New Jersey Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• milk
• prepared rennet
• water
• fine salt
• sweet grass

Method

Heat the milk to 32°C — this temperature readies the casein for rennet coagulation without driving off the delicate aromatics that define cream cheese's flavour. Add the prepared rennet according to packet strength (typically half a teaspoon diluted in cool water), stir for one minute to distribute evenly, then let the milk sit undisturbed for 30–40 minutes. The curd will set when a knife drawn through it breaks cleanly and the whey runs clear behind the blade, not cloudy.

Line a colander with fine cheesecloth and pour in the curds and whey together — do not break the curd mass. Once drained, gather the cloth corners and hang it to drip for 12 hours. The curds will knit into a single mass as gravity pulls the whey free. What you're doing here is accelerating the expulsion of moisture whilst preserving the delicate protein structure that makes this cheese spreadable rather than crumbly. A light press — a wooden board weighted with a 2 kg stone — for one hour consolidates the curds without squeezing them into hardness.

Remove the pressed cake and cut it into 5 cm cubes using a thread pulled taut between your fingers. Layer each cube between fresh, dampened cheesecloth and press again for one hour under the same light weight. This second pressing firms the exterior whilst keeping the interior tender. Unmould the pieces and rub each one thoroughly with fine salt — the salt salt-curing draws residual whey to the surface and begins the preservation process. Rest the cubes uncovered on a wooden board for 24 hours, turning them once. The surface should feel dry and slightly leathery.

Wash each piece briefly in cold water to remove excess salt, then pat dry with clean cloth. Line the base of a ripening box or ceramic vessel with sweet grass (dried timothy or meadow hay works well), layer the cheese pieces on top, then cover with more grass. Store at 10–12°C in a cellar or cool larder for 2–3 weeks. The grass aerates the cheese and imparts subtle herbaceous notes as fermentation and cheese-making|aging proceed. The texture will soften progressively; it's ready when a knife sinks through without cracking and the centre yields slightly to pressure.