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cheesemaking part 2

May 6th, 2011 at 03:13 am

So part 1 was yogurt, which was pretty easy once you figure out how to get the right temperature to hold the milk and yogurt culture.

Part 2 - I've expanded to include queso blanca, a white cheese made with milk and vinegar. Easiest recipe ever! I got the milk for $1.89/half gallon + a few pennies of apple cider vinegar and it made at least 1/2 lb of cheese.

Queso blanca

1/2 gallon of whole pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized) milk
2 tbsp vinegar. I followed the recipe and used apple cider vinegar, so I don't know how well other vinegars work.

Heat milk in a saucepan to 185 - 195F. Direct heat, right on the burner. Stir often so the bottom doesn't scorch.

Take milk off heat. Add vinegar a bit at a time until milk curdles - forms a white precipitate/curd and a slightly yellowish whey. I halved the recipe I referred to (1 gallon milk/ 1/4 c vinegar), which worked. The recipe also stated that if it doesn't curdle, you can add a bit more vinegar.

I let it cool for about 20 minutes - not sure whether curds increase as you leave it, but I figured that it wouldn't hurt much.

Pour curds and whey into jelly bag, let the whey drain off. Leave the curds in the bag for a couple of hours to firm up the cheese. Can twist the jelly bag to really get the whey out. This cheese needs a bit of salt.

So far, the cheese spreads okay on bread and crackers, great crumbled into a salad, and heats up very well - I'll bet it will be great as a ricotta substitute...like in a lasagna.

Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “cheesemaking part 2”

  1. LuckyRobin Says:
    May 6th, 2011 at 04:37 am 1304656647
    1304656647

    Oh, you should try making the Indian cheese paneer. It's just as simple. It uses milk and yogurt, or if you don't have yogurt, milk and lemon juice. It's a bit more solid than queso blanca with a slightly different flavor.

    Text is http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paneer_86451 and Link is
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paneer_86451

  2. MonkeyMama Says:
    May 6th, 2011 at 12:56 pm 1304686583
    1304686583

    Funny, because I was going to say we have actually made cheese before. Paneer. Easier than you would imagine it to be.

  3. baselle Says:
    May 6th, 2011 at 05:25 pm 1304702744
    1304702744

    Ooh, I'll have to try that ... especially with the heavy block press step. I was wondering how paneer got dense enough to cut into cubes.

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