I attempted to do the homemade cheese again & had such success it was hard to hide my excitement last night.. And I have photos* this time!

*You’ll have to forgive the horrible discolour of the photos however due to the nasty lighting in our apartment & my camera struggling to white balance.

Now, I’m super excited about posting this project so I can show everyone just how freaking easy it is.
You see, I didn’t have any of the equipment you’re meant to have for cheesemaking.

What you will need-

Half a gallon of whole milk-
Yes, it’s gotta be whole milk, not low fat. You don’t need fresh unpasteurized milk like I was told. Just regular ol’ milk. I would like to test soy milk, but I’m doubtful it’ll work.

1/4 cup of vinegar-
Now I was told to use a lemon preferably, but I didn’t have one. Really, you’re just after an acid, so maybe you could even use lime, who knows. Use whichever you have. This is one of those things you can make at home to save money on grocery day, so I don’t see the point in buying a lemon specifically for the recipe if lemons are super expensive in off-season (like at my store).

Salt-
This really depends on your taste & what you intend to do with your cheese. If you’re looking for a feta-like taste then you’ll want a lot of salt, or maybe you’re gonna mix a herb/spice in, so this is up to you how you flavour it. In my previous attempt I mixed in some Indian spices for a paneer. I want to make a pesto one next. Caramelized onion & gorgonzola? Apple walnut? Think of the possibilities!

(You can see a jar of basil there in the picture. I didn’t end up using it… I kinda forgot.)

Cheesecloth?
Bah! I didn’t have cheesecloth so I used a teatowel (never used, super clean). Obviously if you have cheesecloth that’s awesome, but I’ve proved it’s actually not necessary.

A big pot for boiling & a spoon.

Step 1- Sterilizing stuff.
Fill the pot with water & bring it to the boil. Dunk your spoon in once it’s boiling. I also dunked my cloth in to sterilize it too, just to be sure.

Empty the water after boiling a few mins. Try to reuse the water for dishes or something. Don’t waste all that water.

Step 2- Now pour in your milk (make sure your hotplate isn’t so hot it’ll burn the milk on the bottom. This has to be done relatively slowly).

Wait..

and wait..

You want to heat your milk but not let it boil.

You’ll see it start to froth a little like this. It’s almost there..

And when it starts to steam a little.. and fog up your lens it’s hot enough. Turn off the hotplate.

Step 3- Spoon in hand, keeping the milk moving, you now want to add the vinegar evenly through the milk.

This is where it gets exciting…

Ta da! The chemical reaction is almost instant.

Keep stirring though. It should become a little more like this..

You’re looking for big curds like that. Once you have big lumps in a clear liquid, it’s done. Now it’s time to drain your curds from your whey.

Step 4- Set up your cloth over another pot, or somewhere where the liquid can fall through easily into.. something. I’ve heard you can use this whey to make brine to store cheeses too, supposedly whey + salt = brine. I’m yet to try that though.

Step 5- Ok, so there’s your lump. It’s still fluffy & has a lot of moisture. This is the stage you’d want to salt it or flavour it. Then roll it around in your cloth so it has a smooth surface.

Squeeze a bit of that moisture out. If you have string you’ll want to tie it up. I.. uh, didn’t have have any string so I raided my bathroom. That’s a hair clip.

and that is dental floss, lol.

Step 6- Hang your cheese up to drip any residual moisture & cool a little, into the sink or something.

Then when the drips stop..

Step 7- Put a heavy weight on top of your parcel & put it in the fridge, overnight preferably. Quick tip, try to avoid wrinkles in the cloth. You want it as smooth as possible.

When you unwrap your parcel, your cheese should be compact & hold together pretty good & slice fairly cleanly. It’ll be a bit crumbly, like ricotta or a soft feta (like a New Zealand feta, not a Greek feta). Mine tastes real good & was great in the pasta I made.

I’m so gonna be doing this on a regular basis. It’s so cheap & easy.