Swiss cheese with holes — Photo: Renee Comet (photographer), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANCI%20swiss%20cheese.jpg

American Dairy Age - Swiss-American cheesemaking

Baby Swiss

Name: Baby Swiss
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 8 h
Yield: About 1 small home batch
Ingredients: 2 gallons pasteurized whole cow milk; 1/4 teaspoon direct-set thermophilic starter culture; 1/16 teaspoon Propionibacterium freudenreichii culture; 1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water; 1/2 teaspoon single-strength liquid rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water; Saturated brine, chilled

Baby Swiss is a home-scale Swiss-style American cheese with thermophilic culture, propionic culture, pressing, brining, and controlled warm-room eye development.

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Difficulty

Advanced

Prep time

1 to 2 hours active

Cook time

4 to 8 hours make day

Total time

3 to 8 weeks

Servings

About 1 small home batch

Region

Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Midwest dairy country

Era introduced

American Dairy Age

Introduced by

Swiss-American cheesemaking

Recipe tools

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The Story

Baby Swiss is an American adaptation of Swiss-style cheesemaking, usually smaller, younger, creamier, and milder than long-aged Alpine wheels. The recipe below keeps that history practical for a home cheesemaking setup: use pasteurized milk, sanitized tools, measured culture, controlled temperature, controlled humidity, and refrigerated aging rather than casual countertop ripening. It is a learning recipe for the American style, not a commercial standard of identity or raw-milk guidance.

Ingredients

2 gallons pasteurized whole cow milk
1/4 teaspoon direct-set thermophilic starter culture
1/16 teaspoon Propionibacterium freudenreichii culture
1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water
1/2 teaspoon single-strength liquid rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool non-chlorinated water
Saturated brine, chilled

Equipment

Large stainless steel pot
Accurate dairy thermometer
Long curd knife
Slotted spoon
Colander
Butter muslin or cheesecloth
Cheese mold
Cheese press
pH strips or pH meter
Aging refrigerator or cheese cave

Directions

Read the safety notes before starting. Use pasteurized milk only, sanitize every tool that touches milk or curd, wash hands well, and discard the batch if it smells rotten, turns slimy, grows black or pink mold, or shows swelling that does not match the style.
Warm the milk to 90 F. Add thermophilic culture and propionic culture, rest 3 minutes, stir 1 minute, cover, and ripen 45 minutes.
Stir in diluted calcium chloride, then diluted rennet. Hold still at 90 F for 40 minutes, or until the curd gives a clean break.
Cut the curd to rice-size pieces over 10 minutes, stirring carefully so the pieces stay even.

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