How To Make Soft Cheese

The ricotta was rubbery and nasty I threw it away. Had all the right kit, followed the instructions to the letter using skimmed organic milk and lemon juice, sterilised everything, measured the temperature diligently, stirred gently when told to, waited as advised used scalded cheesecloth and colander then transferred it to the mould. I give up as I don't want to waste anything else. I started with the easiest cheese and was prepared for an iffy result first time but this was inedible and unspeakable. The book was nice looking but lacks troubleshooting tips plus what to do with the whey.

I tried the halloumi recipe yesterday and like many others did not end up with the distinctive squeaky salty cheese I was hoping for. I followed the recipe exactly, but did find it very vague, with no times given for how long each stage should take. I did give it a very quick stir after adding the vinegar but still ended up with something much more like ricotta that was quite bland after adding just a teaspoon of salt. I am left with no idea how to get it right as there are no troubleshooting tips for halloumi in the book! A nice idea but it seems there just needs to be a lot more detail.

First cheese I tried making was Halloumi. What I ended up with was Paneer (Indian cheese). It was nice but that wasn't what I wanted.I checked online and talk about oversimplification. Halloumi cheese needs rennet and has a few more steps than are mentioned here. Thankfully this book didn't cost much so not too much damage done.

I'm a keen cook, so all I needed to buy was the moulds and this book. I made Halloumi last night, and while the recipe was simple to follow it needed to be more detailed. The cheese I made looks good, but it's a bit bland as I wasn't sure how much salt to add & went too easy. Grilling it with oil, herbs and sweet peppers will fix that! I'll definitely make more cheese, but found this book a bit too basic. Supplying ideas for whey would be good, too- I went online for this. PS:I used non-homogenised milk & summer milk (from grass rather than silage) will probably make even better cheese

got the book, already had this sort of equipment as I'm a keen cook. I wanted to make cream cheese as I don't like the additives in commercial varieties - on my first try it worked a dream, I let it set overnight rather than just waiting the 30minutes, then used it to make a cheesecake - results beyond my dreams of perfection, it tasted fabulous. I'm trying the mozzarella now, fingers crossed.

My daughter and I really wanted to have a go at making cheese, so we brought all the kit from You with high hopes, but sadly after much effort and little outcome we are having to ament defeat, we have spent a lot of time and money but just can't seem to get the right results, we have googled advice too but are now thinking a trip to the charity shop with all the cheese making bits is are only hope. Sadly for us wasn't ment to be.

Tried twice, both failures. Follow the book, stir in 100ml of lemon juice and rennet and stop stirring. I don't get a thick curd, looks like curdled milk. I carry on, the curd not like the book says, grainy 1st time, 2nd time it isn't. Zap for 30seconds, not elastic, stays a grainy fatty lump. 2nd time when zapped it just becomes liquid and I doubled the rennet, Expected better curd! Help in the book would be good. Cows fed of siledge produce milk that wont turned into cheese, that time of year. Book simple and concise, no probs following the recipe, but clues on failures missing. Char count?

I'm so excited about this book :) I've only made the FETA so far but it's fab! So easy. I couldnt sleep last night so came down, put the milk on to warm and 40 minutes later i was scooping out the curd. I purchased the molds and cheesecloth at the same time as the book and it was well worth it. If i could submit a photo of the feta, i would, it looks superb. It's still drying now but i cant wait to taste it. The curd at the minute is still quite wet but tastes so smooth and yummy :) Thank you so much xxx

Feta Cheese: I didn't end up with the lovely cubes you see on the photos. I think that they are quite misleading. In order to do that you probably need a special mould. I didn't try the other recipes yet but I find a pity that there isn't a recipe for mascarpone which is the one I use the most for my ice creams! I will rate the book 3 stars because I haven't tested the other recipes yet!

The book is well set out and looks very straight forward but when you've never made cheese before a few more specifics about what to expect would help. I've just tried the halloumi recipe. When you come to add the vinegar, the recipe says nothing about stirring it, only about being sure not to disturb the curd forming process. As a result I was over cautious and didn't stir and the curds only did their stuff on one side of the pan! (Watch the video first, is my advice! I didn't realise there was one.) I'm not daunted, though, and will try again with a bit more confidence next time.

I think the Halloumi recipe is a little optimistically named. I followed the recipe carefully & made an OK cottage cheese. The milk coagulated well with the vinegar (I used whole milk (homogenised) from Sainsbury's and Cider vinegar. The yield was rather greater than expected, around 750g - I probably needed to stir the curds more - but the taste and texture were nothing like Halloumi. If I compare the recipe with another cheese book then one key ingredient missing is a starter. It seems to be an over simplification. The cheese fried OK and held together but tasted bland Not convinced!

I am in the middle of making the feta (draining stage) and it is looking something like it should but need help in how to get nice uniform pieces as in the picture? Have made fresh white twice, lovely with mixed herbs and chilli. Tried the mozzarella but ended up with a cream cheese. (I have seen the new link). Tasted good though. The whey makes the most amazing bread and pizza bases, I freeze the whey in usable portions to use later. Still can't find right milk locally so using the skimmed milk and cream.I did buy the thermospatula though and that has helped a bit. You can't beat homemade :-)

This review is for an older version of this product

Fantastic Halloumi at first attempt. Less than 10 mins to get into the mould. Better flavour and not salty like supermarket ones. Make a small batch when trying for the first time, I just used 1 litre of milk and 30ml white wine vinegar. My thermometer is not digital but there are other cheeses (Mozzarella) that are very sensitive apparently. Liked the spiral binding and robust card pages that are wipe clean - so much better than flimsy paper that tears over time.

Although the book is attractive and promises much the results are bland and nothing like the kind of cheese they claim to be e.g the halloumi is just a grillable cheese, no halloumi texture or taste - and the instructions are too vague to allow you to trouble shoot. Really disappointing.

Firstly - not too keen on the card format as hard to turn pages - could do with an ipad version! Tried the fresh white - it was lovely although I got loads of cheese - more than would fit in the one basket so had to use the other type I had bought as well. May well have overheated by a degree or so - had not realised just how low the required temperature was! Lesson learnt! As for the whey left - have so far made muffins, scones and breakfast pancakes - all with great results. Now - what to make next?!

i live in the country and can get unpasteurized milk from a neighboring farm. By using unpasteurized milk, does this eliminate the need for live yoghurt?

Lovely book, lovely recipes, but having spent very nearly £40 on all the equipment, and have now thrown the 8th pot full of milk down the drain, I don't know why they claim it is "easy" to make soft cheese at home. I've wasted £40 on equipment I'll not use again, plus £24 on milk which was neither milk nor cheese by the time I'd followed the recipes word for word. And I'm known to be an excellent cook, so is it me?

Have all the kit temperatures spot on, instructions followed to the letter, Mozzarella doesn't work for me, Rennet quantities are contradictory, between book and bottle, inspireing maybe but book useless, I need to revert to the Internet for proper instructions.

Tried making halloumi tonight from the book - but a lot more instruction is needed for a total novice like me (and, I suspect, most people!). I had no idea whether to stir when I added the vinegar (the whey never did clear). Didn't know how long to let the curds sit for before skimming, or how long to leave them in the colander, or how long to leave them in the mould for and when to put them in the fridge. I think a more detailed book is needed, but meantime a more detailed video for each type of cheese would be very, very welcome.

This review is for an older version of this product

Last week I bought this book & a mould & thermometer. I tried my hand at Haloumi which is a cheese I use a lot. I was delighted with the result. It was so easy & although it did not have the slightly rubbery texture of bought Haloumi it tasted lovely & was a very good consistency. I could not believe how easy it was. I think it needs more salt than the recipe states as it is a salty cheese but that is a personal preference. I had it for lunch with salad yesterday & tonight the rest is going in Giovetski. Can't wait to try some other cheeses.