How To Make Havarti Cheese

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Learn how to make havarti cheese at home from scratch. Havarti cheese is a great mild, beginner cheese that only takes 4 weeks to age.

This Italian Havarti Recipe is one of our families favourite cheeses and as a cheesemaking coach, I think that it is a great beginner cheese for anyone to make. It can be made with minimal supplies, in fact I bet you already have everything you need in your kitchen!

Notes about this recipe

• Havarti is a great beginner cheese because you can make it with minimal equipment and because it is good to eat after only 4 weeks of aging. A short aging time is always helpful when it comes to cheese because who wants to wait months and months to figure out if they did it right?!

• This recipe uses a lot of milk, but feel free to cut the recipe down and use what you have.

• Ordering cheesemaking ingredients like rennet and culture can seem confusing. Glengarry cheesemaking and Cheeseneeds are two of my favourite sources for ingredients and supplies.

• Feel free to swap out the Italian seasoning with your other favourite spices. Some of our favourite combos are dill or red pepper flakes.
• For more detailed information on how to make cheese and a little more about set up and ingredients, check out my homestead cheesemaking 101 course.

Ingredients

• 6 gallons fresh raw milk– I like to use raw milk that is no older than 2 days for cheesemaking. See notes below for using pasteurized milk and the addition of calcium chloride.
• 3/4 tsp Mesophilic culture or 2 cups well fed clabber
• Rennet – Determine the amount by using the package directions on your rennet bottle. For example, I use 1 tsp double strength calf rennet.
• 3/4 cup fine ground salt– Be sure that your salt has no additives in it. This means no anti clumping agents or iodine. When you read the ingredient list, it should list salt as the only ingredient. You can usually find good salt for cheesemaking at the grocery store or the health food store.
• 2 tbsp dry Italian seasoning

Equipment

• 6 gallon stainless steel pot– Feel free to cut the recipe down if you do not have a big enough pot.
• Thermometer
• Spoon
• Knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cheese cloth– The cheese cloth that you buy at the grocery store is not good for cheesemaking. It is too fibrous and you end up having small strings stuck in your cheese. My favourite type of cheese cloth is flour sack towels.
• 5-6lb cheese form- You can purchase cheese forms at a cheese supply store or you can easily make them at home using a spring form pan or a bucket with holes drilled into it.
• Cheese press- You can purchase a cheese press at cheese supply websites, make one yourself, or jimmy rig one up with things you have around the house. Watch this video on choosing a cheese press to help you decide which cheese press is best for you.
• A large plastic container with lid, that will fit your cheese in it
• A small wood, wire or bamboo mat or rack that will fit in your container
• A vacuum sealer
• Shop my amazon store front for recommended cheesemaking equipment

How to make Havarti cheese

Warm milk to 90F. Turn off heat.

Sprinkle Mesophilic Culture over the surface of the milk, and let stand for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Using an up and down motion, combine the culture into the milk. If you are using clabber instead of mesophilic culture, gently whisk the clabber into your milk to combine.

Dilute rennet in 1/4 cup cool water and combine using the same up and down motion. Put the lid on your pot and leave it for 30 min-1 hour.

At the 30 min mark, come back and check for a clean break.

Once you have achieved a clean break, Cut curds into 1/2 inch cubes. Be sure to let the curds rest between sets of cuts. This means cut vertical and horizontal lines across your pot 1/2 inch apart, let set 5 min to firm up. Using a skimmer and knife, cut underneath your curd mass to create 1/2 inch cubes, let set 5 min to firm up. This whole step should take approximately 10 min, and will ensure a more stable curd.

Gently stir curds for 5-10 minutes with a spoon, be very gentle during this time and dedicate this time to bringing all of your curds to a uniform 1/2 inch cube size. The reason for this is that it is very difficult to create uniform curds underneath the surface of your curd mass, by using this next 5 minutes to get everyone down to a uniform size, you will create a more consistent cheese.

After you feel that the majority of your curds are a uniform size, stir for an additional 5 minutes, at this point your curds should be about the size of half a grape, and they will feel like egg whites from a poached egg. When left to sit, they will sink to the bottom of your pot.

Allow them to settle at the bottom of the pot.

Using a fine mesh strainer and a bowl, pitch off the whey until you see the surface of the curds. Replace the whey with with 1 gallon 105F steralized water (be sure that it is non chlorinated).

Stir curds for 10 minutes. At this point they will have shrunk slightly, and they will have the firmness of a raison. When pressed between your fingers, they break, but you feel some firmness. Allow the curds to settle to the bottom of the pot.

Again pitch off as much whey as you can from the pot. This means, when you reach the surface of the curds, keep pitching off whey using the bowl and strainer method, until there is very little whey left in the pot.

Add 3/4 cup fine ground salt to the pot and 2 tbsp Italian seasoning, stirring to combine.

Leave in the pot for 20 minutes with the lid on. Stir every 5 minutes or so, to prevent the curds from clumping too much. During this time, they will continue to release whey.

After 20 min, add 1 gallon 105F sterilized water to the pot, stir for 1 min. Leave curds to sit under the whey for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare your cheese form by wetting your cheese cloth in the warm whey and lining your cheese form with it. Place your cheese form in a shallow baking dish, this will make clean up easier for the next step.

Pitch or drain off the whey from your cheese pot. Pulling curds out of the pot in chunks, press curd chunks into your prepared form until it is full. Work your way around your cheese form pulling the cheese cloth up as you go. Tuck your cheese cloth over top of your cheese and smooth it flat. Put your follower on your form and press at low pressure for 30 min.

After 30 min, remove cheese from press, redress and press for an additional 5 hours at medium pressure. (See notes).

Remove from press and place on a rack in a large plastic container. If your cheese is still quite squishy feeling, consider keeping your cheese in the cheese form and placing the whole form in the plastic container. Set the lid on the container but do not snap it shut, it should be sitting loosly in place to allow for airflow. Place the container in your refrigerator or aging area. Flip your cheese daily and dump out any accumulated whey from the container for 2- 5 days until your cheese feels dry to the touch.

Once your cheese feels dry to the touch, Vacuum Seal, and leave in your temperature controlled aging area. If you notice a large amount of whey in the vacuum bag, pull your cheese out and dry it for another day or so on the drying rack in your plastic container.

This cheese will taste good after 4 weeks of aging. Please note that it is recommended by many health guidelines to only consume raw milk cheeses after 6 weeks.

Notes about pressing

• This cheese requires very little pressure to press properly. When I made this cheese, my light pressure consisted of a 1.5 gallon bucket of warm water, and about 10 lbs of books. My medium pressure added another 10 lbs of books to the top. This was sufficient enough to press this cheese well. Be sure to assess how well your cheese is pressing when you redress it. At the redressing stage, the curds should be knit together, and it should look like a cheese, and feel very squishy and floppy. If your curds are not well knit together, I would add an additional 15 lbs, if they are knit together, I would add an additional 10lbs.
• It is very difficult to teach pressing cheeses in a recipe, because we all have different pressing set ups that require different amounts of weight and different ways of applying force. One thing that I will say is don’t get hung up on trying to figure out how much weight you should be applying. It can become very confusing if you start doing the math equations for pressing cheese. In my mind, I like to think of pressing as how it was done in the old days. People have been pressing their cheeses for thousands of years with minimal equipment. Consider that all you are trying to do when you press cheese is apply enough force to knit the curds together and allow the whey to seep out from between the curds. Some of the most effective ways of achieving this, require very little weight, and actually rely on warmth instead. My recommendation for home pressing is that you fill your follower with warm water, this warmth will allow your cheese to press very effectively with minimal weight.
• Check out this video on how to choose a cheese press and how I make my own DIY press

Notes about using pasteurized milk

• You can use pasteurized milk for this recipe, but it is important that you add in calcium chloride before the rennet. Add 1/4 tsp calcium chloride for every gallon of milk.

• When choosing pasteurized milk for cheesemaking, try to choose milk that is not homogenized (can still cream line) and is as fresh as possible (reach to the back of the rack in the store as they usually stock from the back).

• Ultra pasturized milk can not be made into cheese.

FAQs

This is a great beginner cheesemaking recipe, but like any cheese recipe it can occasionally give your troubles. The most common reason for troubles with this recipe is troubles when pressing and drying your cheese.

Should I sterilize my equipment before cheesemaking?

I make cheese in a clean kitchen, not a sterile one. It is recommended however, that you sterilize all of your equipment before cheesemaking. My favourite way to do this is to boil a pot full of water in my cheese pot and add all of my equipment into the pot for 10 min at a rolling boil.

I firmly believe that healthy strong raw milk and strong cultures make the need for sterilizing not as applicable, though sterilizing never hurt anything, so do what you are comfortable with!

What is a clean break?

A clean break is when you stick your knife into the pot at an angle and lift up sideways towards the blade. Your curd mass should split in a clean even break with no cheese bits falling off. If it does not look clean or breaks off in small pieces, put the lid back on the pot and wait an additional 10 min before trying again. This is an important step because if you begin cutting and stirring your curds too soon, your curds will not be able to hold shape and you can end up loosing solids in the whey. For highest yields, always cut curds after achieving a clean break.

My curds fell apart and did not hold shape during stirring.

Next time, ensure that you have a clean break before cutting your curds and beginning stirring. It is important to wait the 5 min between cutting the top curds and the underneath curds during the cutting stage as this allows the edges of the curds a chance to firm up and maintain structure for stirring.

How do I sterilize my water before adding it into my cheese pot?

It is recommended that you sterilize your water before adding it into your cheese pot by boiling it and allowing it to cool down to the 105F indicated in this recipe. This is not something that I standardly do, but it is a recommended practice for safe cheesemaking.

Should I be sterilizing my spices before adding them into my cheese pot?

Yes, it is recommended that you bake your spices for 15 min at 250F to kill any pathogens. This is not something that I standardly do, but it is a recommended practice for safe cheesemaking.

This recipe doesn’t seem like it has enough salt?

Though the salting technique in this recipe seems different than you usually see in most cheesemaking recipes, it adequately salts your cheese for aging and results in a tasty result.

Can I use fresh herbs and spices for this recipe?

I recommend that you dry all spices or herbs before adding into your cheese. The reason for this is moisture content. Cheeses that are made using fresh herbs and spices add too much moisture to your cheese and takes them forever to dry!

If you do decide to use fresh spices and herbs sterilize them by boiling, or baking.

How do I know how much pressure to apply?

It is normal to feel unsure about how much pressure you should be applying to your cheese. Follow the guidelines listed above in the “notes about pressing section” and remember, try not to overthink it! People have been making cheese for thousands of years with minimal equipment and supplies! The general purpose of pressing is to knit your curds together while pushing the whey out from between the curds, as long as you are achieving this, you are doing fine!

What does re-dressing mean?

Re-dressing is when you take your cheese out of the cheese cloth, flip it over, pull the cheese cloth up around it again, and put it back in the press. Re-dressing allows for you to monitor how your pressing is going, as well as makes a smoother rind on your final cheese. 

My cheese feels very flimsy coming out of the press.

It is normal for your cheese in this recipe to feel flimsy coming out of the cheese press. If it feels quite flimsy, I recommend keeping it in your cheese form in the drying container during the next step of the recipe. Keep it in the cheese form for about 12 hours, until you feel it has released enough moisture to hold its own shape when removed and set on the rack in your container. 

My cheese collapsed after taking it out of the cheese press.

Next time try leaving your cheese in the cheese form and placing the entire cheese form into your drying container in the fridge. This will allow more moisture to be released from your cheese while it is in the form and after 12 hours, it should be stable enough to hold its own shape when removed from the form and placed directly on the rack. 

Why do you dry in a container in the fridge verses a drying rack at room temperature?

More and more I have been moving towards drying cheeses in a container in the fridge or aging area. The reason for this is that everyone has different temperatures in their homes and room temperature does not mean the same for everyone. I see less contamination issues when I dry my cheeses in a container in the fridge. 

I am starting to see mold growth on my cheese in the drying container

Mold growth in the first week after making cheese is usually an indication that the humidity in your drying box is too high. Ensure that the lid on your drying box is slightly ajar and wipe the moisture out of your ripening box each day when you flip your cheese. 

Remember to flip your cheese daily and that you can vacuum seal your cheese as soon as it is dry to the touch. 

To deal with mold, gently wipe or scrape it off with a light salt brine. 

There is a lot of moisture in my vacuum seal bag

Pull your cheese out and allow it to dry for a few more days in your ripening container. 

My cheese tastes bitter

There are several common reasons for bitter cheese. The most common reason is too much moisture trapped in the vacuum seal bag, but it can also be caused by the addition of too much rennet or calcium chloride.

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