paneer

[ellencho]

How long does fresh paneer keep in the fridge? The giant jug of milk takes up a bit of space in my fridge and I was wondering if I could make the cheese today and then hold it until Sunday or so.

[scott123]

In an air tight bag, I'd say paneer should last for up to 5 days. I wouldn't go too far past that, though.

[SDSeth]

Do not throw the whey after separating the cheese from it. Cool it, add some salt and place the firmed up pressed cheese in it. You can store it this way for over a week. Any time you keep things in the frige (especially in plastic containers do not seal it absolutely tight- a little bit of air circulation keeps things at better temperature. Try to keep things at a lower temperature in the frige rather than trying to preserve them by lack of oxygen. For that freezing is the solution.

[Jay Francis]

The first recipe for paneer I ever came across called for using alum. Problem was, if you got your dose wrong, the paneer was unpalatable. I switched to lemon juice several years ago. Any acid will do the trick (actually I hadn't heard of rice vinegar being used until this posting). Just use whole milk and an acid. Note, you could probably supplement the milk solids by adding some nonfat powdered milk.

[beany]

I have a question for the experts please:

I just bought my first block of paneer from the indian grocery store that we always go too. It smelled realllly really horrible. The smell stayed in my nose, and the taste was bitter. Had the paneer I bought gone bad, or is this normal. Although we do eat paneer,it has always been from a restaurant and this was my first time handling it.

The brand was Nanak and the expiry date was quite far.

Thanks for the help

[SDSeth]

I have a question for the experts please:

I just bought my first block of paneer from the indian grocery store that we always go too.  It smelled realllly really horrible.  The smell stayed in my nose, and the taste was bitter.  Had the paneer I bought gone bad, or is this normal.  Although we do eat paneer,it has always been from a restaurant and this was my first time handling it.

The brand was Nanak and the expiry date was quite far.

Thanks for the help

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It is posiible that the paneer was not stored at the right temperature. The expiry date would not mean anything in that case. Fresh paneer when frozen and thawed loses its firmness and becomes a little crumbly, but that won't be a sign of it going bad. Paneer is not supposed to "smell", it really must have been BAD.

[preeyanka]

I'm just reading this board on paneer and my roommate and I want to make Saag/Palak Paneer this week. Both of us are college students and we have minimal tools to make it. Would anyone have an authentic simple recipe for the dish and would using half a gallon of whole milk cut with lemon juice suffice for a dish for 4 people. Thanks

[Milagai]

I'm just reading this board on paneer and my roommate and I want to make Saag/Palak Paneer this week.  Both of us are college students and we have minimal tools to make it.  Would anyone have an authentic simple recipe for the dish and would using half a gallon of whole milk cut with lemon juice suffice for a dish for 4 people.  Thanks

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There are several recipes, try googling for one

that suits your kitchen conditions and ingredients.

Frozen chopped spinach is good to use as a shortcut.

Re the amount of paneer: 1/2 gallon will not likely

yield enough paneer. Usually 1 gallon is the minimum.

Where do you live? US? Any Indian grocery or

a gourmet food store will have paneer. It's way more

expensive in the latter, but it's usually there.

Milagai

[beany]

I have a question for the experts please:

I just bought my first block of paneer from the indian grocery store that we always go too.  It smelled realllly really horrible.  The smell stayed in my nose, and the taste was bitter.  Had the paneer I bought gone bad, or is this normal.  Although we do eat paneer,it has always been from a restaurant and this was my first time handling it.

The brand was Nanak and the expiry date was quite far.

Thanks for the help

←

It is posiible that the paneer was not stored at the right temperature. The expiry date would not mean anything in that case. Fresh paneer when frozen and thawed loses its firmness and becomes a little crumbly, but that won't be a sign of it going bad. Paneer is not supposed to "smell", it really must have been BAD.

←

Thanks for the quick reply. I guess I'll have to try again sometime soon. I tried making paneer pakora with it, as one of the restaurants that I go to sells these for 7.99/lb and I wanted to be able to make a ton of them for the same price.

Thanks again

[preeyanka]

We have all the general ingredients. We were given spices at the beginning of the summer by overbearing moms (we both are indian) and we checked a few reciples for the ingredients. However, if anyone is sure of a tried and true recipe, that would be best. Otherwise we have a recipe that we can fall back on which I'll probably end up using.

[scott123]

If this helps any, saag paneer is just saag with cubes of fried paneer. As far as saag goes, I'm still looking for the definitive saag recipe.

I think my recipe is too complex. I've been second guessing the ginger in it. Next time I might use less or just omit.

[beany]

If this helps any, saag paneer is just saag with cubes of fried paneer. As far as saag goes, I'm still looking for the definitive saag recipe.

I think my recipe is too complex. I've been second guessing the ginger in it. Next time I might use less or just omit.

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we use ginger paste in our saags. I think its a traditional ingredient.

[Luckylies]

Anyone think I can make paneer with cream? for a thicker more luxurious cheese?

[SDSeth]

Anyone think I can make paneer with cream? for a thicker more luxurious cheese?

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Paneer is the curdled proteins out of the milk. Cream is just fat which is removed mainly by techniques like centrifuge ( atleast that is the most basic way to describe it). A little amount of fats and milk solids in milk are incorporated in Paneer during curdling and the rest washed away with the whey. Also making paneer withextraadded cream before curdling gives a slightly creamier paneer but it does not firm as well when pressed.

[scott123]

Anyone think I can make paneer with cream? for a thicker more luxurious cheese?

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Paneer is the curdled proteins out of the milk. Cream is just fat which is removed mainly by techniques like centrifuge ( atleast that is the most basic way to describe it). A little amount of fats and milk solids in milk are incorporated in Paneer during curdling and the rest washed away with the whey. Also making paneer withextraadded cream before curdling gives a slightly creamier paneer but it does not firm as well when pressed.

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I disagree. The curdled proteins create a mesh framework, trapping liquid and quit a lot of fat. I'm not sure how much fat ends up in the curds, but I'd wager to say that it's more than what ends up in the whey. What I do know for certain is that a full fat milk paneer will taste richer and creamier than a skim milk paneer.

Although I haven't used cream for paneer, I know someone who has and they swear it's a creamier/richer end product. I believe they went with a 50/50 cream/milk mixture.

Luckylies, the one thing to remember is that the fat in cream makes it a lot harder to curdle. Adding cream will require additional acid.

[Luckylies]

Anyone think I can make paneer with cream? for a thicker more luxurious cheese?

←

Paneer is the curdled proteins out of the milk. Cream is just fat which is removed mainly by techniques like centrifuge ( atleast that is the most basic way to describe it). A little amount of fats and milk solids in milk are incorporated in Paneer during curdling and the rest washed away with the whey. Also making paneer withextraadded cream before curdling gives a slightly creamier paneer but it does not firm as well when pressed.

←

I disagree. The curdled proteins create a mesh framework, trapping liquid and quit a lot of fat. I'm not sure how much fat ends up in the curds, but I'd wager to say that it's more than what ends up in the whey. What I do know for certain is that a full fat milk paneer will taste richer and creamier than a skim milk paneer.

Although I haven't used cream for paneer, I know someone who has and they swear it's a creamier/richer end product. I believe they went with a 50/50 cream/milk mixture.

Luckylies, the one thing to remember is that the fat in cream makes it a lot harder to curdle. Adding cream will require additional acid.

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Thanks scott, I'm actually shooting for a ricotta-like texture so maybe it's worth a shot? i'll post my results!