So I decided to make my own cheese. My first attempt is white cheddar. Its white because I forgot to buy annatto which is the colorant that gives cheddar the orange color. But since it does not add any flavor I am running with it. So I made my own dutch style cheese press for pressing it. The picture of the cheese is after the first pressing which is 10# for 15 minutes. The next two pressings should really give it the compact block form (I hope). The second pressing is 40# for 12 hours and the third pressing is 50# for 24 hours. Then you air dry it for a couple days and then wax it and age it for 4-6 months (or longer) depending on how sharp you like it. Longer it ages the sharper it gets. I will set this aside for 6 months and then see what I get. Adjust for future batches.
As a byproduct of the process you produce a lot of whey. I ended up with 1 1/2 gallons of the stuff. Well I googled uses for it and one of the uses is making caramel. Thats one of my favorite things and I have made it with milk. But wasn’t sure about whey. Its better than milk. It has an awesome flavor. 2 Qts of whey makes a little over a pint of caramel sauce.