Ok, the Clarks aren't really involved in this post.(If you do follow this link, Skip the intro song over to "The River". I love that song. Or look around for Saturday.)
Saturday, being yesterday, I was able to attend a really unusual class. I took a class through my community college about..... making cheese. Yup, made my very own mozzarella and ricotta right there in the kitchen and brought it home to my family. No, it is not exactly like what you buy in the store. However, I made it myself, with things I can buy or already have around my house. It was really kinda cool.
I learned a lot. Like nearly all milk starts out the same way, it is the way you "cut the curds" that changes what kind of cheese you are making.
I also learned that most cheese isn't vegetarian. I knew it wasn't vegan since milk is an animal product. To get most cheese to curdle they use a specific item called "rennet". If you don't actually want to read the Wikipedia entry, or just don't get what they are saying let me tell you what it is. It is a little tablet they have made from a calf's stomach. Bizarre isn't it? I guess cheese was made by accident originally because they would store the milk in the stomach and the enzymes curdled it. Maybe you already knew that. I didn't.
I also learned, I probably won't be making cheese at home very often. It is really labor and time intensive. I guess I shouldn't complain about how much it costs. Oh how I love it though. Too bad I can't just make cheddar over night....
interesting! I do have to say on an un cheese related note, that The River is one of my all time favorite Springsteen songs and absolutely love the Clarks' remake of it. :)
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