3 L raw milk from the farmer 3 knife points ME culture (you can buy on the internet) 2 tbsp yoghurt 0.2 g dry rennet or 15 drops liquid rennet

Brine

Per liter brine bath: 800ml water, 200 ml whey, 140-180g salt and 8 ml calcium chloride

Per 1/2 liter salt bath: 400ml water, 100 ml whey, 70-90g salt and 4 ml calcium chloride

Preparation

1. Heat milk to 35 degrees, add ME culture and yogurt and stir
2. Wait 90 minutes, called acidification
3. Reheat the milk to 35-37 degrees, remove from the heat
4. Dissolve the dry rennet in 50g warm water and stir into the milk
5. Leave to rest for 30 minutes
6. Cut the jelly into 1.5 cm pieces with a knife, horizontally and vertically
7. Leave to rest for 15 minutes, then you will see the whey
8. Stir the mixture, break up the large pieces
9. Wait 30 minutes, stir again
10. Wait 30 minutes, stir again

Preparing the weights

Prepare the cheese molds, which you have of course washed out well. Prepare the weights - I use stones that I have packed in freezer bags. Enough stones to fill a cheese mold 3/4 full, pressing pressure: 1.5 kg. Not too high, otherwise the feta will be too firm.

Brine

Make the brine. The quickest way to do this is with hot water in which you dissolve the salt.

Filling

1. Line a cheese mold with cloth
2. Place the mold on a rack in a high bowl
3. Pour the curd into the mold with a ladle
4. Pour in the whey
5. To press, place 2 cheese molds filled with pebbles on top of the cheese.

Turn

1. After 20 minutes, remove the cheese from the cloth and turn it over, then put it back in the cloth
2. Turn and press again after 60 minutes
3. Turn and press again after 120 minutes
4. Turn and press again after 240 minutes
5. Turn and press again after 260 minutes

Rest

After the last turning, leave to dry at room temperature in a dry cheese strainer without a cloth on a draining rack/cake rack for 6-8 hours.

Bottling the whey

Pour off the whey and refrigerate. You can drink it or use it to make cheese.

Cooling

Set the cheese aside in a closed container in the brine for 1-3 hours at room temperature. Weigh it down with a saucer or egg cup so that all the cheese is covered in brine. The cheese is now ready.

Refrigerate it, after a few days it will get better and better. Before eating, remove the cheese from the brine, rinse and soak.

Storing/refining in oil or brine

If you are not going to eat the shepherd's cheese straight away, soak it in oil. Cut the cheese into cubes, season olive oil or rapeseed oil with herbs, garlic and/or chili and place the cheese in it. Make sure that the cheese is completely covered with oil.

Alternatively, you can make a 2% brine with a squeeze of lemon. The lemon prevents the cheese from becoming greasy. So do not use the whey brine!!!!

You can reuse the whey brine. Chill it and boil it briefly before using it again and then leave it to cool.