Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (2024)

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Farmhouse cheese is a cooked curd cheese with a delicious cheddar-like flavor. It is a simpler hard cheese recipe that is made without a cheese press or cave.

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It is a simplified recipe that I designed to work in my urban townhouse. And I don’t own a cheese press, a cave, or even a basem*nt or garage to age cheese in!

Notes For Beginners

This recipe assumes some basic cheesemaking knowledge. For anyone new to cheesemaking, I recommend starting with making fresh cheese.

However, this is a good recipe for anyone interested in learning how to make hard cheese!

If you are uncertain about any of the steps, check out this post on how to make cheese for more detailed information on ingredients, equipment, and techniques.

Aging Farmhouse Cheese

Farmhouse cheese is perfect for experimenting with all the different ways to ripen cheese. The flavor and texture of this cheese will dramatically change depending on how it is aged.

Here are the four different ways to finish homemade hard cheese:

  • Fresh unripened farmhouse cheddar is like quark or cheese curds. Store the cheese in the fridge right after pressing for an unripened hard cheese. This is a great option if you don’t have a way to age the cheese.
  • Waxed farmhouse cheese is similar to Gouda or Cheddar. Waxed cheeses need to be thoroughly air-dried before waxing.
  • Washed rind cheesesare brined after pressing. Then they are regularly washed salt water to encourage orange mold to grow on the outside of the cheese. This mold gives the cheese a strongstinky cheese flavor.
  • Bandage wrapping isthe easiest way to age hard cheese. It involved coating the cheese in a layer of butter then wrapping it in cheesecloth. The cheesecloth layer will mold, flavoring the cheese without any of the added work involved with washed rind cheeses. The layer of mold comes off cleanly when the bandage is removed.

See Aging Hard Cheeses for more details on how to wax or bandage hard cheeses, along with information on how to make an aging cave in your home.

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Farmhouse Hard Cheese

Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (3)

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Farmhouse cheese is a basic hard cheese that doesn’t need any special equipment. See the notes to create your own cheese press and cheese cave with items already in your house! Experiment with waxing, bandage wrapping, or making a washed rind cheese.

  • Author: Emillie
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 12 lbs cheese 1x
  • Category: Cheese
  • Method: Cheddaring
  • Cuisine: British
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Units Scale

  • 1gallon whole milk
  • 1/2 packet of powdered mesophilic starter or 1/4 cup of cultured buttermilk
  • 1/4 tsp of rennet mixed in 2 Tbsp filtered water
  • 1/4 tsp of food-grade calcium chloride in 2 Tbsp filtered water (if using hom*ogenized milk)
  • 1 Tbsp salt (non-iodized)

Instructions

  1. This is not a beginner recipe. Please read up on how to make cheese for more details about any of the steps.
  2. Heat milk to 90F (32C).
  3. Stir in culture and maintain at 90F for 45 minutes.
  4. Stir in calcium chloride, then add the rennet, mixing thoroughly. (If you’re using tablet rennet, then follow the instructions on the package).
  5. Maintain at 90F for 45 min and do not stir.
  6. When the curds show a clean break, cut the curds into 1/2-inch cubes.
  7. Cook the curds by stirring the cut curds every 5 minutes for the next 1/2 hour, slowly raising the temperature to 100F (38C).
  8. Line a strainer with butter muslin and pour the curds into it. (Save the whey! See notes).
  9. Hang the curd in the butter muslin and allow to drain for 1 hour.
  10. After an hour, place the curds into a bowl. Break the curds into small pieces and mix in the salt.
  11. Pack the curds into a cheese mold lined with butter muslin. Press at 11 lbs for 10 minutes.
  12. Remove the cheese, re-wrap it and turn it over, press at 22 lbs for 10 minutes.
  13. Re-wrap the cheese again and turn over, press at 44 lbs for 12 hours.
  14. See the section above for 4 ways to finish the cheese. (Fresh, waxed, washed, or bandage-wrapped).
  15. Age farmhouse cheese at around 55 F (13 C) and 75% humidity for 1 to 4 months.

Notes

  • Sanitationis key to making hard cheese. It’s the only way to ensure that the cheese is cultured with exactly the right strains of mesophilic bacteria.
  • If you don’t have a cheese press, thenmake your own using heavy objects from around your house. The cheese won’t be as firm if it isn’t pressed at 44lbs, but you will still get a semi-hard slicing cheese pressing with 11 lbs for the full 12 hours. Just flip twice, as directed, to evenly press the cheese.
  • Don’t throw out your whey! The sweet whey from cultured cheese can be used to make ricotta. Here are a few other ways to use up whey.

Previous Post: « Rind Development and Aging Hard Cheese

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (5)Emillie

      I actually have started wondering if the issue was around the milk I use. What milk do you use? Any interest in writing a guest post on Parmesan? 🙂 I started a hard Italian cheese, but I really couldn’t age any of my cheeses for more than a month, I just don’t have the space to devote to a cold room. I just used it for my photos on washed rind cheese, then used it up with pasta!

      Reply

    • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (6)Avram Adrian Marius

      I made this cheese, after the second day of drying it looks excellent. Unfortunately, the cloth stuck to the cheese when pressing, maybe the cloth was not thick enough? I don’t have the wax at the moment so I’ll try to brine wash it, hopefully that will work?

      Reply

      • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (7)Avram Adrian Marius

        I forgot to say, the first time I didn’t have the patience to let it ripen, I ate it, it was a little sour, but good enough to eat it urgently, all the family. 🙂

        Reply

        • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (8)Emillie Parrish

          Great! Thanks for sharing! Sticking cheesecloth might be because it wasn’t finely woven. I recommend butter muslin if you can find it. Cheers!

          Reply

  1. Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (9)Rey

    This tastes great! I love cheese, to be able to make my own is the dream.

    Reply

    • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (10)Emillie Parrish

      Glad you liked it!

      Reply

  2. Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (11)Nicole

    Making this today! How long do you leave in fridge before slicing and eating? I’m not able to make a rind yet.

    Reply

    • Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (12)Emillie Parrish

      Honestly, food doesn’t last long in our fridge, so I usually start eating it right away! It will taste like cheese curds rather than an aged cheddar. But aging in the fridge won’t greatly impact the flavor. Enjoy!

      Reply

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Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is farmhouse style cheese? ›

Farmstead cheese, less commonly known as farmhouse cheese, is produced from the milk collected on the same farm where the cheese is produced. Unlike artisan cheese, which may also include milk purchased and transported from off-farm sources, farmstead cheese makers use milk only from animals they raise.

What cheese is considered a hard cheese? ›

Hard cheeses include Cheddar, Cheshire, Derby, Gloucester, and Leicester (British), Cantal (French), Friesian and Leiden (Netherlands), Graviera and Kefalotiri (Greece), Manchego, Idiazabal, Roncal, and Serena (Spain), Sâo Jorge (Azores, Portugal), and Ras (Egypt).

What is the difference between cheddar and farmhouse cheddar? ›

Farmhouse Cheddar is a more rustic version of traditional Cheddar and is made with the exclusion of the traditional cheddaring process of stacking and milling. Farmhouse cheddar tends to be slightly drier and crumblier than traditional Cheddar but still has a full and sharp flavour.

What is the hardest cheese to make? ›

While there is no one type of difficult cheese to make, the hardest cheeses to make are romano, gorgonzola, burrata, parmesan, provolone, etc. The reason being is because they require a longer aging period to ensure they reach their desired texture and require a specific type of culture.

How many gallons of milk to make a pound of cheese? ›

The discharged liquid, a yellowy liquid known as whey, contains most of the water, lactose, simple proteins, minerals, and vitamins (Hill, 2006). About 10 pounds (1.25 gallons) of milk are required to make one pound of cheese.

What is the king of hard cheese? ›

Known as the “King of Cheeses”, Parmesan, or Parmigiano Reggiano was first produced by Benedictine and Cistercian monks a thousand years ago. Over the centuries, it has acquired global prominence and is now a hugely popular choice for food-lovers the world over.

What is the difference between a fresh cheese and a hard cheese? ›

Age: Soft cheese is usually younger than hard cheese, and is typically aged for a few days to a few weeks. Hard cheese, on the other hand, is usually aged for several months or even years. The aging process can greatly affect the flavor and texture of the cheese.

Is sharp cheddar considered a hard cheese? ›

From parmesan to asiago and cotija to extra sharp cheddar cheese, hard cheeses pretty much have it all. Dense, savory, complex flavor. Granular, crystalline texture.

What is the most popular cheese in the world? ›

You might even think it's Ricotta. But you'd be wrong. Today, the most popular cheese in the world is… Mozzarella.

What does West Country Farmhouse Cheddar taste like? ›

Ford Farm's award-winning West Country Farmhouse Cheddar is a delicious, mature variety with a range of delicious yet contrasting flavours from sweet and creamy to tangy and nutty. Encased in wax to preserve its freshness.

How is hard cheese made? ›

To make hard cheese, the curd is cut very finely and then cooked at temperatures as high as 55°C. This maximises the amount of moisture (whey) removed before the curd is placed in hoops, soaked in brine, turned regularly and left to mature for six to 36 months.

What hard cheese doesn't melt? ›

Acid-Set Cheeses: The Grillers and Fryers

There's one type of cheese that no amount of tweaking will melt: Acid-set cheeses, like fresh goat cheese, quick farmers cheese, paneer, queso fresco, and ricotta, just can't do it.

What is the most disliked cheese in the world? ›

Casu martzu (Sardinian: [ˈkazu ˈmaɾtsu]; lit. 'rotten/putrid cheese'), sometimes spelled casu marzu, and also called casu modde, casu cundídu and casu fràzigu in Sardinian, is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live insect larvae (maggots).

What is the most expensive cheese? ›

Pule cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world because it is produced exclusively at Serbia's Zasavica Special Nature Reserve. This rare cheese is made from the milk of Balkan donkeys which are endangered and native to Serbia and Montenegro.

What the terms farmhouse and vintage mean when referring to cheese? ›

Strong, extra-mature Cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for 15 months or more. - The term " farmhouse " refers to the process of its being produced on farms , often with much manual work or intervention , rather than through a completely automated process in factories .

Is farm cheese the same as cottage cheese? ›

Farmer's cheese is a variant of cottage cheese, made by pressing the whey from the curds (compared to just draining). It tastes more acidic than cottage cheese and has a firmer texture due to its lower moisture content.

What is another name for farmers cheese? ›

Also called twaróg, tvorog, or syr, among other names. Found in almost every Slavic, Baltic, and Germanic country. American-Style Farmer's Cheese. This is basically cottage cheese that has been pressed to remove water.

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