Today, the kids helped make mozzarella, paneer, butters, and ice cream. We used homogenized milk, non-homogenized milk, half-n-half, sugar, rennet, lemons and salt. We stirred, we shook, we kneaded.
While there were a few "boil-overs", spills, and messes, the end results were fabulous. Kids and mamas celebrated with fresh tomatoes, basil, cornbread and all the dairy goodness.
Some good questions that came up during our cookings:
What is the "black stuff" in the rock salt? It looked like melted minerals in the water.
Not definitively answered.
Why do you use salt with the ice when making ice cream?
When you are making ice cream, the temperature around the ice cream mixture needs to be lower than 32 F if you want the mixture to freeze. Salt mixed with ice creates a brine that has a temperature lower than 32 F. When you add salt to the ice water, you lower the melting temperature of the ice down to 0 F or so.
What is the difference between rock salt and table salt?
Rock salt is the mineral form of sodium chloride, otherwise known as table salt. It's sometimes referred to as “halite,” especially when it is used industrially. This form of salt is available in most grocery stores and also in hardware stores, which stock it in massive bags for the purpose of keeping down ice on the roads in the winter. There are a number of uses for rock salt, ranging from making homemade ice cream to deterring trespassers.
The primary difference between rock and table salt is the size. Rock salt forms in very large, chunky crystals, as opposed to the small crystals seen in table salt. Like table salt, it also has an assortment of trace minerals that can have an impact on how it behaves chemically. Because of the large crystal size, rock salt is not usually used directly in cooking, since it takes a long time to dissolve.
This form of salt is mined from deposits that form underground. These deposits are usually the remains of inland seas that evaporated thousands or millions of years ago. In contrast, table salt comes almost exclusively from evaporation ponds that remove salt from seawater. Humans have been aware of deposits of rock salt for centuries, and when salt was still quite rare, wars were sometimes waged over the control of such deposits, because salt is so critical to many human activities.
Why is iodine added to table salt?
Iodized salt is table salt mixed with a minute amount of various salts of the element iodine. The ingestion of iodide prevents iodine deficiency. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. Deficiency also causes thyroid gland problems, including "endemic goitre". In many countries, iodine deficiency is a major public health problem that can be cheaply addressed by purposely adding small amounts of iodine to the sodium chloride salt.
Whey is liquid? What kind of uses are there for whey?
Whey is the watery part of milk that remains after the formation of curds.
- Use salted whey instead of water to make stock.
- Use unsalted whey in shakes and smoothies for extra protein.
- Spray unsalted whey onto cucumber, pea and squash leaves and the acidity will change the pH of the leaves, discouraging powdery mildew.
- Strain your unsalted whey with doubled up cheese cloth or butter muslin then pour it into the soil to lower garden soil pH.
- Drink cultured whey, as it has pro-biotics that can help balance the microflora in your gut as an extra bonus to the protein.
- Make ricotta from leftover whey. However, that if you made simple cheese by adding acid (like citric acid, lemon juice or vinegar), you won’t be able to get ricotta out of it.
- Freeze it for up to 6 months or longer!
What do the enzymes (rennet) do when making cheese? Are there other uses?
Rennet contains many enzymes, including a proteolyticenzyme (protease) that coagulates the milk, causing it to separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey). They are also very important in the stomach of young mammals as they digest their mothers' milk.
At home, lemon juice or vinegar can be used as the formation of the curd can be determined by an acid substance which accelerates the process.
I haven't found other uses for rennet.
The day began with an informational and historical discussion. The adults were prepared to extend class over two days so the kids would not feel rushed and would have plenty of time to complete their masterpieces. Impressively, the kids were focused and everyone finished their brainstorming, line sketch, and finished stained glass piece.
