Directions

1. 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.
2. Warm the milk to 88 F in a nonreactive pot. Sprinkle the mesophilic culture over the surface, let it hydrate for 3 minutes, stir for 1 minute, cover, and ripen for 45 minutes.
3. Stir in diluted calcium chloride for 30 seconds. Stir in diluted rennet with an up-and-down motion for 30 seconds, then hold the milk still at 88 F for 45 minutes, or until a knife lifted through the curd gives a clean break.