Fresh Cream Cheese Food

SIMPLE CREAMY HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Begin by pouring the milk in a saucepan. Heat the milk and bring it to boil over medium-high heat.
• As soon as it boils, add the lemon juice and then turn off the heat.
• Set aside for a few minutes while the milk curdles. You'll notice curds forming and a yellow-ish liquid being left behind.
• Within a few minutes, all of your curds should have formed. Pour the curdled milk through a cheesecloth and a sieve to strain all the liquid whey. Alternatively, you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the curdles, while leaving the liquid whey* in the pot.
• Rinse the curds with cold water. This will help to get rid of any extra whey, clinging to the curds.
• Squeeze the curdled milk as much as possible to drain any last drop of the liquid whey.
• Put the strained milk into a food processor/blender and add the salt. Within 1-2 minutes ( this may vary depending on how powerful your machine is) you'll have a light and fluffy cream cheese.
• If you want to add any additional herbs/flavourings then do that now too. Be warned though as certain additional ingredients will affect the shelf-life of the cheese. I like dried herbs and garlic powder as natural flavourings that don't affect the shelf life too much. Store the cream cheese in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can freeze cream cheese, but the texture upon thawing is more crumbly and is best used where you're cooking it into something like a dip or sauce.

FRESH FRUIT CREAM CHEESE PIE

Steps:

• BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into baked pie crust.
• REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until set. Arrange fruit on top of pie. If coating berries, stir jam or jelly until smooth. Brush berries with jam and serve.
• *If using bananas, dip in lemon juice before placing on pie to keep them from turning brown. Do not coat with jam.