Homemade Fresh Cheese Food

HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring milk and salt very slowly to the boil.
• Remove from heat and stir in white vinegar.
• Leave to cool.
• When cool pour mixture into a muslin bag and allow to drip.

30 MINUTE FRESH MOZZARELLA CHEESE HOMEMADE

Steps:

• Crush the rennet into the water and stir to dissolve.
• Pour milk into a non-reactive pot (no aluminum or cast iron).
• Place over medium heat. Sprinkle the citric acid over the milk and stir a few times. Heat milk to 88°F; milk will begin to curdle.
• At 88°F, add the rennet solution and continue stirring slowly every few minutes until the milk reaches 105°F Turn off the heat. Large curds will appear and begin to separate from the whey (the clear, greenish liquid).
• With a slotted spoon or mesh strainer, scoop the curd into a large glass bowl. (If it's still too liquid, let it set for a few more minutes). Press the curds gently with your hand and pour off as much whey as possible.
• Microwave curds on high for 1 minute, then drain off all the excess whey.
• With a spoon, press curds into a ball until cool.
• Microwave two more times for 35 seconds each, and continue to drain the whey and work cheese into a ball.
• In the meantime, place the whey over medium heat and let it heat to about 175°F.
• When cheese is cool enough to touch, knead it like bread dough until smooth. When you can stretch it like taffy, it is done. You can sprinkle 1 to 2 teaspoons salt into the cheese while kneading and stretching it. The cheese will become stretchy, smooth and shiny. If it is difficult to stretch and breaks easily, dip it into the hot whey for a few seconds to make it warm and pliable. Then pick it up again and stretch it into a long rope. Fold over and stretch again. Dip in hot whey as needed to make the cheese pliable.
• When the cheese is smooth and shiny (this takes just a few minutes), it is ready to eat. Shape it into a log or golf-size balls, then store in a solution of 2 teaspoons salt to 1 cup water.

HOMEMADE RICOTTA

Steps:

• Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Dampen 2 layers of cheesecloth with water and line the sieve with the cheesecloth.
• Pour the milk and cream into a stainless-steel or enameled pot such as Le Creuset. Stir in the salt. Bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Allow the mixture to stand for 1 minute until it curdles. It will separate into thick parts (the curds) and milky parts (the whey).
• Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined sieve and allow it to drain into the bowl at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid that collects in the bowl. The longer you let the mixture drain, the thicker the ricotta. (I tend to like mine on the thicker side, but some prefer it moister.) Transfer the ricotta to a bowl, discarding the cheesecloth and any remaining whey. Use immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. The ricotta will keep refrigerated for 4 to 5 days.

FRESH HOMEMADE RICOTTA

Steps:

• Line a large sieve with a layer of heavy-duty (fine-mesh) cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.
• Slowly bring milk, cream, and salt to a rolling boil in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice, then reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture curdles, about 2 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into the lined sieve and let it drain 1 hour. After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered; it will keep in the refrigerator 2 days.

FRESH CHEESE RECIPE (QUESO BLANCO)

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a large pot over low-medium heat. Let the milk slowly heat until it reaches 100°F.
• Stir in the rennet slowly into the milk. The curds start to separate from the whey.]
• Lower down the heat and let the pot sit on the stove for another 10 minutes. During this time, the curds and whey will separate more which will cause a giant blob to form. Cut the blob into smaller cubes or chunks. [Sidebar: The size of curds will affect the amount of moisture retained in your final cheese. The smaller the pieces, the drier cheese will be. I prefer soft cheese hence I cut the blob into larger chunks.] Use a cheeseharp or a knife.
• Line a colander with a cheesecloth. Using ladle start transferring curds and whey into the colander. Tie up the end of the cheesecloth making a tight bundle. Cover it with a weight like a small plate with container of water on the top.
• Leave the cheese to drain for 4-5 hours on the room temperature.
• Unwrap the cheesecloth and take the cheese out. Put the cheese on the chopping board then cut into smaller pieces. Sprinkle with salt then serve it.
• Place the cheese into container and keep it in refrigerator for up to a week.

HOMEMADE PANEER (FRESH INDIAN COTTAGE CHEESE)

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a large saucepan over medium high heat until the top becomes foamy, just as looks like it's about to boil.
• Turn stove off. Add lemon juice and stir for 1 minute. The milk should begin to curdle. If it doesn't, turn the stove back on and bring back to a gentle boil until the solids separate.
• Line strainer or colander: Place over a deep bowl. Line strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth (Note 1).
• Strain: Ladle in half of the curdled milk to begin with, then pour the rest in. Leave until all the liquid drains - this might take 5 to 10 minutes.
• Rinse: Discard liquid (whey) in the bowl. Bundle the paneer up in the cheesecloth (it will still be quite watery at this stage) then rinse bundle briefly under cold tap water. This helps to remove lemon flavour + cool for easier handling.
• Squeeze out excess water by twisting the cheesecloth and squeezing the bundle, but not so hard that paneer squeezes out through the cloth. Once liquid no longer comes out, stop. The paneer will still be quite soft at this stage.
• Weigh cheese down with weights: Shape cheese into a disc around 2cm / ¾" thick, still wrapped in cheesecloth. Place in a strainer or colander set over a bowl. Top with a small plate then 2 x 400g/14oz cans (or similar weight).
• Refrigerate for 4 hours. During this time the paneer will set (become firm) and remaining liquid will drain out. (Note 2)
• Remove paneer from fridge and carefully unwrap. There will be a dent in the middle, this is normal (it's from the draining).
• At this stage, the paneer is now ready for use. You can either cut it immediately and use in a recipe (such as Palak Paneer!), or store the whole uncut block for another time and just cut when needed.
• Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for 3 months.

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.

MAKING FRESH MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Steps:

• In a large stock pot, add the water. Add enough salt to the water until it tastes like saltwater. Bring the temperature of the water up to about 120 to 130 degrees, until the touch of the water is like hot bath water. Place a colander in the water. Crumble the cheese curd into the water. Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until the curd starts to pull. Using your hands or a spoon, pull the cheese until it begins to hold shape. It's like pulling taffy. Do not over pull the cheese because the end product will be rubbery. It is like you are pulling taffy. If the cheese hardens to soon, dip the cheese back in the water and repeat the pulling process. After the desired weight is achieved dip the cheese in an ice bath. The cheese can either be stored in salted water or rolled in plastic wrap. If you want to flavor the cheese, add the flavorings during the pulling process. Rub your hands with the herbs and garlic and work them into the cheese.

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.