Homemade Fresh Cheese Recipes

HOME MADE FARMER'S CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a large pot, and stir in a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot.
• When the milk begins to boil (small bubbles will first appear at the edges), turn off the heat. Stir lemon juice into the milk, and the milk will curdle. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes.
• Line a sieve or colander with a cheesecloth, and pour the milk through the cloth to catch the curds. What is left in the cheesecloth is the Farmer's Cheese. The liquid is the whey. Some people keep the whey and drink it, but I throw it away. Gather the cloth around the cheese, and squeeze out as much of the whey as you can. Wrap in plastic, or place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.

HOMEMADE CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• Pour milk into a sterilized pot. Place pot into a larger pot filled with a few inches of water. Heat milk, stirring occasionally, to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Remove from heat.
• Dissolve calcium chloride in 1/4 cup water; stir into the milk. Sprinkle mesophilic culture over the surface of the milk. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir gently for 1 minute. Cover and let culture ripen for 35 minutes.
• Dilute rennet with 1/4 cup water. Stir rennet into the milk mixture for exactly 1 minute. Cover again and let sit until a knife can cut cleanly through the curd, about 45 minutes. Cut curd into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes directly in the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cover curds and heat, stirring every 10 minutes, to 98 degrees F (37 degrees C), about 90 minutes. Squeeze curds together to check if they stick. Drain curds and transfer to a cheesecloth-lined strainer set inside a pot.
• Pour enough whey over the curds to reach about 3 inches at the bottom of the pot. Let drain for about 1 minute. Cover with cheesecloth and the pot lid. Heat the whey below to keep curds between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C); let drain for 10 minutes. Curds will stick together to form a slab. Cut slab in half, re-cover, and let drain for 10 minutes.
• Flip curds over and re-wrap. Drain for 10 minutes more, keeping the temperature still between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C). Cut the slab into smaller slabs and stack them inside the cloth. Return to the pot and cover. Continue draining, flipping and rearranging the slabs every 15 minutes at the same steady temperature, about 1 hour total.
• Unwrap the slabs and let them rest for a few minutes on a paper towel-lined plate. Cut into cubes and place curds in a zip-top bag. Add 1/2 of the salt; shake to coat. Add remaining salt and repeat.

HOMEMADE FRESH CHEESE

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a large pot, and heat until the temperature reaches 195 degrees F (90 degrees C), or almost boiling. Stir constantly to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pot. When the milk reaches the temperature, remove from the heat, and stir in the vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes.
• Line a strainer with cheesecloth, and set over the sink or a large pot or bowl. The milk should separate into a white solid part, and a yellowish liquid (whey). Stir the salt into the milk, then pour through the cloth-lined strainer. Let the curds continue to drain in the strainer for 1 hour. Discard the whey.
• After the cheese has finished draining, pat into a ball, and remove from the cheese cloth. Wrap in plastic and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Fresh cheese will usually last about a week.