Guys!!!! I made CHEESES!!!!!!!!!
Ahem.
Sorry about that. I’ll try to contain my excitement. I was so proud of myself for this one though!
I came back to my house after spending Christmas at my parents’. I had planned to return before new year but plans changed. I came back to discover a litre of milk about to go off… this seemed awfully wasteful! I was racking my brain trying to come up with something to do with that much milk that would keep and remembered an ill fated attempt at making cheese previously. It seemed like an excellent time to take another crack at it!
Turns out, making cheese is actually brilliantly simple! You need:
~ 1 l Milk
2 1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Salt
Step 1: A big pan of Milk!
Step 2:
Bring it to the boil. Little bubbles like lace around the edge are what you want. Remove from the heat.
Step 3: Add 2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp salt. Give it a stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. The curds and whey will start to separate.
Step 4: Tip it into a sieve over a large mixing bowl. Let it drain. KEEP THE LIQUID!
Step 5: Tip your drained cheese into a container! You now have Cottage Cheese!
Step 6: Tip the liquid back into the pan. Bring to ~200F/100C. The curds will start to separate again.
Step 7: Tip into a reusable coffee filter/a sieve lined with cheese cloth over a bowl or jug.
Step 8: Leave to drain. This may take some hours as the curd is finer so the holes are smaller.
Step 9: On the top you have Ricotta!
Step 10: And on the bottom you have your whey!
So, from one litre of milk you get two types of Cheese and a whole lot of Whey! I will be sharing some recipes for what to do with your cheeses if you need some inspiration! As for the whey, I’m told it makes an excellent addition to soups and risottos in place of stock but I haven’t tried it. It’s an interesting cheesy kind of stock and I’m sure any cheese fanatic will go nuts for the addition of a subtle cheese flavour in other dishes. I’m a bit picky about cheese so I confess, I’ve been giving it to Darcy to encourage him to eat his biscuits! Two weeks of being spoiled at Granny and Grandpa’s has made him a very picky eater!
Anna in the kitchen 