Homemade Soft Cheese
This recipe is featured in Homemade Cured Smoked Salmon
Homemade soft cheese is simple and delicious. It is not difficult to make.
Many people probably never heard of lactic cheese, but it is worth getting to know. The process to make this cheese is the same as for making chevre, or goat cheese. The difference, of course, is that cow’s milk is used in the lactic cheese as opposed to goat milk.
The cheese is good refrigerated for about 2 weeks (if it lasts uneaten for that long). Mix it with herbs or spices, or in Smoked Salmon Cheese Dip.
Ingredients
- 3.8 liters (1 gallon) of good, fresh whole milk
- 2.5 ml (1/2 teaspoon) mesophilic starter culture
- 3 drops liquid rennet
Supplies from http://www.getculture.com/
Preparation
- Heat the milk to 30°C (86°F) in a non-reactive pot. Add mesophilic starter culture. Stir well.
2. Add liquid rennet to 120 ml cool water. Mix well. Add 10-15 ml (2-3 teaspoons) of the rennet mixture to the milk. Stir well.
3. Allow to stand for 8-12 hours. Milk will look like yogurt with clear whey.
4. Sterilize a ladle, a colander and a piece of cheese cloth with boiling water. Line the colander with the cheese cloth. Ladle the curds into the colander. Fold the corners of the cloth up and tie. Hang this “bag” over a large pot for 8-12 hours until the cheese reaches your desired consistency.
5. Place cheese in airtight container and refrigerate. This cheese is good for about 2 weeks.
Tim Artz
Tim Artz shares his scratch cooking adventure at timsfoodobsession.com. Artz takes a scientific approach to his cooking, drawing upon his experiences and travels to bring flavor and creativity. Artz frequently tends a wood fire at his homemade “Porkulator” barbecue grill or his backyard pizza oven. He’s been featured in the Washington Post and New York Times and was touted as a “hidden gem” alongside Jose Andres, Alice Waters and many others in Secrets of the Best Chefs.
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