My Dearest Adventurers!

October 3— for your autumnal vibe enjoyment, the Golden Apple Tisane is here to download!

While the kickstarter questing has finished, you are still invited to download your Backer Welcome Packet Here, which includes the first three taste-test quests!

The Quest of Time taste-test prototypes are also here for download: Hateno Cheddar Cheese, Traditional Lon Lon Cheesecake, and Vegan Deku Cheesecake.

Thank you, dear adventurer, for your dedication; both with the Kickstarter, and in feeding that hungry Gobabog. You have my immense gratitude for your quick and passionate return after (nearly!) five years.

Happy Questing!
Aimee

Specific Recommendations for Cheddar Cheese Making:

Thermometers and Chef Alarms from Thermoworks (affiliate link)
(Disclaimer: I AM an affiliate as of today, in order to secure your discount codes, and these are now updated affiliate links! If you prefer, here is a non-affiliate link: Thermoworks. Their equipment is professional, state of the art, and has been in my kitchen for years. I do recommend them.)

  • Be sure to message me on Kickstarter or Discord for your single use 15% off coupon code! They will expire on August 3!

Cheesemaking Supplies from New England Cheese-Making Supply Co.
(Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate! I have not yet tested their stuff, but I will during the livestream on August 3rd!)

  • Use discount code: MAKECHEESEE10 for 10% off!

Equipment:

  • Brewing Thermometer and Clip:

    • Option A: The Tel-Tru Thermometer(not affiliate), $30

      • Includes clip! This is an analog Thermometer! You can clip it to your pot while brewing up your milk. Easy.

    • Option B: $96

      • The Chef Alarm (affiliate) $65

        • Same thing, clip it to your pot while brewing up your milk! This will beep at you when you are wrong, too hot, too cold. It will beep at you when it’s time to do something. It has attachments for different foods!

      • The High Temp 12” Probe (affiliate), $22

        • The probe is for your big pot, so you can clip it, and plug it into your chef alarm.

      • The clip is here (affiliate), $5. (you might have one already?)

      • The probe spool is here (affiliate), $9. (definitely not necessary unless you are also autistic. Powerful magnet? I am IN.)

  • Temperature + Humidity Monitor: (not strictly necessary but nice!)

    • Option A: The Hygrobug (affiliate)$49

      • This shows you the temperature and humidity, so you can be sure your aging space is a nice cozy 50 to 55 degrees F, with around 85% humidity! If this is too expensive, you can always wax your cheese, so the humidity will matter less, and put it in your refrigerator bottom drawer (which will likely be too cold, but ce la vie, you’re trying to make cheese for the first time, you don’t gotta have all the gadgets. See if you like the process making cheese once, and if you do, invest next time!)

    • Option B: The Node (affiliate), Ambient + Humidity model, $119.

      • Not only does this let you monitor your cheese aging space(also called “cheese cave” which is adventurous and lovely, so I will use it from now on) from afar, but this model can alert you on your phone if your cheese cave goes outside of your selected temperature or humidity range.

      • I can only recommend this if you can afford it and are certain you’re gonna like, get INTO cheese making.

  • Cheddar Cheese Ingredients + Supplies: (prices are before discounts)

    • Cheese Cloth, $10 (Get 2 just in case, $5 each)

    • Liquid Animal Rennet, $8

    • Calcium Chloride, $4

    • Hard Cheese Mold Deluxe Medium, $40

      • You could get a different mold! I think this will be the best size for the amount and to get the right shape for the Hateno Cheddar.

    • Cheese Salt, $3

      • Cheese salt is salt without iodine or filler, sometimes a specific grain size. Not strictly necessary if you have non-iodized salt on hand!

    • Food Grade Beeswax, $23 (Optional)

      • Cheddar Cheese can be wrapped in cheese cloth or waxed before aging. Buy some food grade beeswax if you would prefer to wax.

      • I do think wrapping would be more accurate to the game’s Hateno Cheddar cheese, which looks like it has a rind; BUT waxed may be better for a non-ideal aging environment like a refrigerator drawer. It will make humidity matter a bit less, protect your cheese from drying out, and prevent mold growth (which is desirable when wrapped).

    • Reed Cheese Mat, for drying, $3 (Optional)

      • You don’t necessarily need this if you are waxing your cheese. This allows air flow on all sides, and makes turning your cheese easier.

      • There are other types of cheese mats! Look around. You might have something at home that will work just as well.

    • Dutch Style Cheese Press, $200, (Optional)

      • So. We will need to press our cheese, with increasing pressure from around 20 to 60 pounds, over the course of several days.

      • Having a cheese press makes this easier, as 5 pounds on one end equals 20 pounds on your cheese. It’s more stable, secure, and consistent. It fits the cheese mold above.

      • That said. It is expensive. And then you will have to store a cheese press all the time. But that won’t matter, because you’ll be making cheese all the time. Right? right. Who doesn’t want a trebuchet looking device permanently on your kitchen counter? Exactly.

      • Fr, do not buy this unless you are definitely serious about making cheese more than a couple times. You can always macgyver together a cheese press with objects you have in your house.

Please remember: If you cannot commit to Cheese-Making, the Traditional Hylian Cheesecake and the Vegan Korok Cheesecake recipes act as your alternatives for the Quest of Time, to be released on Thursday (July 18) as well. ...that said, I really, really would appreciate some of ya'll joining me in the cheese-making dungeon, as I need help testing!

———

Cheese Aging Space Requirements:

So! We are making Cheddar Cheese, and to do so, our cheeses ideally need to be kept at around 50 to 55 degrees F, and at around 85% humidity!

In an ideal world, we would all be explorers, and we would hide our cheeses safely in caves (humid, cool, consistent temperatures), that we would return to months or years later!

Alas, tis not the case. So, you can read more about the ideal ways to store cheese here:
How to Make a Cheese Cave.
Aging Cheese FAQ.

But what if an ideal environment is just not feasible for you right now? SAME! Who can go out and retrofit a mini refrigerator? Who has the SPACE? Who has the TIME!? (wait a second. Grab the ocarina! …okay no, you’re right)

Instead of letting the perfect be the enemy of the good; let’s try using what we have if you’ve never aged a cheese before.

I’m going to assume you have a refrigerator, and that you can clear out a lower drawer enough for a 6” diameter cheese to sit on a little plate, undisturbed.

1) You’ll follow the recipe to Wax your cheese, instead of Wrap.
2) You will accept that your cheese will not sit at the ideal temperature, as your refrigerator is likely colder than 50 degrees. That’s okay. The wax will help prevent it from drying out, and it should still age, if a bit more slowly.
3) We will see what happens! That’s why this is an experiment, and it’s great to have people test in non-ideal situations! Do it for Science! <3