(no subject)

[camwyn]

Today's cheesemaking work has resulted in one recipe's worth of ricotta insalata, which is currently pressing in my microwave, and one recipe's worth of cottage cheese, which is only just under way and is sitting inside my oven. Neither of these is turned on, it's just that I have to keep the cheese away from the cats and there are only so many places I'm positive the cats can't go. The cottage cheese is made with a packet of mesophilic starter from New England Cheesemaking Company, plus a little calcium chloride, poured into some warm whole milk from Tonjes Farm Dairy- they were at the Union Square greenmarket today. The ricotta insalata is made with Tonjes milk and citric acid and salt, cooked to 195 degrees and then allowed to sit once the curds separated from the whey. I could've taken the recipe's curds at that point and mushed 'em up and used 'em in recipes that called for ordinary ricotta, but ricotta insalata is one of my favourite cheeses and it only has to age for a week or two- and it can do so in the fridge, as far as I can tell. So there's that. As for the cottage cheese, that has to sit and let the starter do its work overnight- 16 to 24 hours, the recipe said- before I can do anything else with it. I'll keep you posted.

Did some decent bicycling today, although I think if I ride tomorrow I'll either stay on my side of the river and stick to the greenway along the Hudson or else go with the West Side greenway in Manhattan, maybe the Central Park loop. I always forget, until I try it again, just how bad a place the Manhattan city streets are for cyclists- even the ones with bike lanes. Double parkers, taxis, trucks that have to unload and poke out into the bike lane... ugh.

Ah, well.