When I first thought of making cheese at home, I approached the subject somewhat warily. Surely it must be a very involved process involving multiple steps, weird appliances I have never even heard of, and strange specialty ingredients that require driving across town to get. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this is not at all true. After looking over dozens of recipes and techniques, I have come up with this simple recipe for fresh cheese. I suppose this is not technically cheese because it does not use a starter, but it sure is tasty! It's airy texture and flavor are delicious with crackers and compotes or spread on a juicy bosc pear. Check out my post above for another yummy serving option.
What You'll Need:
1 quart of milk
½ cup heavy cream
1 tsp finely ground rosemary
1 tsp kosher salt
Juice of half a lemon
Special Equipment:
Cheese cloth (this can be found at most grocery stores)
1. Rinse the cheese cloth and drape 3 layers over a mesh sieve. Place the sieve inside a large bowl. Make sure the bottom of the sieve sits at least 4" above the bottom of the bowl.
2. Combine the milk, cream, rosemary, and salt in a medium size sauce pot. Slowly stir over medium high heat until the milk comes to a rolling boil.
3. Once the milk begins to boil, reduce the heat down to low and add the lemon juice. Continue to stir until curds separate from the whey, about 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Once separated, gently pour the curds and whey into the cheesecloth. Let the curds drain for about 45 minutes. The longer you let the curds drain, ultimately, the more solid your cheese will be. I usually let mine drain for about an hour.
5. Once your curds have drained, join all four corners of the cloth and twist the extra fabric. Using the twisted fabric, tighten the cheese into a ball and squeeze out any extra liquid. Secure the twisted fabric with a piece of string or a rubber band.
6. For storage, refrigerate your cheese in either tupperware or wrapped in wax paper. Because this is a soft cheese, it is susceptible to other flavors that may be floating around.
Yield: about 1 cup of cheese
And that's all there is to it! Don’t know what to do with all that whey? Check out my next post - Sweet Whey Bread.
Is it ready to use immediately or does it need to age?
ReplyDeleteHello! Since this cheese does not use a starter, you do not need to let it age. It is ready to eat as soon as it is drained. The longer you leave it in the fridge, the harder it becomes, however it will always have that "ricotta-y" consistency. Hope this helps!
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