I often get the question “why does my cheese suck?!” well… your cheese doesn’t suck! But here’s some of my top tips to get your cheese to be worthy of the time you’ve spent in making it!

Top 5 things people get wrong when making cheese at home

1. Aluminum pots. Cheesemaking all about chemistry, and this metal can keep your proteins from binding right and forming a good curd. To be safe: use stainless steel, ceramic, or glass pots.

2. Using homogenized or flash-pasteurized milk. See last infographic carousel all about cheesemaking milk!

3. Using too much cultures or molds. They can quickly take over a cheese and flavors can get really strong! Follow the recipe.

4. Not replacing rennet after 6 months. Label your bottle after you open it and before you put it in your fridge- the enzyme expires quicker than you’d think.

5. Keeping cultures longer than a year after opening. These poor little guys start to die off after about 12 months in your freezer. Just buy a little at a time!