How To Make Fire & Smoke Dragon's Milk Cheese

[@AdrienneLohn]

Love this kind of video. Things don't always go according to plan. Glad you share the exasperating experiences. That cheese reminds me of a child who rebels and then proves to be brilliant and helpful

[@babajaga81]

I felt your pain so much. Thanks for sharing your experience and emotions. Always so glad to see real people on KZbin ❤

[@RedWolfRun]

I appreciate that you showed that you shouldn’t give up when things go wrong. The end still gave a cool result and a cheese with character.

[@Alexander-uj5pb]

Stream of consciousness cheese making👍👍💯

[@edgarroste7855]

I haven’t tried making a cheese with peppercorns and chillies, but your video has encouraged me to. Seems to be somewhat forgiving because despite your challenges 😂 it sounds like it turned out very nice in the end.

[@thelthrythquezada8397]

27:12 was a whole feel/ expression!!

[@idanyella1]

Love your videos and I smile because you remind me of me and my crazy experiments in the kitchen 😂

[@laurenloertscher1319]

This is my new comfort channel. I am here for the chaotic cheese making.

[@jmilkslinger]

Anyone who links comfort with chaos is my sort of person! 😅

[@sherylh4780]

Love watching your videos. Thanks!!

[@hammshomestead]

OMG I am laughing sooo hard. I love it! I am at the cheese acting like a drunk guest comment. heehee

[@JoannaLawrence-dn7pb]

I have to say that this is my favorite episode to date. I know it wasn't funny to you at the time it was going on, but I hope it's funny for you now - it is to me. I love how the entire cheese just disintegrated, knitted back together - maybe not how it should have been , but how it wanted to be - and then turned out absolutely delicious in the end. I appreciate that you showed us the entire journey and unabashedly shared your feelings and what you thought were failures during the process, and taught us that like life, cheese can turn in an entirely different direction than planned and come out more wonderful than we imagined. Thank you for the laughs and the lesson - I'm looking forward to another "failure." :)

[@jmilkslinger]

My husband agrees with you that it's the funniest video yet! 😅

[@jurgendorneburg5160]

finally remembered where to send your Monthly Donation.Waiting with baited Breath for your next Video.

[@johnshankster2464]

It’s very wet with the peppers included. The included juices keep sweating2leaking. It’s not dry enough, perhaps. I have no idea what you’re making,’ but you are very entertaining. If you make a meatloaf, it I’ll fall apart with too many vegetables added.

[@lindaferguson593]

You really sort this whole thing about cheese nicely!! Im not into making the large wheels like you make, though. Just me and the hubs. I will be making wheels that are about 3-4 inches wide by 2-1/2" thick. We have a very small flock of dairy sheep ready to lamb any day now. My first time with milking as well. Looking forward to all of this!

[@ceralamken6138]

So, I’ve binged nearly alllll of your videos in the past week or so. I was completely elated to see a new video this morning 🎉🎉🎉 Thanks so much for your candor and just letting us see your process. I’ve recently started a few cheese projects, and my unique situation is that I’m working with sheep’s milk. I wish there were more resources for working with sheep’s milk, but with a few good books and a few good KZbinrs, I’m venturing forth! Thanks for the inspiration ❤ Oh! One other thing…I ABSOLUTELY LOVE that you include the tasting of the cheese in your videos. It’s so awesome to see the full story! Thank you, thank you!

[@jmilkslinger]

Oh, I'm jealous! I wish I had access to sheep's milk! Do you have your own sheep?

[@ceralamken6138]

I do. We’ve been raising sheep for at 12 years. Mostly for 4-H club lambs and some for wool, but I’m changing direction a bit and earnestly pursuing dairy traits. Milking just a couple right now. It’s been so fun to begin to try some cheeses. I SO appreciate your channel and your willingness to just give it a go and see what happens! ❤ Any suggestions on a resource for sheep dairy that you’ve run across?

[@jmilkslinger]

@@ceralamken6138 How much milk do you get from one sheep in one milking? I've heard sheep's milk tastes like vanilla ice cream --- is that true? I have so many questions!!! I don't have any good sheep dairy resources, though I did come across this video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/ip-YeJ5shrRrgJY) which I found fascinating...

[@ceralamken6138]

Vanilla ice cream might be a bit of an exaggeration 😆. But it IS quite sweet and creamy! Small fat globules and high butter fat percentage, so it’s really delicious and filling when you drink a glass. Those are the pluses… low overall volume is the minus. I’m milking once a day right now (and she isn’t a dairy breed specifically) and I’m getting about 16oz a day. So I’m freezing every 3rd day until I get a good volume to work with. I’ve put some feelers out to purchase some dairy ewes this spring and I think I’m going to lease a ewe in milk from a friend who doesn’t have time to milk, so hopefully more milk in the near future 🎉

[@bryonygrealish6663]

Thanks so much for your videos. It's always fun and informative! Some thoughts. What about soaking the anchos before chopping them. You'll be able to achieve a more even size while chopping. Also making them smaller and reducing the amount. With the greater surface area of the big pieces of chilies I think it disrupts the ability of the curds to knit together evenly. If the chop is finer the curd will have more to grab onto and you'll have bits of anchor evenly distributed throughout the whole cheese given you a good balance of cheese to chilli in every bite. If you are looking to keep that level of smokiness and worry you'll loose that flavor because you reduced the amount of chilies try dry toasting the anchos in a skillet until fragrant. Being careful not to burn them. Then you would soak them. This is a step that is used in Mexico to make mole sauce. And in other culturel cuisines like in India toasting dry or in hot oil brings out a richer and deeper flavors of the spices.

[@ValidityJ]

I really love that you kept going and thought your way through the problems. The cheese looks beautiful. Congratulations!

[@Luvmygoats]

I love ur videos. I like how u keep going, and it turned out delicious. I don't make cheese like you do, but I do have a goat cheddar. I'm getting ready to open. Thanks for your hard work. It inspires me to do just a little more.

[@Erika70079]

Amazing! Love the video, and I'm so glad it worked for you!

[@janbeck7989]

Excellent!! I love the way you do your videos.

[@jurgendorneburg5160]

Oh good my weekly Dose of enjoyment!!Keep up the good work.Greetings from the cold White North, Eh

[@amandaw30]

You are seriously my favorite cheese channel! Hilarious video as a bystander. If it was my cheese I totally would have had a hissy fit and chucked it out the window, haha! I’m so glad to know to keep going though, and you can still get good cheese!! I struggle with grainy cheese too. It gets the little crystals in it which is supposedly good but personally I’m not in love with. I have no idea how to get around that though.

[@jmilkslinger]

I don't always make the best of a bad situation: Once I hurled under-baked loaves of bread on the floor and stomped on them. 😂 About crystals: I was just reading about them. There are two kinds: tyrosine crystals that form from the amino acid tyrosine in high-protein, long-aged cheeses like Parmesan, and then calcium lactate crystals which are formed when calcium combines with residual lactate --- this second kind is undesireable and often forms on the surface of cheeses (I have a bunch on one of my romanos right now). The grainy texture I'm fussing about in the video is a paste issue --- not a crystal issue. I think? I'm still puzzling over it and need to do more research.

[@bradleyfield3944]

For those making cheese for the first time, note that when Jennifer says add more salt, definitely add more salt! I just opened my first cheese (Derby) and I was bitterly disappointed. Aged 4 months and not enough salt! I followed the home cheese making book but it just needs more salt.

[@jmilkslinger]

A bum cheese is such a crushing blow....

[@HBrooks]

another great freewheeling cheese video! thanks again for the experiments.

[@victoriasakkidis7248]

Loved it Jenifer, your fabulous

[@Ailantan]

I felt this frustration just like my own. I love this video, just like all the other i watched on your channel, I want to make my first cheese during summer.

[@lindaferguson593]

I really enjoy your videos!!! Thank you!!

[@jaymecurry9350]

Awesome

[@hammshomestead]

I have stopped using the cheese cloth after the first few presses. The cheese does slide out of the mold but sometimes it takes a bit of time and maybe a little pounding on the counter to loosen it up. 🙂 I was typng this BEFORE I saw you do exactly what I just typed. LOL. Maybe chop the peppers way smaller?

[@susanbellt3029]

So cool, great job🔥

[@oddsandendsandodds]

Very cool!!!

[@papasmurf9146]

Given the taste test, it was obviously a success. Congrats. One of my cheese molds has the sides with no bottom. Given what you did, I can see using it in the drying process. You'd still be able to push the cheese out. Up until now I didn't think it was worth much.

[@jurgendorneburg5160]

Thanks!

[@jmilkslinger]

Thank you!!!

[@Truthseeker-f1k]

Maybe dry salt it?

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Thank you for these videos Jenn. Super helpful and inspiring. Especially for newbies!

[@jjsager1]

Jennifer I have been binging your videos since I ran across the full moon blue then the flor azul blue and in those videos you were concerned about cross contaminating other cheeses you had in the cheese “cave”. I was wondering how much did it cross contaminate your other cheeses and how you combated the mold spread, if any? My next question is if I was going to buy a cheese making book, keeping in mind I do like to understand the whys of doing something as much as the how of doing that thing, what would you recommend? Please keep up the videos I think after watching them you have inspired me to actually try making some now.

[@jmilkslinger]

I have NOT had the blue infiltration like I thought! I have made new blue cheese while other cheeses were in the press/brining in the same workspace and there was no cross contamination. I do get blue mold on the outside of some of my natural rind cheeses, but it doesn't infiltrate the cheese, and I just wash it off. (I'm actually not sure it's the same kind of blue mold that comes from a blue cheese, since it smells different.) As for a book, this one is my top, top, TOP rec: Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking: amzn.to/3WRTRI5 (Amazon) Good luck!!

[@johnshankster2464]

I wonder if kombucha could replace the ale. It’s much like beer. (Acetic acidy) If I ruin my next recipe, I’ll send it to you to finish and taste it. The large salt addition changes the pH drastically.

[@madchem184]

Just found your channel, great content! I subscribed immediately. Can you recommend a good cheese making book?

[@jmilkslinger]

Yes! Find all my favorite cheesemaking books at Milkslinger.com!

[@CastawayHikes]

I have to make this 😮 Unrelated, have you any experience on thoughts on cold smoking cheese? I am unsure if it would be better to do before aging or after

[@jmilkslinger]

I think it can be done either way. When I've smoked cheeses, I've done it after aging, and then let the smoked cheeses age for a few more weeks before eating. And I've seen other people batch-smoke whole fresh cheeses and then age. I might need to try that one of these days...

[@CastawayHikes]

@jenniferjomurch awesome, thank you! There isn't much information online about smoking cheese as part of the aging and curing process. Most of what I found was on barbecue forums about smoking store bought cheese

[@jmilkslinger]

@@CastawayHikes Agreed --- information is sparse. I did do one video on smoking cheese --- here it is, in case you missed it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZPIf4Gdqq-VgdE

[@coolcatc8lin]

Looks delicious! 1. What if you milled the salt in with the peppers? Like a cheddar? 2. Soak the cheesecloth in warm whey right before pressing?

[@jmilkslinger]

1. That's a good idea! It'd change the texture to be more cheddar-like, but it might counter the cracking/tearing problem. . . .somehow? 2. I did soak it --- not with whey, but with vinegar/water, which is quite similar.

[@jasonguy4096]

Does this melt down for nachos sounds like it would have a great taste with Mexican dishes.

[@jmilkslinger]

I think so! I haven't melted it by itself so I can't say for sure, but I've added it to grilled cheese and chili and it seems to soften and/or melt just fine...

[@davidbidwell250]

Just curious what you think the effect of adding the 11%ABV beer to the cheese curds in terms of impact on the bacteria/culture or lactic acid production. I would expect there to be some die-off. Should you boost the cultures to compensate? I bet that cheese would be delicious!1

[@jmilkslinger]

Good point, and I honestly never thought about it! 😂 I'd have to do more research to actually answer the question, but my hunch is that raw milk cultured with raw milk clabber probably has a pretty robust level of culture-y goodness, all things considered. But yes, maybe for people working with store-bought milk and freeze-dried cultures? Your suggestion seems like it'd be a logical recipe tweak...

[@Erika70079]

All right, I am making this tomorrow. We don't have Dragons Milk in Canada, so I went with something else. I'm trying to figure out the pressing weights. I just have a quick diy press that I add a dumbbell or water jug on top. Do you know how I translate the weight you mention for your spring press to mine? Thank you!

[@jmilkslinger]

I have no idea! I know people just weigh what they're using (like a stack of books or whatever) and then pile stuff on top. That method is probably a lot more accurate than mine... P.S. Let me know how the cheese turns out and whether or not you have trouble with the cloth sticking --- I'd love to find a solution for that hit-or-miss problem!

[@Erika70079]

@jenniferjomurch Hi, I think my problem with the weights is that it was too much at the beginning of my first cheese, so them my next cheese, I didn't add enough. My house is set to 66, so the curds probably cooled too quickly. There was a lot of reddit today. As for this cheese, I didn't have any problems with it sticking to the cheese cloth, and mine is just a cheap one from Walmart. I did rise with hot water and spray with vinegar between flips. Actually, this cheese is my best one yet (out of all 4 that I've made, haha). The curds have knit nicely!

[@Erika70079]

@jenniferjomurch update: hmm, I sated the cheese and let it sit, but now, after a couple of days, it is cracking all over, especially where the chillies stick out. I've put it in a brine now and will vac pack it today. Is this a common issue for dry salting cheese?

[@jmilkslinger]

@@Erika70079 I don't typically dry-salt my cheeses, so I'm no expert, but I don't think cracking is normal. I mean, cracking doesn't mean it's contaminated or anything, it's just not what's supposed to happen... Your plan to vac-pack it is solid --- it should age fine that way!

[@rubygray7749]

I've been hanging out for another video from you! It's 4 a.m. and im trying to convince myself I need to go back to sleep and watch it later, but cant tell whether I'll take my own good advice. I have just one complaint about most of your videos. When you put a caption on the screen, it flashes off before I have time to read it! Couldya maybe leave them up a few seconds longer please?? ❤❤

[@jmilkslinger]

Thank you for that note! (Are you referring to the recipe instructions at the bottom of the screen --- I tend to let them run longer --- or the section headers in the center of the screen which are only up for a couple seconds?)

[@rubygray7749]

@@jmilkslinger I think I'm referring to incidental notes you decide to add later. At the lower edge of the screen. And no, I couldn't resist watching the whole video in the wee small hours!

[@glorytogodhomestead3495]

What do you think about using Kiefer rather than clabber? Sorry if you said this 1 million times.

[@jmilkslinger]

Kefir is a good culture. . . as long as you like the taste of kefir! (Which I don't.)

[@madchem184]

19:20 and yes, you are indeed

[@tamathamavraides5532]

I am not being mean or negative. I wanted to be clear about that. I’m just wondering about having your hair down around something so sensitive to contaminants? You have beautiful hair that’s for sure, but don’t you worry about stray hair landing in your cheese?

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Not being mean either but the fact is we don’t eat Jen’s cheese. She’s invited us into the privacy of her home to LEARN. It’s a free, educational gift. Let’s be grateful and keep opinions to ourselves.

[@tamathamavraides5532]

@@spoolsandbobbins in case you missed it she was talking about unknown contaminants. It could be hair. As people are learning from an excellent cheese maker that she is, discussing sanitation doesn’t seem that it would be off limits. It was a genuine question. Maybe a stray hair causes no harm? Maybe she knows that but others like myself don’t know that. I was clear that I was not being negative. I meant it. I’d happily eat her cheese. No need to be nasty to a question not asked of you.

[@jmilkslinger]

Totally fair question --- I appreciate it! I haven't had trouble with hair in cheese, maybe because the curds are getting scrutinized every step of the way and so I can see and remove anything that shouldn't be in the cheese. While hair in food is definitely gross, especially if it's not your own, it really doesn't faze me all that much. It's more of a gross reflex thing than an actual contamination issue, at least in my non-sterile farm kitchen. I guess what I'm saying is: yes, you gotta take care with cleanliness, but I also think we sometimes go overboard with sanitation. I've learned that cheese is a little tougher than I first thought. (Of course, in an industrial setting, sanitation is a whole other world!) P.S. One more thing: people have different levels of comfort when it comes to sanitation. Some people are quite casual (I'm more on that end) and others are much more meticulous. I would NEVER recommend that a cheesemaker adopts practices that feel unsafe to them. Do lots of research, observe a wide variety of practices, and be smart!

[@tamathamavraides5532]

@@jmilkslinger that was a truly excellent answer and I appreciate it. It’s nice to know that making cheese isn’t the extreme sterile process I thought it was. Clean yes. Sterile like a surgery room not needed. I’m thankful to know that. Relieved actually. I adore your channel.

[@Truthseeker-f1k]

Ops I'd repress it