Not all of us have easy access to farm-fresh milk. My first two attempts at making cheese flopped because I didn't realize you can't use any ultra-pasteurized milk. I ended up with a rather flavorless and mushy ricotta instead of the nice firm cheese I was expecting. Lesson learned -- always check the label and buy a quality brand. Many, many brands -- even organic ones -- are UP since it extends the shelf life, and the high temp denatures the milk proteins.
I did some research and bought a gallon of Whole Foods 365 brand milk since it is HTST pasteurized and will give it a try to make Mozzarella this weekend.
What brands of milk have worked for other folks? Or failed to make good cheese?
As folks reply to the thread I'll update this post to maintain a list here. Please include the type(s) of cheese you made since some milks may be good for some types of cheese but not others.
Known to work:
Swiss Premium (mozzarella and ricotta)
Farmers' All Natural Creamery
Giant Eagle Pasteurized (mozzarella with calcium chloride)
Whole Foods 365 Organic (mozzarella with calcium chloride)
Central Market Organic (mozzarella)
Albertson's (mozzarella) (check the label to be sure it isn't ultra-pasteurized since that may vary depending on market location)
Rhody Fresh (Rhode Island) (mozzarella)
Borden Pasteurized in gallon jugs
Wegman's Organic
Spartan (mozz with calcium chloride)
Publix + calcium chloride
Kroger + calcium chloride
Trader Joes Organic
Known NOT TO WORK:
Any milk labeled "ultra-pasteurized", this includes almost all organic brands!
Horizon Organic (some work, some do not, it is not worth a ruined batch so don't try!)
Tip! Try 1% or 2% and add a pint of heavy cream along with a teaspoon of calcium chloride per gallon. The texture of the resulting cheese will be much nicer, since not all of the milk fat will be homogenized.
I did some research and bought a gallon of Whole Foods 365 brand milk since it is HTST pasteurized and will give it a try to make Mozzarella this weekend.
What brands of milk have worked for other folks? Or failed to make good cheese?
As folks reply to the thread I'll update this post to maintain a list here. Please include the type(s) of cheese you made since some milks may be good for some types of cheese but not others.
Known to work:
Swiss Premium (mozzarella and ricotta)
Farmers' All Natural Creamery
Giant Eagle Pasteurized (mozzarella with calcium chloride)
Whole Foods 365 Organic (mozzarella with calcium chloride)
Central Market Organic (mozzarella)
Albertson's (mozzarella) (check the label to be sure it isn't ultra-pasteurized since that may vary depending on market location)
Rhody Fresh (Rhode Island) (mozzarella)
Borden Pasteurized in gallon jugs
Wegman's Organic
Spartan (mozz with calcium chloride)
Publix + calcium chloride
Kroger + calcium chloride
Trader Joes Organic
Known NOT TO WORK:
Any milk labeled "ultra-pasteurized", this includes almost all organic brands!
Horizon Organic (some work, some do not, it is not worth a ruined batch so don't try!)
Tip! Try 1% or 2% and add a pint of heavy cream along with a teaspoon of calcium chloride per gallon. The texture of the resulting cheese will be much nicer, since not all of the milk fat will be homogenized.