Curd Cheese (Farmer’s Cheese)
(Cook milk and add acid to form curds.)
Basic Recipe
3 cups milk (You can use any type of milk)
About 4 tbsp acid (white vinegar or lemon juice)
Procedure:
Bring milk to barely a boil. Turn heat off under the pan and add acid one tablespoon at a time, gently stirring for about a minute each time. Add only the amount of acid needed to separate the curds from the whey.
Pour into a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl to drain the whey. Reserve whey for other uses. If curds are dry and a bit firm, you can use as ricotta. If moist and soft, you can proceed to make cream cheese (see below).
Non-Fat Powdered Milk Basic Recipe Variations
Variation: Ricotta
3 cups reconstituted milk from powdered milk using the recipe given on the container.
About 4 tbsp acid (white vinegar or lemon juice)
Follow procedure above. In our experience, following this recipe will make curds that are dry and firm, which is perfect for ricotta. You can then moisten the ricotta by adding whey or milk/cream back in.
Variation: Cream Cheese
3 cups reconstituted milk from powdered milk using 1½ times the amount of powder called for in the recipe on the container. (Note: if using full fat powdered milk, do not increase the powder—stick with the regular recipe for reconstituting.)
About 4 tbsp acid (white vinegar or lemon juice)
Bring milk to barely a boil. Turn heat off under the pan and add acid one tablespoon at a time, gently stirring for about a minute each time. Add only the amount of acid needed to separate the curds from the whey.
Pour into a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl to drain the whey. Reserve whey for other uses. Curds should be soft and moist or they won’t blend. Place curds in a food processer and whip until a soft, blended, creamy consistency is reached. Add more whey if needed. Add a dash of salt if desired and store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container.
Cottage Cheese
2 cups water
¾ cup powdered milk (Use double the powder for 2 cups or water)
3 tbsp white vinegar
Heat milk in a medium saucepan until just before it boils. It should be steamy, but not boiling. Turn heat off. Gently pour vinegar in by streaming it along the edges of the pan. Gently stir the mixture and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes. Pour into cheesecloth-lined strainer and allow to drain to remove whey. Rinse with hot water, then with cold water. Pull up edges of the cheesecloth and twist to drain most of the moisture out. Place the curds in a bowl and mix with a dash of salt and enough of your home made yogurt or sour cream or milk to reach the desired consistency. Refrigerate.
Mozzarella Cheese
1 gallon milk
1 ¼ filtered water, divided
1 ½ tsp citric acid
¼ tsp double strength vegetable rennet
Dissolve citric acid in 1 cup of the water and stir until completely dissolved. Add the rennet to ¼ cup water, stir together, and set aside. Add the 1 cup of water containing the citric acid in a large pot and add milk. Stir together briskly as you heat the milk to 90°F. Remove from heat and slowly stir in rennet solution. Stir with up and down motion for 30 seconds, cover, and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. A large custard-like thick curd should form on the top. With a long knife cut the curd in a grid pattern. Be sure the knife goes all the way to the bottom of the pan. Be very gentle with the curds. Return the pot to the stove and heat to 105°F while stirring very gently. Remove from the heat and continue stirring for another 2 minutes to firm up the curd.
With a slotted spoon, remove all the curd to a microwave safe bowl. Drain off any whey and microwave for 1 minute. More whey will have accumulated, so drain it off. Add about 1 tsp salt if desired and squish together. Microwave for 30 seconds at a time until 135°F is reached. With clean rubber gloves, and stretch the curds like taffy until it is smooth and shiny. You can return the cheese to the microwave and heat again if it grows too cool to stretch. Refrigerate. It will slice, grate and melt as you choose in various recipes.
Cultured Cheese & Dairy Products
(Add live cultures to warm milk.)
Yogurt
4 cups reconstituted powdered milk using the recipe for on the container for your brand
2 heaping tbsp plain yogurt with live cultures (You can also purchase packets of freeze dried cultures for yogurt.)
Heat the milk to 180°F in a saucepan over medium heat. Cool the milk to between 112-115°F. Remove about 3/4 cup of the warm milk to a small bowl and whisk in the plain yogurt. Return the yogurt mixture to the pan and mix well. Pour into incubation container and insulate well. Let it sit for 5-12 hours depending on how strong you prefer the taste to be. Chill.
Greek Yogurt
Place the yogurt from the above recipe in cheese cloth or a thin tea towel in a colander within a larger bowl to catch the whey. Wrap the cloth over the top of the yogurt and place in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours depending on how thick you want the Greek Yogurt to be.
Cream Cheese
Using the Greek yogurt from the above recipe allow the yogurt to sit in the cheesecloth for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Remove from the cheesecloth and place in an airtight container in the refrigerator and allow to age for about 2-3 days (Although I have used it almost immediately and it worked fine.)
Yogurt Whey Ricotta
2 quarts full fat or 2% milk or full fat powdered milk
2 cups whey from making Greek Yogurt from your homemade yogurt
¼ tsp salt
Add milk and whey to a medium saucepan and heat to 180F. Remove from stove and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. The milk with curdle and curds will form. With a slotted spoon, gently scoop up the curds and place in a cheesecloth-lined strainer over a bowl. Allow to drain to desired consistency.
Note: If only a few curds form you may add a tbsp of lemon juice to increase the acid level. After all the curds are removed, if the remaining liquid in the pot still looks milky rather than the traditional yellow-green color of whey, add an additional ½ cup whey and stir or add whey with 1 tbsp lemon juice. More curds will form. Stir in salt and store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
Sour Cream
The best homemade sour cream uses a culture of live bacteria to make it. You can purchase dried cultures online or use a cultured sour cream from the grocery store. The best grocery store cultured sour cream we have found is Tillamook. It makes delicious sour cream. You can freeze dollops of your homemade sour cream to use as the culture for your next batch.
1 cup water
1/3 cup powdered milk or use the recipe on your container for 1 cup of milk and add an extra tablespoon of the powder.
¼ cup cultured sour cream
Mix all ingredients together in a pint jar and place lid loosely on the jar. Leave out on the counter for 12-24 hours until the desired taste is produced. It will thicken as it cultures. You can substitute ¼ cup of cultured buttermilk for the cultured sour cream to see if you like that taste better.
If you prefer to use a purchased powdered sour cream culture, follow the directions that come with the packet.
Source: Rosered homestead (youtube)
