Homemade Cottage Cheese

[Tropicalsenior]

Homemade Cottage Cheese

Making cottage cheese couldn't be easier. Just two ingredients and about an hour and a half of your time.

 

1/2 gallon whole milk

6 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons heavy cream or sour cream

 

Pour milk into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Heat slowly on medium-high heat to 190°F/88°C stirring occasionally so that the milk doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.

Remove from heat, pour in vinegar and stir a few times. The milk will immediately start to separate. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, line a colander with a clean tea towel. 

Pour the solids from the pot into the lined colander. Let drain completely.

Rinse gently with cold water until the cheese starts to cool.

Gather the ends of the cloth tightly and squeeze out the moisture. 

Turn the cheese out of the cloth into a bowl and use a spoon to break it into small curds. Stir in salt to taste.

For creamy cottage cheese, stir in the heavy cream or sour cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Check taste and add more salt if needed.

Chill for at least 1 hour then stir before serving. Use within five days.

Note: I used 2% milk because that is all that I can get. It works just fine. I get about 2 cups of cottage cheese. The yield will be a bit more with whole milk.

 

Edited March 21, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Homemade Cottage Cheese

Making cottage cheese couldn't be easier. Just two ingredients and about an hour and a half of your time.

 

1/2 gallon whole milk

6 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons heavy cream or sour cream

 

Pour milk into a large, heavy bottomed pan. Heat slowly on medium-high heat to 190°F/88°C stirring occasionally so that the milk doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pot.

Remove from heat, pour in vinegar and stir a few times. The milk will immediately start to separate. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, line a colander with a clean tea towel. 

Pour the solids from the pot into the lined colander. Let drain completely.

Rinse gently with cold water until the cheese starts to cool.

Gather the ends of the cloth tightly and squeeze out the moisture. 

Turn the cheese out of the cloth into a bowl and use a spoon to break it into small curds. Stir in salt to taste.

For creamy cottage cheese, stir in the heavy cream or sour cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches the desired consistency. Check taste and add more salt if needed.

Chill for at least 1 hour then stir before serving. Use within five days.

Note: I used 2% milk because that is all that I can get. It works just fine. I get about 2 cups of cottage cheese. The yield will be a bit more with whole milk.

 

Thanks - will definitely give that I try!

 

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

This is the technique to make ricotta as well. I've also used fresh lime juice; lemon would also work but I have a lime tree. Years ago I made fresh cheese from goat milk (my neighbor had a couple of goats and always had surplus milk) and used buttermilk as the curd-making agent. In that case you heated the milk with the buttermilk until the curds formed. Theoretically you can use the whey also to make ricotta, but I've never tried that. The whey was too useful for bread.

[heidih]

I've used the method as well. Also for Ethiopian style buttermilk curd w/ lemon juice. What I truly appreciate about about making my own is the light, sweet, more delicate dairy that comes through. Commercial stuff after that seems more texture than flavor. Needs no additions to be appreciated. @Nancy in Pátzcuaro I've not tried goat because online the yield is described as super low and the goat milk not cheap here. I may give it a try as you described.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I can only access pasteurized and very expensive goat milk.    We pass many goat farms in the country.  Apparently there are very stringent laws about selling goat milk since I've called several who advertise "goats for sale" but when I mention wanting to buy milk they can't get off the phone fast enough.

[Tropicalsenior]

7 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I can only access pasteurized

When you say pasteurized milk, do you mean the milk that is sold in the wax cartons in the store? That is the milk that I am using. It's pasteurized but not the ultra pasteurized that stays good unrefrigerated. I use plain old 2% supermarket milk. It works just fine, just remember to bring it up to between 190 to 200 degrees.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[heidih]

58 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I can only access pasteurized and very expensive goat milk.    We pass many goat farms in the country.  Apparently there are very stringent laws about selling goat milk since I've called several who advertise "goats for sale" but when I mention wanting to buy milk they can't get off the phone fast enough.

Maybe all being saved for people like our legendary Laura Chenel who brought US goat cheese to national attention.. I remember the thrill of drinking goat milk from the goats on display at the LA County Fair (long ago). This place sounds oretty cool. https://culturecheesemag.com/stories/inside-the-hidden-los-angeles-creamery-making-amazing-goat-cheese/

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

Yeah, it helps to have a neighbor with a couple of lady goats. And remember, this was back in the 1980s when things were more casual. Now I get my goat cheese from Costco. Not the same.

[sartoric]

This is also how you make paneer, the firm Indian cheese. It’s pressed into blocks rather than broken up.

[blue_dolphin]

And queso fresco, though the recipe I use (from Nopalito) uses more vinegar, more salt and is also pressed like paneer so it's more firm, salty and tangy. 

[Tropicalsenior]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

And queso fresco, though the recipe I use (from Nopalito) uses more vinegar, more salt and is also pressed like paneer so it's more firm, salty and tangy. 

I would love to have your recipe. I make Mexican food a lot and I would rather use the queso fresco turn the cheddar. They have something similar here but it is way too Tangy.

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I would love to have your recipe. I make Mexican food a lot and I would rather use the queso fresco turn the cheddar. They have something similar here but it is way too Tangy.

Here’s a paraphrase of the Nopalito recipe.  It’s a good book and I recommend it.  It calls for quite a lot of vinegar.  I like the tang but I’m sure you could reduce it to suit your preferences. 
 

Heat 3/4 gallon milk to 170 F, stirring frequently. Add 1.25 cups of white vinegar.  Stir gently with a wooden spoon for 2 min then remove from heat and let stand 20 min.  Pour the milk into a cheese cloth-lined strainer (I use a nut milk bag) and let most of the liquid drain. Then gather up the cheesecloth and squeeze out the remaining liquid.  Return the cheesecloth wrapped cheese to the strainer and set over a bowl with a weight on top of the cheese for ~ 1 hr to cool. Then unwrap and work in 3 t kosher salt (I use less), re-wrap, return to strainer with weight and refrigerate 8 hrs - overnight.  The estimated yield is 3 cups.  

[Tropicalsenior]

Thank you, in other words you don't rinse the whey containing the vinegar out of the cheese? I guess that would give it the Tangy flavor that the cottage cheese doesn't have. Going to have to give it a try. 

[blue_dolphin]

52 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Thank you, in other words you don't rinse the whey containing the vinegar out of the cheese? I guess that would give it the Tangy flavor that the cottage cheese doesn't have. Going to have to give it a try. 

That's correct. You are draining and pressing off that vinegary liquid but not rinsing. The first time I made it, I was convinced it would be too much but I ended up liking it a lot. Tangy but creamier than feta.