Tag Archives: cheese

Paneer

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  • 1.5 litres whole milk
  • 1 lemon
  1. To make the paneer, line a sieve with a large piece of muslin and place over a bowl. Heat the milk in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Gently bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
  2. Gradually add 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, stirring continuously so the curds and whey separate. Carefully pour the mixture into the sieve so the curds collect in the muslin. Place under cold running water to get rid of any whey, then gather up the muslin and squeeze out the excess moisture. Keeping the muslin bundle in the sieve, cover it with a plate and top with a few heavy weights (a couple of tins work well). Place in the fridge for 1 hour 30 minutes to set.

 

Cheese Sauce (MOM)

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1 oz. margarine
1 oz. flour
salt and pepper

On low heat, make a roux.  Take off the heat, stir in 1/2 pint (1 1/4 cup) milk.  Put back on heat, stirring all the time until it thickens.  Let it boil for a few minutes, then stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Ricotta

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Makes about 1 generous cup of ricotta

  • 3 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3-quart nonreactive saucepan. Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 190°F, stirring it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

Line a colander with a few layers of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl (to catch the whey). Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for at least an hour. At an hour, you’ll have a tender, spreadable ricotta. At two hours, it will be spreadable but a bit firmer, almost like cream cheese. (It will firm as it cools, so do not judge its final texture by what you have in your cheesecloth.) Discard the whey, or, if you’re one of those crafty people who use it for other things, of course, save it. Eat the ricotta right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Goat cheese

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http://food52.com/recipes/20092_homemade_goat_cheese

Makes 1 log

  • 1 gallon goat milk
  • 2 teaspoons citric acid, rounded
  • 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
  1. Mix the citric acid with 1/2 cup of water. In a heavy-bottomed, nonreactive pot, combine the goat milk and citric acid to 185 degrees over medium heat, stirring continuously.
  2. Once it reaches this temperature, turn off the heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
  3. Lay out a towel or several layers of cheesecloth in a bowl. Pour in the milk mixture. The curds simply resemble curdled milk at this point.
  4. Tie the ends of the towel together so it becomes a bag. Hang it on a wooden spoon and let the bag hang free. The whey should strain for at least two hours, but for best results you can leave half a day. This makes forming easier and results in a denser cheese.
  5. Before taking the cheese out of the cloth, squeeze the cloth to extract more liquid from the cheese. Transfer the cheese from the cloth to a bowl and season it with cheese salt to taste. To shape into a log, simply place on a clean smooth surface and begin to roll out gently, like a playdoh snake.