Does anyone here make their own cheese?

[wendy1221]

I mean like cottage, cream, that kind of cheese. Hard cheese would be too much, I think. lol

ANyway, if you do, can you post recipes? I'd really like to try making my own cottage and cream cheeses for my kids. Do you know what kind of cultures are used in these cheeses? I know you can drain yogurt to make a cream cheese like "yogurt cheese" but is it really the same? I've never done it. Can you use a bit of say Organic Valley cream cheese to culture your milk and cream to make your own?

Thanks so much for any info! I thought I'd post this here instead of the main forum b/c I figured people here would be more likely to know and it would just get lost out there.

[akoik]

Yogurt cheese is cream cheese, and is the kind I made. It's very yummy. You can also make it with raw milk, kefir, buttermilk, creme fraiche (now THAT would be yummy!), etc. The more liquid ones, you need to let sit out so they will clabber, then strain them through cheesecloth. Yogurt and creme fraiche are already thick enough to strain, I think, though I'd probably let them separate first as well (my yogurt cream cheese came from a "bad" batch of yogurt that sat too long, too warm, and separated.

I mixed 1 pkg simply organic ranch dressing into 1 lb of the cheese and it made the yummiest cheese spread. Kids devoured it!
Melanie

[425lisamarie]

Originally Posted by akoik

Yogurt cheese is cream cheese, and is the kind I made. It's very yummy. You can also make it with raw milk, kefir, buttermilk, creme fraiche (now THAT would be yummy!), etc. The more liquid ones, you need to let sit out so they will clabber, then strain them through cheesecloth. Yogurt and creme fraiche are already thick enough to strain, I think, though I'd probably let them separate first as well (my yogurt cream cheese came from a "bad" batch of yogurt that sat too long, too warm, and separated.

I mixed 1 pkg simply organic ranch dressing into 1 lb of the cheese and it made the yummiest cheese spread. Kids devoured it!
Melanie

Yogurt cheese is not the same thing as cream cheese Do you mean like the strained yogurt that gets thick?

[greenjenny]

I make mozzarella and ricotta and they are pretty simple, I would imagine that cottage cheese would be pretty easy too as the curd is loose. I bought a kit from new england cheese supply when I got started. It's so easy my kids can do & the cheese is good too

[ani'smommy]

I'm just googling some cream cheese recipes, and most of them are made with milk, buttermilk (or vinegar) and salt. All of them say to heat the milk to 175 degrees, though. I wonder if you could get away with not heating it up so much?

I would love to know how you make cottage cheese, greenjenny.

[Blue Dragonfly]

Do you want my grandma's raw cheese recipe? Its for cottage cheese. I also make cottage cheese (although, its more like feta, and I adapted the recipe from the Indian paneer recipe - I'm just too lazy to press it.)

[ani'smommy]

Ooh, I'd like it, please!

[momto l&a]

I like this place
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/CHEESE.HTML

[Blue Dragonfly]

Its a little eclectic

Grandmother's recipe

Milk straight from the cow - not cold yet
let it sit on the counter for about 1 day until its jelly-like
put it on the stove, low heat, not boiling, stir once or twice until it separates into curds and whey
pour it into a linen bag and drain it until its finished dripping.

You can also hang the milk (covered in a pail) on the washing line if its not too cold or hot out.

For Paneer - this can be pasturised milk

2 cups milk:0.5 cups vinager

Heat milk, stir until boiling (I seem to remember from chemistry class when making casin, that heating was important, but you could try it without).

Mix and cool milk and vinager

Strain through cheese cloth (overnight is good)

Use crumbled, or ball the cheese and press it overnight

[MissyH]

I just made the above recipe more or less. You can also use kefir or lemon juice. I used some of each. I like the lemon taste in the cheese.

[Blue Dragonfly]

Originally Posted by MissyH

I just made the above recipe more or less. You can also use kefir or lemon juice. I used some of each. I like the lemon taste in the cheese.

Yum, that would be good.

I forgot to add, you might need to rinse the vinager off.

[velcromom]

I'd like to try this. Um, this may be a dumb question but how do you rinse the vinegar off if it's mixed in with the milk; or do you mean just the outside of the ball of cheese after pressing?

About how much cheese does this recipe yield? I know when I drain my kefir, lots of whey comes out and the amount of cheese is much less than the kefir I started with.

[Blue Dragonfly]

I rinse the curds a little after they seperate.

I can't remember how much cheese I get - maybe half a cup? It doesn't seem very much. But its good