Making cheese at home / yogurt /using the whey

sunnysmile

I make Tvorag (Russian "pot" cheese) all the time using a gallon of 2% milk and kefir. I've used yogurt, lemon, and the other things, but I like the taste and texture from the kefir. I mix them together in a pot, heat on low heat maybe 45 minutes or around there, and sit it in the oven (not heated up) or somewhere out of the way if I'm using the oven for up to two days. Sometimes after 24 hours, I'll reheat it on the stovetop and then put it out of the way again for another 24 hours, it really just depends on what I"m doing and if I'm home or if I want the cheese sooner or later. Sorry to be so "loose" with my directions, but it's not that complicated really.

Interesting. Is the kefir the acid used for separating the curd from the whey?

chadgard

I recommend the book "Home CheeseMaking," by Ricki whose last name I cannot remember, but she's the founder of New England Cheesemaking. It's a great introduction to making cheese at home. I mostly make mozzarella, neufchatel, ricotta, yogurt, and marscapone, as I don't have a press or a good place to age cheeses.... Mozzarella is great 'cause you can make it in a half hour, so even if unexpected guests come over for dinner, with a little time and a good garden, you can make mozzarella to go with a good salad and some tomatoes or whatever else is in season, and you'll impress people a lot, for little effort.

For yogurt, I have the Yogotherm, which New England Cheesemaking also sells. For me, It's far easier to use than ovens with lights on, cardboard boxes with light bulbs, crock pots, or even electric yogurt makers. As a bonus, it uses no electricity, which means we can still make yogurt when the power is out for 3 weeks (tends to happen about twice a year).

Anyway, the Yogotherm is basically a plastic yogurt container, and a styrofoam cooler with a hole to fit it. You heat your milk up, let it cool, add your culture (or yogurt from your last batch), close the lid, and it maintains the temperature merely through insulation.

I like to make bread with my whey. In particular focaccia, but you can use the whey to replace the water in most bread recipes. Adds some flavor and nutrition to the bread, and it'll keep longer. If I had a pig, I understand they love whey, and make tastier chops if fed whey regularly. But I don't have a pig.

angelcurry130

whey is good for a lot of different things...

you can use it to marinade and tenderize meat (makes for a FANTASTIC brine!)
pour a half cup or so in a smoothie for some extra tang and digestion aid (not so much for a citric acid version)
you can replace milk in things like pancake batter, cake mix, muffins, sauces, etc. (think buttermilk, and you get a similar result)
if you are using a citric acid mix, you can use the whey in a foot soak


as for the different "acids" you can use, lime and lemon juice are great if you add spices to the cheese. you can range anywhere from spicy and stong like pepper or basil to something more delicate like cardamom, cloves or even ginger.
citric acid doesn't leave any flavors that i've noticed. you usually get a blank slate.
vinegar is much like the citrus acids. depending on which kind you use, you will get a different flavor. apple cider vinegar is more sour to me than white vinegar, which i find astringent. i tend to use the resulting cheese in a recipe rather than just eating it on its own.

i'm glad you are having such luck with your experiments. cheesemaking is so much fun! and it can be affordable (i cheat sometimes if i want an easy paneer for curry: powdered milk rehydrated with HALF the called for water...white vinegar. this isn't great for nibbling on, but it works in a pinch.)

sunnysmile

I am surprised that the cheese I made the other day tastes sweeter today as it sits in fridge. It is a fresh cheese so it won't last that long.

bethlaf

when i had my goats my favorite thing to make was easy cheese
its warmed up milk with vinegar
then strained.

sunnysmile

Ah, I ate all the cheese I made ... hard to stop eating it as it was soooo good.

A friend INSISTED that what I made was Ricotta cheese (I heated milk and added acid - lime and white vinegar). I thought I had fresh pot cheese or farmers cheese, but Ricotta is more fattening. What do you think?

sunnysmile

Homemade cheese I much more fattening than I thought, scale is up, egggaads