You can make simple cheese using ingredients and equipment available in most kitchens. "Yogurt cheese" is a basic type of cheese that you can make for starters. Even though it's not the traditional type of cheese you're used to, without any additives, it tastes very much like cream cheese or neufchatel. Alternatively, milk and tamarind will make a simple cheese that you can spread, much like ricotta cheese. Once you get the hang of it, try using your hands in the process used for most cheeses, which are the more difficult types of cheese to make and involve special ingredients like rennet.
Ingredients
Yogurt Cheese (Labneh)
- Yogurt without taste
- Or 1 liter of milk and a pack of fermented bacteria
Ricotta
- 2 cups 480 ml whole milk (not UHT milk)
- 4 teaspoons 20 ml distilled vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid
- Salt to taste (optional)
Rennet Cheese
- 3.8 liters of milk (not UHT milk)
- 4 drops rennet, dilute in cup (60 ml) cold water
- 1/32 tsp (0.15 ml) of mesophilic culture
- tablespoon (11 ml) non-iodized salt
Step
Method 1 of 3: Cheese Yogurt (Easy)
Step 1. Make your own yogurt (optional)
You can skip this step and start with store-bought yogurt to make the recipe easier. But if you want a recipe that involves fermentation, you can make thicker yogurt cheese from scratch. To do this, add the following steps to the recipe:
- Heat (1 liter) of milk to a temperature of exactly 43ºC with the help of a thermometer. Avoid UHT milk for best results.
- Include a pack of fermented bacterial cultures, which you can get from grocery stores and online cheese-making stores. Alternatively, use 2 tablespoons (30 ml) of unflavored yogurt that already contains the active culture.
- Instead of straining the yogurt in the refrigerator as described below, strain the yogurt in a yogurt maker for 12 - 16 hours. This will keep the temperature of the yogurt at around 38 C, which promotes bacterial fermentation.
Step 2. Prepare the filter case
Place at least 4 layers of cheesecloth on the bottom of the colander, and place the colander over a large saucepan. Scoop as much yogurt as you like into the cloth.
Alternatively, you can tie the yogurt up in a cheesecloth and hang it over the pan
Step 3. Refrigerate for 12 - 48 hours
The liquid in the yogurt will come out until you get a smooth, cream cheese-like finish. The longer you let the yogurt strain, the thicker and more complex the cheese will become.
- Alternatively, you can sometimes soften the cheese with a spoon to get a more creamy texture.
- Allowing the yogurt liquid to drain out at room temperature will speed up the process, but risk getting contaminated with harmful bacteria.
Step 4. Save the cheese
Once the yogurt is done straining, transfer it to a ramekin or bowl, with a clean cloth underneath. The cheesecloth will leave a pretty pattern printed on the cheese, but you can use whatever you like. Eat them before they rot, usually in about a week.
- Optionally, add salt and spices to make a spread on biscuits, or sugar for a light dessert.
- You can discard the whey or use it instead of milk in baking.
Method 2 of 3: Ricotta with Sour (Medium)
Step 1. Pour whole milk into a saucepan
You must use whole milk for this recipe. Unhomogenized milk will give you the strongest flavor, but homogenized milk will work as well. Do not use milk labeled UHT.
Step 2. Put the tamarind in the milk
Add the acid to the milk while checking the acidity of the milk using a waterproof pH meter. Continue to the next step once the pH of the milk reaches 5.9 – 6.0.
- The lemon juice will give the citrus a sour taste. Fresh lemon juice will give a more delicious taste than bottled lemon juice.
- Distilled vinegar is easier to control precisely, giving you predictable results every time you follow a recipe.
- The citric acid provides a milder taste compared to the other options, which some people prefer. Look for citric acid at the convenience store or grocery store.
Step 3. Heat the sour milk
Slowly heat the acidified milk until it reaches a temperature of 80 – 85°C, while continuing to stir. Stirring the milk constantly is very important or the milk will burn. Heat the milk at this temperature for 15-30 minutes. Stop stirring when the milk separates into solid curds and watery whey. Be careful not to break the curd into small pieces.
An infrared thermometer is a reliable tool for monitoring the temperature of milk
Step 4. Strain the whey
Scoop the curds into a thick, tight cheesecloth, or muslin handkerchief. Squeeze the cloth around the curd to remove most of the water.
- You can use a sieve spoon if you don't have a cheesecloth, but you'll lose some of the curd.
- Optionally, you can rinse the curd with clean water to get a lighter-tasting cheese.
Step 5. Enjoy or freeze
Allow the cheese to sieve for 5 minutes to get a cream cheese-like consistency, 15 - 20 minutes for a soft spread, and 2 - 8 hours in the refrigerator to get a relatively firm cheese. Refrigerate any remaining in a sealed container and enjoy before the taste turns sour, usually within 2-4 days.
- To reduce the risk of harmful bacterial contamination, do not leave the ricotta at room temperature for more than 20 minutes.
- Add salt to strengthen the taste and slightly extend the shelf life.
Method 3 of 3: Cheese with Rennet (Hard)
Step 1. Purchase a cheese maker culture
You may be able to find them at the grocery store, but you'll find it easier to buy them by ordering them online from a cheese supply store. For this recipe, and some other cheeses, use "mesophilic cultures." These bacteria will grow fast at temperatures below 39 C. The job of these bacteria is to acidify the milk and prepare it for rennet. These "good" bacteria will also make it harder for harmful bacteria to grow in the milk.
As a last resort, you can use a little buttermilk instead. However, packaged buttermilk is an unreliable source of culture. Your cheese may fail to form, or it will taste different
Step 2. Buy rennet
Rennet, traditionally extracted from animal stomachs, is now available in vegetarian options as well. You can use any type of rennet to shape your cheese. Rennet will separate the soured milk into curds and water.
- Rennet is also available at cheese supply stores.
- If using dry rennet, follow the instructions on the package to convert the liquid rennet drops into tablet amounts. Make sure the tablet contains 100% rennet.
Step 3. Heat the milk in a non-reactive pan
Use an infrared thermometer to measure the temperature of the milk, heat it to 30 C. An enameled or stainless steel pan is the best choice. Do not use copper or aluminum pans, which can release chemicals into your cheese due to its acidity.
- You can use raw or pasteurized milk, although cheese made from pasteurized milk may be more difficult to blend. UHT milk you can not use.
- You can use milk with any fat content. Whole milk usually has a stronger flavor than low-fat or skim milk.
Step 4. Enter the bacterial culture
Leave it for two minutes. After two minutes, stir in an up and down motion to blend it into the milk.
Step 5. Close and leave
Keep milk in a warm room away from light. The label on your bacterial pack will probably clarify the length of time for this step. Otherwise, or if you are using buttermilk, continue after two to four hours.
The milk should still look like regular milk. If it thickens, then you have added too much acid, or have left it too long. (This is easy to do, as it is difficult to estimate the level of bacterial activity.) You can still use it to make cheese, but it may be difficult to put together
Step 6. Warm the milk and add the rennet
Reheat the milk to 30 C. Dilute the rennet in cup (60 ml) cold water, or dissolve the dried rennet in cold water according to the instructions on the package. Stir with the milk as you would a bacterial culture, in an up and down motion.
Filtered water has a lower chance of interfering with cheese making
Step 7. Cover and leave for 4-12 hours
Leave it at room temperature, and without any disturbance at all. You'll be ready to move on once the cheese forms a thick, custard-like curd. Ideally, a clean finger dipped in milk will come out clean again, and clear whey water will fill the hole formed. If the curd is still sticking to your finger, cover it and try again within 30-60 minutes.
If the curd has not solidified within 12 hours, continue. Your cheese may have problems separating, resulting in a soggy, soft curd
Step 8. Strain the whey
Line a sieve with a buttered muslin cheese cloth. Place a strainer over the pan to catch the whey that comes out. Spoon the solid curd into a colander. Stir gently in long, slow motions for about 15 minutes, until the whey comes out.
Cloths sold as cheesecloths are not always tight and thick enough to sift through the cheese. You can try other options, but butter muslin is the best
Step 9. Cut into cubes and heat
Gently cut the cheese into uniformly sized cubes, without breaking the shape. Place these pieces in a team pot (a saucepan over a pot of hot water). Heat over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the curd reaches 38 C. The time required may reach a full hour.
Do not stop heating until most of the liquid has evaporated. The curd should hold its shape, but crumble in your hands when you lift it
Step 10. Finish the cheese
When you are satisfied with the consistency, add salt to stop the acidification process and preserve the cheese. Optionally, you can shape the cheese, and/or add herbs, fruit, or nuts. You can enjoy them soft, or let them dry if you prefer.
Store the cheese in the refrigerator, or another cool, dark place
Step 11. Study other recipes
You can make hundreds of different types of cheese using different bacterial cultures, rinse curds, filter more or less whey, age cheese, and many other variations. Try making your own mozzarella and cheddar cheese, or talk to your local dairy producer to learn more.
Tips
- Do not use a cheese cloth to sift through the soft cheese, as the holes will be large, and the soft cheese may run out. Butter muslin has smaller holes.
- Some cheese recipes call for cultures of thermophilic bacteria, which like warmer temperatures. You cannot use these cultures in recipes that require mesophilic bacteria, and vice versa.
- Every cheese, whether cheddar or mozzarella, or Colby, uses a different culture, and has a different step in making the cheese. For example, in making cheddar cheese, the solid curd is turned over (at an 80-degree angle) after being strained to create the acid. This process is called cheddaring. Colby cheese, on the other hand, is strained, and then put back in the pan and soaked in water. This is the process of rinsing the cheese curds.
- This method of making cheese with acid will produce a cheese similar to ricotta, but in steps that are easier to do at home. A more precise term is "curd cheese."
