Hippychick's Gardens

• flock size 16 girlygirls
  
• at present 7 laying {we have a new girl's first egg just today!}
  
• 7 additional girls are due to begin laying any day now
  
• my 2 younger girls have at least 7 weeks before laying their first egg
• new layers may lay smaller pullet sized eggs for 6 weeks or more and may not lay everyday
• average number of eggs collected daily 5 to 6
  
• perfect world 49 eggs collected per week - not going to happen
  
• reality 35 to 45 eggs collected per week
  

• cost of one 5olb bag of organic chicken layer feed $3o
• one bag of feed lasting approx 2.5 weeks = $12 per week
• avg 6 eggs laid per spring/summer day (less in winter) = 42 eggs per week all things going well
  
• 42 eggs laid/12 eggs per dozen = 3.5 dozen eggs per week
• $12 feed per week / 3.5 dozen eggs =$3.43 feed fed per dozen per week

• bedding
• grit & oyster shell
• housing, feeders, chickeny health supplies
  
• my efforts to care for the ladies
• girls in moult - not laying - sweetpea girls have still got to eat

• $4.oo charged - $3.43 cost = $o.57 above feed cost
• .57 upkeep charge x 3.5 dozen per week = $1.99
• i make a whopping $1.99 per week - not enough to cover upkeep costs

• heat the milk to 90 degrees F - i am using a double boiler set up - a smaller stock pot inside a larger stock pot. the larger stock pot filled with water so as to keep the milk off direct heat and to better distribute the heat to the milk evenly
• once the milk has reached the 90 degrees F turn off the heat - it should hold it's temperature aided by the hot water bath it is sitting in
  
• add a packet of mesophillic direct set starter culture and stir into milk evenly - you may wish to stir slowly for a good 3 to 4 minutes {note - i get my starter from new england cheesemaking supply company }
• cover and allow your milk to sit for 45 minutes to culture
• in a separate container, add 1/2 rennet tablet or 1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet to 3 tablespoons cold water - if using the tablet rennet, crush and stir until the tablet is dissolved. *do not use hot water, you will kill the effectiveness of the rennet
  
• after the 45 minutes of culture, add your rennet pouring it in slowly in circles, then slowly stir for even distribution
• cover and allow your milk to sit for another 45 minutes - this is the curding process - if you find that your milk does not curd well in the first 45 you may allow it to sit up to 2 hours
• cut the curd into 1/2" blocks with a curd cutter or sharp stainless steel knife - slicing all the way down into the pot - slow and steady folks - do not rush
• place the pots back onto heat and bring the temperature slowly (very slowly 2 or 3 degrees every 5 minutes) up to 100 degrees. you will notice the curds shrink - you can have some fun here and sing 'i'm shrinking, i'm shrinking...' much as the wicked witch of the west sang i'm melting... this is about a 25-30 minute process. plenty of time to work on your wicked witch of the west impersonation.
• once you reach temperature (100 degrees), remove from heat, cover and let set for 5 minutes
  

• set up your drain system - place a cheese cloth lined colander in a larger pan and/or very clean dish pail - there will be near to 2 gallons of whey to drain so use a large size lower pan
• uncover your pot and remove the smaller pot from the larger - clean your larger pot and set aside.
• slowly pour the curds and whey over the colander. i pour out half of the pot just before the curds begin to trail out, transfer the poured whey to the larger (former water bath) pot then continue to pour the remainder of the curds and whey into the drain system. why do i do it that way - i find it easier to handle the pouring of the whey back into the pot - less weight to balance - less mess to be made
  

• wrap the cheese cloth up and gather at the top then hang over a pot or bowl for an hour to allow any additional whey to drain from the curds
  

• pack the curds into a cheese cloth lined mold folding the cheese over the top

apply 10 pounds of pressure for 15 minutes

• turn the cheese over apply 20 pounds of pressure for 12 hours
• turn the cheese over apply a second round of 20 pounds of pressure for 12 hours

• remove the cheese from the mold and carefully peel away the cheesecloth, taking care not to rip the surface of the cheese
• air dry at room temperature on a wooden board {turning the cheese several times a day to prevent moisture from collecting on the bottom} until a nice rind had developed and the surface is quite dry - this is a 3 to 5 day process - *note - a cutting board will work just fine as your drying board, just make sure the board is clean clean clean before setting your cheese out

• after your drying process, wax the cheese and age for a minimum of 60 days *the longer you age your cheese - the spikier it will get
  
• tic toc tic toc - enjoy!

• pour your whey inoto a pot and heat to 195-200? - do not boil the whey - a slow and steady heating process is best allowing you to better control the temperature gain
• as soon as your curds separate - remove your pot from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes

• slowly slowly pour off your curds and whey into a cheese cloth lined colander

• tie up your curds, hang and allow to drain for 20 minutes
• season curds as your wish and refridgerate
• use your cheese within a week -

here is another great site with step by step ricotta making cheesey steps
ricotta making illustrated
some ideas for eating your own homemade yummy ricottta cheese:

1. seasonal veggie lasagna
2. stuffed squash flowers
3. add it to a yummy breakfast coffee cake
4. serve it over fresh fruit for a cool summer desert
5. eat it just as it is
   

...and about that whey?

1. bake with it
2. lacto-ferment veggies with it
3. drink it
4. feed it to your creatures
5. water your plants with it

It's good stuff - down the drain would be a shame

Do check out new england cheesemaking supply company
it's a hippychick favorite - i bet wallace and gromit appreciate their good work too!