curds and whey

A while ago my sister made Halloumi with a friend. I was so intrigued when she told me, I hadn't realised you could make cheeses like that at home.

Of course once I knew, I had to try it myself! I love to make things from scratch as you'd know if you've read this blog for any length of time.

I've made my own ricotta, paneer and yoghurt before, but I'd never realised that other cheeses were within the scope of the home kitchen. I imagined the equipment and processes were beyond the domestic realm.

I started dreaming about making Halloumi myself, and then for Christmas darling Mr F bought me this most fabulous Artisan Cheesemaking Kit. The kit I have is a beginner's kit but is very comprehensive and comes with all the equipment necessary to make a number of cheeses, from ricotta through to cheddar!

For my first cheese I of course had to attempt Halloumi, the cheese that inspired this adventure.

I first tasted delicious Halloumi many years ago, actually I remember, it was the first time I went to my Greek sister in law's house. This cypriot cheese is usually served fried as it is one cheese that doesn't melt on heating. It makes a great entree, or is delicious thrown into a salad or on a sandwich or in a pasta.

And it turns out Halloumi is also one of the simple cheeses to make, a fresh cheese that can be eaten the same day its made, straight from the pot. Which we did, fried in a little olive oil and butter. Yum. And I think you'd be surprised how easy it is to make your own cheese, I was.

Next up I made Mozzarella, but I'll save those pics for another day.

High school for my darling boys tomorrow and my big girl starts year 11 at the Senior Campus. We are very prepared for this momentous day, and went out today to buy some lunch treats for the three of them, my little way of sending a bit of me along with them.