Paneer recipe yields how much?

[sacre_bleu]

Eight cups whole milk to a boil, stir in 1/4 c fresh lemon juice ... got the curd, stirred gently ... drained through a cloth, washed the curds a bit, squeezed out the whey. Put it under a weighted pan. Got a disk that's an inch thick and four inches wide.

Tasty stuff. But is that the yield? If not, any ideas on where I might have gone wrong?

[Susan G]

How much does that 1.5c. cheese weigh? Metric might make this clearer..........but since we're using English measurements, let me work through this.........um, a gallon is 8.8 lbs, or 128 fluid ounces, or 16 cups. You used 8 cups or a half gallon............in making cheese you're precipitating the milk solids - mostly the fats, and in whole milk that's about 4% fat. 4% of 64 ounces is, um, without a calculator here........2.6 ounces..........and I guess the rest would be the non-fat milk solids, like proteins.

I wonder if the yield would be higher if one were to use a higher-fatted milk, like that from Jersey or Guernsey cows?

Anybody know?

[Sleepy_Dragon]

Wouldn't know anything about different species of cow affecting the milk, though that seems very plausible, but as far as regular whole milk goes, it's 3.5% fat, 8.5% milk solids, and 88% water. So perhaps a fattier milk would lead to a richer cheese though not necessarily a noticeably higher yield?

It's been awhile since I've made paneer, but I recall needing to go through a lot of milk in order to get a serviceable amount.

The recipe I used (From Bengal to Punjab, by Smita Chandra) said 1 quart of Half 'n' Half -or- 2 quarts of milk for one patty of paneer 4 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick.

(edited for typos)

Pat

Edited May 29, 2004 by Sleepy_Dragon (log)

[Schielke]

I have made paneer too and had the same yield question. I am pretty sure you got it approximately right though. Don't let it discourage you though, store bought paneer is a world away from homeade. Also, try buttermilk or yogurt for your acid instead for a lighter flavor.

there is a paneer thread in the indian forum that might help.

Ben

[Modern Day Hermit]

I don't have an answer to your question, just wanted to say that I usually make paneer using a whole gallon of milk and use it for the next few days in things from homemade pizza, stuffed tomatoes, parathas, mutter paneer...the list goes on and on. Oh, I love paneer.

Schielke, thanks for the tip about the buttermilk. I've used yogurt for quite some time, I'll have to give buttermilk a try, sounds nice!

[Big Bunny]

That's right.

A half-gallon of milk makes about a half-pound of paneer.

BB

[Monica Bhide]

Yes.. BB is right. Also I have been making yogurt with the 2% low carb milk and it has been TO DIE FOR.. its been delightful. I am wondering if the yield for low carb milk will be any different...