• Mixed cheese plateCheese. Cheddar , cream , and feta cheese on a plate image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
  
  Cheese is made worldwide. There is no definitive answer as to how many types exist. Cheese makers are constantly producing new types and flavors to tempt the consumer. There is also growing interest in making cheese at home, and many cheeses are deceptively easy to reproduce.
  
  

Equipment

• To make cheese at home you will need:
  
  A cheese press to remove excess water and shape the cheese.
  
  Cheesecloth, which can be coarse or fine and is used to wrap the cheese as it matures.
  
  Drying mats are raised grids of plastic that allow any moisture to run out of the cheese.
  
  Digital thermometer, this is used to test temperatures at various stages of the process, different cheeses require different conditions.
  
  Cheese wax, certain cheeses mature best if coated in wax.
  
  A firm-bristled basting brush that is used to both roughen the surface of the cheese and apply the cheese wax.
  
  

Ingredients

• To make cheese at home you will need:
  
  Rennet, which is an enzyme that can be extracted from the stomachs of young dairy animals. It also has a vegetarian form that can be made from a microorganism called mucor meihei. It is one of the most used methods of starting the curd process.
  
  Mesophilic starter, which is cultured buttermilk that you allow to ripen at room temperature. It is also used to start the curd making process.
  
  Fromage blanc, or soured cream is another potential starter for the curd process.
  
  Mild lipase powder is a powdered enzyme that is used to flavor cheese.
  
  Calcium chloride sometimes may need to be added to store brought milk to aid the curd coagulation
  
  Citric acid is used to make the simper cheeses like mozzarella and ricotta, which don't need aging as it creates curds rapidly.
  
  Cheese colors are food colorings like carotene or orleana that are used to make colored cheeses.
  
  Flaked salt is a specialized salt that does not contain Iodine, which kills lactic bacteria. It dissolves quickly and acts as a preservative.
  
  

Milk

• You can use any type of diary animal milk to make cheese. It should be as fresh as possible and can be raw or store brought. Ultra-pasteurized milk however will not work, because the high temperatures destroy the casein in the milk, meaning it will not make a curd.