• About
  • Contact Me

Little Green Cheese

Cheese making at home with Gavin Webber the Cheeseman

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Cheese Courses
  • Cheese eBooks
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Cheese Making Kits
  • Support Me!
  • Live!

Making Havarti Cheese

17/06/2016 By Gavin Webber 14 Comments

Havarti is a popular Danish cheese that has a mild paste and flexible texture, making it the perfect cheese for people who haven’t developed a taste for strong-tasting cheese.  So lets start making Havarti cheese!

It is a washed curd cheese which reduces acid development and it can sometimes form eyes during maturation.

Havarti

Makes about 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)

Ingredients

  • 10 L (10 qts) Full Cream Milk
  • 1/8th Teaspoon (Dash) Mesophilic Culture (Aromatic)
  • 2.5 ml (½ tspn) Calcium Chloride diluted in ¼ cup non-chlorinated water
  • 2.5 ml (½ tspn) Liquid Rennet (190-200 IMCU) diluted in ¼ cup non-chlorinated water
  • 50 gm (just under ¼ cup) cheese salt
  • Cheese Wax (optional)

Equipment

  • Loose weave cheesecloth
  • 165mm Cheese Basket with follower
  • Cheese Press
  • Ripening Box
  • Stirring Spoon
  • Ladle
  • Curd Knife
  • Sieve

Method

  1. Sanitise all of your equipment.
  2. Heat milk to 32°C/90°F.  Turn off heat.
  3. Sprinkle Aromatic Mesophilic starter culture over surface of milk and allow to rehydrate for a few minutes.  Stir culture through milk using an up and down motion for 1 minute.  Cover and allow to ripen for 30 minutes, maintaining the target temperature.
  4. Add Calcium Chloride and mix thoroughly.
  5. Add Rennet solution and stir for 1 minute.  Cover and allow to set for 50 minutes.
  6. Check for a clean break.  If necessary, wait another 5 minutes then test again.
  7. Cut the curd into 1.25 cm/ ½ inch cubes.  Gently stir for 10 minutes.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  8. Using a sieve and ladle, remove about 4.5 litres of whey, down to the level of the curd.  Gently stir the curd for a few minutes to break up the curd mass.
  9. Replace the whey with an equal amount of water heated to 77°C/170°F.  The overall temperature should reduce to 38°C/100°F.  If the temperature is too high, add some cool water to adjust.  If the curd has matted together, break it up with your clean hands.
  10. Add the cheese salt to the pot, stir thoroughly.  Stir for 30 minutes at 38°C/100°F to prevent the curds from matting.
  11. Allow the curds to settle for 10 minutes.  They should mat into one big mass.
  12. Pour the curds and whey into a cheesecloth lined colander.  Break up curds into chunks to release some more whey.
  13. Line your mould with cheesecloth and fill with curds.
  14. Fold one corner of the cheesecloth over the mould and top with a follower.  Press at 5kg (11lbs) for 20 minutes.
  15. Remove from press and mould, turn the cheese, redress, and press at 13kg (30lbs) for 8 hours.
  16. Remove cheese from press, unwrap and place on a cheese mat in a ripening box.  Cover and ripen at 12°C/54°F @ 90% humidity for 4 weeks.
  17. Turn cheese daily for first week, draining any whey that collects in the bottom.  Turn every second day for the next three weeks.  If mould starts to grow, then wipe with a cloth dipped in brine and gently remove the growth.
  18. The cheese tends to flatten a little over the ripening period as it is so moist.  This is fine and perfectly okay.
  19. Wax the cheese in 2 to 3 coats of cheese wax and ripen for a further 2 weeks at 12°C/54°F @ 90% humidity. Eat and enjoy!
Havarti Cheese
Havarti Cheese after 4 weeks ripening.

Havarti is delicious and smooth, with a light creamy texture.  Delicious for young palates or people who haven’t developed the taste for stronger hard cheeses.

I hope you enjoyed making Havarti cheese.  For other cheese making video tutorials, check out my cheese making YouTube Channel, cheeseman.tv

Filed Under: Recipes, Taste Test, Video Tutorial

Bloomy Ricotta

29/02/2016 By Gavin Webber 4 Comments

This cheese was a fortuitous accident!  By mistake I made a Bloomy Ricotta.

About seven weeks ago, I made normal whey ricotta from the leftover whey from two cheeses, Camembert and Queso Fresco.

Bloomy Ricotta
Bloomy Ricotta

The starter culture that I used for both was Sacco MO36R, and I added Penicillium Candidum to make the Camembert.

Once I finished making both the Camembert and Queso Fresco, I heated the remaining whey to 92°C (197.6°F) and recovered the Ricotta with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I drained using butter muslin, and added 2 teaspoons of salt to the cheese.

For those of you after the whey ricotta video tutorial; https://youtu.be/1fdYZ8T45JE

Anyway, it was too salty, so I left it in the kitchen fridge and forgot about it for 7 weeks until my wife found it and questioned me about it.

It appears that the whey still had enough P. Candidum left in it to breed in the conditions that I stored it.  I kept the Ricotta in an airtight container in the kitchen fridge at 4°C (39.2°F).

Here’s the quick video I put together to show you this creation.

 

I believe that the additional salt helped preserve the cheese better for longer.  Normally I would only add 1 teaspoon of salt to Ricotta made from 6 litres (1½ gal) of whey, but got distracted and over salted.

I am actually surprised that the P. Candidum imparted a lot of flavour into the cheese and somehow reduced the overall saltiness.  It could be my tounge playing tricks on me, but this was certainly an improvement on the original Ricotta!

So all these little events led to the creation of my Bloomy Ricotta.  Blooming marvelous I say!

If you are after supplies to recreate this cheese, please visit Little Green Workshops.

Little Green Workshops

Filed Under: Taste Test, Video Tutorial Tagged With: Mould Ripened Cheese, Ricotta

Cotswold Cheese Taste Test

15/11/2015 By Gavin Webber Leave a Comment

Here’s a cheeky little Cotswold Cheese taste test that I recorded when I cracked open a 6 month old Cotswold cheese.  This cheese has dried onion flakes and dried chives added during the milling process and imparts an amazing flavour throughout the cheese.

This cheese is a staple part of a Ploughman’s Lunch, often on the menu in English Country Pubs, served with crusty bread and a pickled onion.

It’s one of our favourites here at home and is often served up to guests.

 

If you want to learn how to make this delicious cheese, check out the post about it here; Cotswold Cheese Video Tutorial and Verdict.

You can find the full recipe in my eBook, Keep Calm & Make Cheese.  Alternatively, if you live in Australia and NZ, you can purchase a bound version of the book here, exclusive to Little Green Workshops.

Filed Under: Taste Test, Video Tutorial

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 9
  • Next Page »

Follow Us via Social

FacebooktwitterpinterestrssyoutubeinstagramFacebooktwitterpinterestrssyoutubeinstagram

Cheese Making Kits

Cheeseman.tv Merchandise

Stay Fresh Cheese Bags Mug
0:00
1:0:07
  • LGC103 - Dan Leighton, from Extinct Cheeses to Medieval Re-enactments
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Archives

Tags

Aging Blue Brine Caerphilly Camembert Cheese Cave Cheese Press Colby Cream Cheese Curd Cutter Curds Drunken Cow eBook Emmentaler Equipment Farmhouse Cheddar Feta Gavin Halloumi Jarlsberg Kits Monterey Jack Mould Ripened Cheese Moulds Mozzarella Parmesan Parmigiano Reggiano Podcast Queso Fresco Raw Milk Rennet Ricotta Romano Romano Pepato Salt Sanitisation Starter Cultures Stilton Storage Technique Tzafatit Video Tutorial Waxing Whey Ricotta Workshops

Subscribe to Cheese Podcast

Apple PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS

Subscribe to Cheeseman.TV

Podcast Reviews

  • Number One Cheese Podcast
    October 14, 2023 by Gene 321 from Australia

    Inspirational, motivational, incredible knowledge of cheese history and production, a great teacher with a twist of Aussie humor and an all round nice guy who knows his cheese. I’ve been listening to Gavin for many years now and gained so much knowledge and inspiration from just listening to his podcasts. If you’re interested in cheese, Gavin is your man.

  • I am so hooked on cheese making now.
    July 25, 2023 by Bennyssimoo from New Zealand

    Thank you Gavin. I feel like I know you as if you were my neighbor and you really got me lost in cheese now

  • Love it. Keep it up!
    February 12, 2022 by Corknip from Denmark

    Excellent podcast. Started the home making adventure last month and have been catching up on all the past episodes and YouTube videos. it is a gold mine of shared knowledge. Thank you!

  • So funny!!!!
    June 15, 2020 by purple quaqamale from United States

    Little green cheese is so funny

  • Great podcasts
    June 14, 2020 by Chrissy Curd Nurd from Australia

    I’ve just started cheese making at home,Gavin ‘s podcasts are so informative. I also watch his you tube tutorials. Thanks for your great work!!

  • An excellent guide to artisan cheese!
    January 14, 2020 by N.K.13 from Australia

    I recently became aware of Gavin’s lovely YouTube channel and podcast and it’s been incredible. His competence and comprehensive explanations leave you craving more. Much like a good cheese! Cheers Gavin!

  • Perfect for Cheesemakers of all levels!
    December 3, 2018 by Viki Leeasa from Thailand

    I love that this podcast does not just have helpful tips and tricks on cheese making, but also stories and news from the cheese world, as well as nice little anecdotes from the host.A big fan from Thailand!

  • If you think you want to make cheese, listen to this!
    November 30, 2018 by paulsaw from United States

    Gavin Webber’s Little Green Cheese is By Far the best podcast I have ever heard! A truly informative and quality production!

  • Great program
    October 9, 2018 by p37dg9q14 from United States

    Very informative and enjoyable podcast. I started at episode 1 and currently listening to 25. I’ll be giving cheesemaking a go in the next week. Mike J from Oceanside CA

  • Great podcast
    September 13, 2018 by nicole_elias from Australia

    I have a long commute to and from work and have worked my way through the back catalogue of these podcasts. Enjoyed every one of them and hope for many more to come. Thanks Gavin! Keep up the great work. Cheers, Nicole

Little Green Workshops

Copyright © 2025 · Gavin Webber