As I was born in La Mancha, land of Don Quixot and cheese, I have always been interested in making my own cheese. At last I can tell you how to prepare homemade queso blanco with rennet.  It has been a challenge and as I got it, I would like to share with and answer your questions: What do I need? How to prepare it? Is it easy to make it?

Tools and tips to make homemade queso blanco with rennet

The first steps to be taken to prepare homemade queso blanco (“white cheese”) with rennet  is getting the right tools. First of all you need fresh milk, rennet a basket and a thermometer to control the temperature of the milk. My tip is getting a kit to prepare cheese at the following website cocinista.es.

There are other kits, such as the one to make spherifications and my next goal is to prepare homemade beer. Among other kits we can make tofu, yoghurt and better and other types of cheese and they will provide you with the cheese press. You can get kits or items individually.

At Cocinista.es you can also get kits to make  roquefort, Swiss cheese, Manchego cheese, and a numerous quantity of items including moulds or tools to smoke your cheese. Let us focus on how to make homemade queso blanco with rennet.

Calcium chloride

It is the substance that makes milk ready to curdle; this will be the first thing to add.

The rennet

If you want to know more, you can read an article click on the following link

If you feel lazy to read, rennet is the magic substance that makes mik curdle, i.e. first step to get cheese. 

The small basket

As you can see in some of the pictures, we have a basket where we put the curdled milk and it will allow the separation of the whey – the liquid part of the milk. It is just a question of gravity. We did something similar at the homemade tofu recipe, despite the fact that on that occasion we did an acid coagulation with lemon juice.

The thermometer

It is essential to control the temperature of the milk. We start with milk at 86º-104º F and we need to keep it, otherwise we will inactive the rennet and the mesophile bacterias. (contained in cured cheese= Buy a digital universal cuisine thermometer  (21 cm)

Fresh milk

It is not our aim to speak about different types of preserving milk,  such as simple pasteurization or  VAT or UHT treatment (ultra-high-temperature process). It is the way of eliminating eventual pathogen elements contained in milk before being consumed; old wives used to boil it and we just got it at the supermarket. Nevertheless, we have to buy FRESH milk, at least, when it comes to make homemade queso blanco. This type of milk has gone through a less temperature process and still keeps the best properties to make cheese, bearing in mind, that it also lasts less.

I do remember studying all this stuff when being a veterinary undergraduate, being that time the first time in my life that I made some cheese or butter. I got very good marks by the way.

Some tips to make homemade queso blanco with rennet

To start with, I have to tell that making homemade queso blanco with rennet is easier than it seems. The first tip is try to follow the steps I am giving you and be patient enough. My second tip is reading an easy book about cheese elaboration; you will understand things clearer and you can also get interesting recipe. You can get it at  cocinista.es.

Buy Homemade elaboration of butter, yoghurt and cheese 

Prepare homemade queso blanco with rennet. What do I need?