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Fresh Cheese, the Easy Way

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Makes 6 to 8 servings 1x

Time 2 hours, largely unattended

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1/2 gallon milk
  • 1 quart buttermilk
  • Salt (optional)

Instructions

  1. Put the milk in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally to keep
    it from scorching, until the milk bubbles up the sides of the pot, about 10 minutes.
  2. Line a strainer or colander with a triple layer of cheesecloth or a clean piece of undyed cotton muslin and set it in the sink or over a bowl if you want to save the whey. Have a long piece of kitchen string ready.
  3. Add the buttermilk to the boiling milk all at once and stir constantly until the mixture separates into curds and whey; this will take just a minute or so. It will look like cooked egg whites suspended in a slightly thick yellowish liquid. Remove from the heat and stir in a large pinch salt if you like.
  4. Carefully pour the mixture through the strainer so that the curds collect in the cloth and the whey drains off. Gather up the corners of the cloth and twist the top to start shaping the curds into a ball. Run the bundle under cold water until it’s cool enough to handle. Keep twisting and squeezing out the whey until the bundle feels firm and dry. Don’t worry about handling it roughly; it can take it.
  5. Tie the string around the top to hold it tight, then tie the string around the handle of a long spoon or a stick to suspend the cheese back over the pot or over a deep bowl to drain. Let it rest undisturbed until cool and set, about 90 minutes. Untie the bundle, remove the cheese from the cloth, and serve immediately, or wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or freeze, wrapped well or in an airtight container, for up to 3 months.

– Recipe from How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Recipe variations

Fresh Cottage Cheese
Incredible stuff; drain as dry or as moist as you like: Follow the recipe through Step 3. In Step 4, after you pour the curds and whey through the cheesecloth, leave the curds loose in the strainer until they’ve drained the amount of moisture you desire, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Then scoop the curds into a container and store in the refrigerator for no more than a week.

Shortcut Ricotta
Also unbelievable, especially with top-quality milk, even though it’s not made the traditional way: Reduce the amount of buttermilk to 2 cups and proceed with the recipe through Step 3. The mixture will look like thickened buttermilk. In Step 4, after you pour it through the cheesecloth, leave the ricotta in the strainer until it reaches the texture you like, anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. Then scoop the ricotta into a container and store in the refrigerator for no more than a week.

Brined Fresh Cheese
Like a mild feta: After the cheese has set, mix a brine of 2 tablespoons salt and 2 cups water in a jar or storage container. Submerge the cheese in the brine and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.

4 Ways to Flavor Fresh Cheese:
In Step 4, after pouring the curds and whey into the cloth-lined strainer, immediately stir any of the following ingredients into the curds (up to the amount indicated) and proceed with the recipe.

  1. Up to 2 tablespoons curry powder, chaat masala, or garam masala
  2. Up to 1/4 cup any Chile Paste
  3. Up to 1/4 cup Traditional Pesto
  4. Up to 1/4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers, pimientos, piquillos, or olives