Easy Homemade Cheese in No Time
I think every culture/region has a unique name for this type of cheese. I’ve heard it called farmer’s cheese, whole milk ricotta, vinegar cheese, quark, dry cottage cheese, and pot cheese.I’ve seen recipes that use cultured buttermilk or lemon juice in place of the vinegar, too.This recipe produces about 1 pound of cheese from 1/2 gallon of milk.Ingredients:
- 1⁄2 gallon milk
- 1⁄4 cup white vinegar
- 1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon salt
Tools & Materials:
- kitchen pot with a heavy bottom that will hold 1 gallon of milk (this recipe uses 1/2 gallon, but you need room to stir and pour easily)
- slotted spoon with long handle
- thermometer
- measuring cups and spoons
- large bowl
- strainer or colander
- cheese cloth
Directions:
- Pour your milk into a cool pot and heat it slowly to 185-190 degrees using medium heat.
- Remove from heat and continue stirring gently
- Pour in vinegar and continue to stir gently; the milk will begin to curdle immediately and that's ok. to dilute.
- Let the milk sit for 15 minutes without stirring.
- Place cheesecloth over colander (put colander over bowl to catch whey) and pour the contents (curds and whey) into the cheesecloth.
- Gather corners of the cheesecloth and twist them together while gently pressing more whey from the curds, then let drain above a bowl. Shorter hang time gives you a smoother/wetter cheese; longer means a dryer/firmer cheese. I drain for an hour or so.
- Remove curds into a clean bowl and salt; stir and break up large curds to get the salt evenly distributed; add any spices, herbs, or other ingredients if desired, up to 3 tablespoons total.
- Chill for 1 hour as is, pressed into a mold, loose and crumbly, or wrapped back in the cheesecloth and shaped.
Pot cheese will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 1 week or it can be frozen in azipper freezer bag. Upon thawing, texture may be different than fresh, though.
What's great about this cheese recipe:
- It's quick.
- It's easy.
- You probably already have everything you need - ingredients and tools - in your kitchen. (If you don't have cheesecloth, a thin kitchen towel will do.)
- It's completely customizable - just eat or use as use it in recipes. To eat fresh you can add herbs, dry ranch, siracha or buffalo seasoning/sauce, sweet additives like honey or maple syrup, fresh/dried fruit, chopped nuts, shredded veggies (fresh or dried), dried soup mix seasoning, everything bagel seasoning...the possibilities are endless! You could even use this cheese for crepes or homemade cheesecake!
- This cheese can be made with raw milk, pasteurized/non-homogenized milk, or milk from the grocery store.