Creating Your Very Own Cottage Cheese
If you want to create and enjoy cheese right in the comforts of your own home, you could make cottage cheese yourself. Aside from being very easy to make, its added health benefits make it very appealing to people. Since you cannot always be sure on what cottage cheeses sold in stores contain, you could always make sure you eat something nutritious by making it yourself.
The number one thing you have to remember about cottage cheeses though is that they are highly perishable and only have around three to four days of shelf life. Still, they are very exciting to make and if you are interested to start with your first batch, read ahead.
1. Pasteurize raw skim milk by bringing it to 145 degrees Fahrenheit and keep it there for half an hour. You could do this either by placing it in a microwave-safe container and heating it or placing it in a double broiler.
Once this is done, let the pasteurized milk cool down. Afterwards, inoculate milk by placing 1.5 cups of sour cream or buttermilk. This should let curds set in a matter of five hours. If you can wait overnight, you may use a half cup only.
2. Determining the right time to slice up your curds may be a little tricky. Try depressing it with a spoon. If it breaks cleanly away from the sides, it should be a good time to cut the whole thing. Cube the curds to about 1/8 of an inch in each dimension.
You can do this by using a spatula or knife and cutting horizontally. Roll the strands so that you can cut them crosswise. Remember though that cutting the curds too small would result to dry cheese because whey will be expelled during this process.
3. Place the curds into a big container with water then heat them up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep in mind to stir mixture slowly while bringing temperature up to around 120. When it reaches 120, hold the temperature there and continue stirring slowly.
Don’t make the temperature go too high and for too long because the curds could contract, expelling more whey and resulting to dry cheese. To make sure that you have the perfect timing, place a tablespoon of curds in ice water for three minutes. When you squeeze them, you should be feeling a rubbery texture – a signal for you to end cooking the curds.
4. Once everything is done, you can drain the whey and wash the curds with exact amount of water as your whey. Do this three times with a kettle. Washing cheese should take out acids and prevent it from having a sour taste. Drain the water from the last wash by placing it in a bag or spread on a colander or rack.