Easy Cheesy

There are a few simple and quick cheeses that anyone can make.  Here I've given recipes for my favourite three.

These cheeses don't require culture or specialised equipment, most ingredients are things that can easily be found in the average kitchen.

Be aware that your finished cheese will be about 10% of the milk you start with.  If you start with 2 litres of milk, you can expect approximately 200g of cheese.

In the first two recipes, the curdled milk should look like this.

Queso Blanco

Queso Blanco is very much like ricotta, in the process and in the finished product.

Bring milk to the boil, stirring to avoid scorching as much as possible.  Very slowly pour in white vinegar, while stirring, until milk curdles and separates.  Make sure that it has separated completely into white fluffy curds and green whey.  If it's just like grainy thick milk, add more vinegar and keep stirring.

Let sit for about two minutes then pour through a cloth lined colander.  Strain until there is no more liquid to come out.

Add salt, garlic and/or olive oil to taste and use like ricotta.
This doesn't keep very well, I'd recommend using it within a week.

Cumin Paneer

I make this one often for my Hindi friends.  I'm told it can be frozen, but I haven't tried freezing it myself.

The recipe I started with said to strain it through a cloth lined colander, twist the cloth around and weight it down.  This made the finished cheese a rounded ball.  My Hindi friends are used to buying it in a square shape, and say this makes it easier to cut into cubes and use.  My solution was to use a cloth to line a feta basket and make cube paneers.

The addition of salt and cumin not only gives this rather bland cheese some flavour, it extends it's keeping time.  This should stay good for about 2 weeks.

My original recipe used lemon juice.  I found myself out of lemons at one point, but my lime tree was so prolific, they were falling all over the ground underneath the tree.  So I tried lime juice and it has worked just as well.

For every 2l of milk, add a tsp of non-iodised salt and a tbsp of cumin seeds.  Bring to the boil gently, stirring constantly to minimise scorching.  Let it boil for 3 minutes before adding lemon or lime juice.  Pour citrus juice in slowly until milk curdles clearly into white fluffy curds and green whey.

Ladle into a cloth lined colander (or cloth lined feta basket).  It may take some time for it all to settle, so be prepared to come back every so often to add more, but try and get it all in while it's still hot.

Fold cloth over and turn upside down in the basket.  If you can find something square to weigh it down, this makes a better, firmer cheese.

Mozzarella

True Mozzarella is made with buffalo milk.  This recipe uses ordinary cows milk.  This recipe also requires liquid rennet.  There are several varieties available in more places than you'd think.  I often buy mine from Bin Inn (various cheese cultures and equipment can also be bought there) but there are plenty of websites that sell rennet fairly cheaply.  Make sure that you are buying either calf rennet or vegetarian rennet and not junket rennet.  Junket rennet is often sweetened although most modern recipes for junket seem to use normal rennet.

I found that mozzarella doesn't keep very well, so I grate it and freeze it in zip lock bags.  This makes it easy to use on pizza and the like.

For every 2l of milk, you will need 1/2 tsp of citric acid.

Dissolve citric acid in 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and stir into milk.  Heat milk to 31 deg C, stirring gently to prevent scorching.

Dilute 1/4 tsp of liquid rennet in 1/4 cup of cool water, add to milk and stir in gently.

Cover and let set for 30 mins.

Check for a clean break.  This means run your knife through the centre of your curd and then either lift the split or pull to one side.  If a clean break has been achieved, the two sides should part easily and hold their shape.  The curd won't be firm, but will hold.  If the curd seems a bit soft or not set, let it sit for another 15 mins.

Using a long bladed knife, cut the curd into half-inch cubes.  I cut front to back and side to side, then turn my knife onto a fairly steep angle and cut the horizontal lines on an angle. I go back and forth with the knife about half an inch deeper down the side each pass.  It doesn't make true cubes, but cuts them into roughly the right size.  I turn the pot and do this four times to be sure I've got them all. Let stand for 5 mins.

Place pot over low heat and slowly bring the curds up to 41 deg C, making sure it takes 20 mins to get there.  The curd will have cooled slightly from it's original temperature, but you're looking at approximately 1 degree raised every two minutes.  Don't let it warm up too quickly. Stir constantly while heating.  Turn off the heat and stir for another 20 mins.  Let stand for 5 mins.

In another pot, bring fresh water to the boil.  At least 2 litres but 4 often works better.  Add non-iodised salt at a rate of 1 1/2 tbsp per litre and stir until dissolved.

Drain whey from curd through a cloth lined colander.  Let the curds drain for 15 mins.

Place curds onto a clean chopping board and cut into 1 inch strips.  Place into a large bowl and pour hot salted water over.

Wearing heat resistant gloves, or using a wooden spoon, work the strips under the water until they become soft and pliable.  Knead, pull, stretch and fold it back on itself.  Keep working until the cheese becomes long and stretchy, it will also become shiny and smooth.  Work all the strips into a single large ball or into small bocconcini sized pieces.

I found another recipe that recommends microwaving the curds in 30 second bursts until an internal temperature of 72 deg C has been reached.  I have used this method and it works, but can be messy and frustrating.

Place the cheese into a bowl of ice water for 5 mins. Drain on a paper towel.

Enjoy simple cheese making!