artisan cheese making needs, give us a call!