We all love cheese, but who would have thought that making it would be so rewarding? Cheese has been made in Northern Europe for thousands of years, and the art of cheese-making was once known in every household with a cow. You might not have a cow in your backyard, but maybe it’s time to rediscover this lost art!
4 easy recipes for making your own cheese
1. Cottage cheese
Okay, cottage cheese isn’t the prettiest cheese, but it is incredibly easy to make. It’s one of the healthiest cheeses and pairs perfectly with a glass of red wine.
To make a few cups, you’ll need:
- 2 cups of milk (semi-skimmed milk works best, but you can also use whole milk)
- 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt
- A colander
- Cheesecloth or coffee filters
- A large bowl
Preparation
Bring some milk to a boil in a saucepan, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vinegar or lemon juice. You’ll see the curds begin to separate from the whey as you stir. Now all you have to do is place the cheesecloth or coffee filters in the colander and let it drain over a bowl. Season with salt and voilà! You have cottage cheese!
2. Paneer
Paneer is a wonderful Indian cheese that’s very similar to cottage cheese. However, when making paneer, pressure is used to squeeze out most of the whey, making the cheese firmer. It’s delicious sprinkled with garam masala or chaat masala and fried in ghee (clarified South Asian butter).
For about 4 servings, you’ll need:
- 2 liters whole milk (as high-fat as possible)
- 120 ml vinegar or lemon juice
- A colander
- Cheesecloth or a piece of clean fabric, such as cotton or linen
- A large bowl
- A heavy pot or heavy pots from the cupboard
Instructions:
Heat the milk in a pot, just as you would to make cottage cheese. As soon as the milk comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in the acidifying ingredient (vinegar or lemon juice). The curds will begin to separate from the whey, creating a coarse texture. Pour the contents of the pot into the cheesecloth or clean cloth and tie it closed at the top. The goal is to remove as much whey as possible, so place the tied cloth in a colander over a bowl.
You can use the whey later if you don’t want to waste it, for example to thin out homemade sauces. You’ll need to place something heavy, such as a pot, a few unopened cans, or packages of dried beans, on top of the cloth containing the cheese mixture. Wait a few hours, and you’ll have delicious cheese to enjoy!
3. Labneh
Labneh is a delicious Lebanese cream cheese that goes with just about anything. It has a very rich, creamy texture because it consists mainly of yogurt, and it’s delicious to eat sprinkled with za’atar. Labneh is very easy to make. Even easier than cottage cheese!
To make about two servings, you’ll need:
- 500 grams of yogurt
- Salt
- About 100 ml olive oil
- Salt
- A colander
- Cheesecloth or coffee filters
- A large bowl
Place your cheesecloth or a coffee filter in the colander and put a bowl underneath it. Then stir a pinch of salt into the yogurt and simply pour it into the cheesecloth. Let it sit in the fridge for about 24 hours, stir in the olive oil (you can use less if you’re not a big fan of olive oil), and then enjoy it to your heart’s content. You can keep it in the fridge for a week, if you can stop yourself from eating it all within seconds.
4. Queso Fresco
If you’ve never eaten queso fresco, you’re simply missing out on one of life’s simple pleasures. Queso fresco comes from Latin America and has a wobbly yet firm texture. It’s a very versatile ingredient —you can crumble it over just about anything, but you can also dry it between paper towels like tofu and pan-fry it for a delicious, crispy outside and a creamy inside.
Many recipes for queso fresco call for rennet, but this recipe is vegetarian and works just as well. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own by stirring a tablespoon of lemon juice into whole milk and waiting a few minutes for it to turn sour.
For 6–8 servings, you’ll need:
- 2.5 liters whole milk (the higher the fat content, the better)
- 120 grams heavy cream
- 240 grams buttermilk
- 5 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt
- A colander
- Cheesecloth or a piece of clean cloth, such as cotton or linen
- A large bowl
- A heavy pot or heavy pans from the cupboard
Preparation:
Put the milk, cream, buttermilk, and a pinch of salt in a pot and heat over medium heat until the mixture is almost boiling. However, you don’t want the mixture to actually boil. If you’re worried about letting the milk boil, you can blanch it instead. To do this, place the ingredients in a metal bowl over a pot of boiling water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. You may have used this method before to melt chocolate.
Slowly stir in the vinegar or lemon juice and watch as the mixture separates into curds and whey. Once the mixture has cooled, line a colander with cheesecloth or a cloth, pour the mixture into the lined colander, and place it over a bowl, wrapping the cloth tightly around the mixture and tying it at the top.
After about an hour, it’s ready to eat! If you want your cheese to be extra firm, you can add one more step. Place it in a small springform pan with the bottom removed and simply place something heavy from your cupboard on top for a few hours.
