How to make homemade cheese from cow's milk. How to make cheese at home

To be 100% sure that the cheese is made only from high-quality ingredients, use the tips and recipes of experienced housewives who know how to make cheese at home from milk.

The abundance of cheese products on the shelves of our stores has not surprised anyone for a long time. The variety of varieties often makes you wonder which cheese to choose? To bring maximum benefit to the body, it must be made from natural and high-quality products.

Do you know that to prepare 1 kilogram you need to take 10-12 liters of milk? A good milk far from cheap raw materials. Wanting to save money, many manufacturers use many additional components that make the cheese no longer quite cheese. What to do?

Is it possible to make delicious cheese at home?

Once upon a time, almost every housewife who kept cows or goats could prepare delicious homemade cheese or cottage cheese. Without harmful additives and palm oil. Do you want to learn and understand how to make cheese at home?

It's not difficult and the result will definitely please you. The resulting cheese dishes can be varied with spices, herbs and herbs. Experiment while cooking, try adding garlic, paprika, dill, hot pepper. You will get a piquant and aromatic cheese.

Home cooking often produces tastier and healthier results than assembly-line production. The technology for making cheeses involves mixing lactic acid bacteria or special enzymes with milk.

Bacteria and enzymes can be bought at the pharmacy; they quickly curdle milk and help separate it into whey and curds.

Requirements for main ingredients

The perfect cheese is made from just three ingredients - milk, starter and salt. But such a “pure” composition is quite rare.

If possible, take full-fat and high-quality milk, preferably homemade or farm milk from trusted sellers. Cheese is a product with a high fat content, so the fattier the milk, the tastier and more tender it will be. You should not boil it first, as this will “kill” all the beneficial substances.

To increase the fat content of milk, you can add cream or sour cream to it. By the way, it is better not to use rustic separated sour cream; it is the “urban” store-bought sour cream that is prepared with sourdough, which is very important for making cheeses.

Sour cream and eggs are often used as starter culture, but you can use kefir or natural yogurt.

When someone talks about cheese, for some reason they immediately think of a hard product with holes. What about other varieties? Cheese at home from milk can be made either hard or soft, pickled or fermented - experiment with spices and recipes and you will definitely surprise your family with a delicious and healthy dish, and most importantly, you will be completely confident in the quality.

How to cook cheese at home so that it is healthy and tasty? Let's turn to proven recipes.

Indian cheese Paneer

This type of cheese is common in South Asia. It is very easy to prepare. 4 liters of milk and the juice of one medium lemon are all the ingredients.

In a thick-walled saucepan, bring the milk to almost a boil and pour lemon juice. In just 2-3 minutes, curd flakes and whey will appear.

Pour the resulting mass into cheesecloth, strain off the whey, tie it in a knot and place under a press. After a few hours the cheese is ready.

Creamy

Take 0.5 liters of good sour cream, which contains only cream and sourdough. The fattier the sour cream, the tastier the cheese will be.

Place the sour cream in cheesecloth and add a pinch of salt if desired. Tie the ends of the gauze and hang to drain the serum for a day. You may be surprised, but cream cheese I'm ready now!

If you add herbs, seasonings or spices to sour cream, it will be difficult to distinguish the cheese from store-bought cheese.

The second version of the recipe is based on kefir. Place delicious and rich kefir directly in the bag in the freezer for 6-8 hours. Then remove the film and place it on cheesecloth and a colander. Once it has melted and all the whey has drained, you can spread the cream cheese on the sandwich. The disadvantage of this method is that there is little output.

Philadelphia

This cheese is classified as cream cheese and has a delicate creamy consistency. It is perfect for sandwiches and as a...

Take 1 glass each of fermented baked milk and kefir with at least 2.5% fat content, and half a glass of 20% sour cream.

Mix the ingredients at room temperature, add a pinch of salt and place in a colander lined with gauze. Place it in a saucepan to drain and leave in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. To prevent it from getting too windy, cover with a lid or plate. During this time, the whey will drain, and the curd mass will thicken and ripen.

Adyghe

Brine cheeses are made using special salted brines; they are distinguished by the absence of a crust and have a brittle consistency. Brynza, Suluguni, Adyghe, Chechil and other popular varieties belong to this type. Due to the fact that bacteria quickly develop in such products, the solution is sometimes specially over-salted in order to prolong storage.

But for your family, you can make cheese at home with the salt concentration you like, which sets it apart from store-bought cheese.

Adyghe cheese refers to soft cheeses and does not require ripening.

The ingredients are as follows.

1. Milk – 1 liter.
2. Sour cream – 200 g.
3. Salt – 1 tablespoon.
4. Eggs – 3 pcs.

Bring the milk to a boil. Beat eggs with salt, add sour cream and mix well. Pour the mixture into boiling milk while stirring constantly. Cook for 3-5 minutes. As soon as the curd mass has separated from the milk, it’s time to remove from the heat. Overcook – the cheese will be rubbery.

Line a colander with 3-4 layers of gauze and discard the hot mixture to drain the whey. After a couple of hours, tie the gauze and put it under a press in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, the Adyghe delicacy is ready.

Brynza

It's easy and simple to prepare! For 3 liters of milk, take a tablespoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of 9% vinegar. Yield: 350 grams.

Boil the milk, add salt and bring to a boil again. Pour in vinegar; as soon as flakes appear, remove from heat.

Using a colander and cheesecloth, allow the whey to drain and place under a press in the refrigerator. It's best to leave it overnight. In the morning, the resulting cheese can be served with tea, but it’s better to put it in a container and fill it with whey - the next day it will be even tastier.

Dutch

How to cook cheese at home so that it resembles hard Dutch cheese? Surprisingly, you will only spend half an hour of your time.

The ingredients are as follows.

1. Cottage cheese – 1 kg, preferably full-fat homemade or farm-made cottage cheese.
2. Butter – 100 g.
3. Milk – 1 liter.
4. Eggs – 2 pcs.
5. Salt and soda - one teaspoon each.

Pour milk over the cottage cheese and place over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the whey separates, remove from the stove and place in a colander to drain. Add butter. Beat eggs with salt and soda. Mix everything well and put on low heat.

Cook until the mass becomes thick and viscous, yellow in color. Be sure to stir continuously to avoid burning. The whole process will take no more than 10 minutes.

Transfer the cheese into a mold and refrigerate. After cooking, the product should be cooled for some time and can be tasted - it does not require long ripening.

Mozzarella

If anyone doesn’t know, mozzarella looks like white balls soaked in brine and is classified as a rennet cheese. Rennet cheese is a product prepared using a special enzyme that is extracted from the stomachs of calves or kids. Its use significantly reduces cooking time.

The classic recipe calls for black buffalo milk, but, unfortunately, it is not sold in the store, so take regular cow milk.

The ingredients are as follows.

1. Milk – 4 liters.
2. Pepsin (enzyme) – 0.04 g.
3. Salt - a heaped tablespoon.
4. Water – 30 grams.

Heat the milk to about 35 degrees - this is best temperature for efficient rennet reaction. Use a special kitchen thermometer.

Pepsin is difficult to measure, so take it on the tip of a knife. Dissolve in boiled water at room temperature and mix with warm milk.

After about half an hour, the milk will ferment and will look like. Cut it into small squares to release the whey and leave for 15-20 minutes.

Drain off the whey and transfer the “solid milk” to a colander or a special perforated cheese mold. Let sit for another 2 hours. During this time, the excess whey will finally drain off.

Turn the pan out onto a dry, clean plate and leave for another couple of hours.

Let's start with the ambassador. Dissolve the salt in the whey, dip the cheese in the brine and leave overnight.

The next day you can start tasting, or you can wait a few days for maturation. Real rennet cheese matures for at least three weeks.

Chechil

Armenian cheese braided into braids is dietary because it is made from low-fat varieties milk. It belongs to the brine rennet cheeses and is similar to Suluguni.

The ingredients are as follows.

1. Milk – 4 liters.
2. Water – 8 liters.
3. Citric acid – 1 teaspoon.
4. Rennet – 1 gram.
5. Salt – 200 g.

In a water bath, heat the milk to 36-38 degrees, stirring constantly. Dilute citric acid and enzyme separately in a quarter glass of milk or water, mix them with heated milk and set aside in a warm place. To preserve heat, the pan can be wrapped.

After an hour, heat the pan for literally 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Cut the jelly-like mass into cubes and drain the whey. Let sit for another 30 minutes.

Heat the water in another container to 70-80 degrees and place the cheese pieces in it. Stir them in the water with wooden spatulas for about 15 minutes.

Put on rubber gloves and continue kneading with your hands. Keep the water temperature constant.

Gradually begin to stretch the cheese, form threads and transfer them to the salty solution. For 1 liter of water you should take 200 g of salt.

Leave the threads in the brine for a day, then wring them out and braid them.

The ingredients are as follows.

1. Very fatty cottage cheese – 1 kg.
2. Unscented vegetable oil or melted butter - 3 tablespoons.
3. Salt and soda - half a teaspoon each.
4. Water (or diluted milk) – 2 liters.
5. Paprika and fenugreek - 1 teaspoon each.

Leave the cottage cheese in the freezer overnight. Bring the water to a boil and place the frozen cottage cheese in it, cook for 15-20 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth placed in a colander until the liquid has completely drained.

Mix cottage cheese with salt, soda and oil. Transfer to a heavy saucepan and cook until smooth, about 10 minutes. If you notice the taste of soda, you can add a spoonful of vinegar and a pinch of sugar.

Take baking paper (parchment), sprinkle it with a mixture of spices and salt. Place the cheese mixture on the edge and wrap it with a roll. Cool in the refrigerator. After 2 hours you can try.

Each cheese goes into its own box

Homemade cheese should be stored in the refrigerator for no longer than a week, because you do not add preservatives to it, which means bacteria multiply faster. But, as a rule, household members eat delicious dish Literally in a day or two you have to cook a new batch.

Storage methods depend on the type of product. For example, under no circumstances should cottage cheese be stored in plastic bags - it suffocates there and quickly sours. Place it in an enamel or glass container. This is the most perishable type of cheese - after a day or two, sourness and an unpleasant smell appear.

Place in the freezer cottage cheese and cheese from those products that do not lose their beneficial properties when defrosted.

Rennet cheeses do not tolerate moisture, so ensure they are stored dry. Wrap in cling film and place in an enamel saucepan.

Adyghe, feta cheese and suluguni feel great in a stainless steel or enamel container.

The ideal place to store cheese is in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator. Pre-wrap it in cling film to ensure an airtight seal.

If you don’t have a refrigerator at hand, it’s broken, or you’re out on a trip, and it’s hot outside, then take a cotton cloth, soak it in salt water, wring it out and wrap the cheese. Place in a dark, well-ventilated place.

1. If you want to get hard cheese, like in the store, then you should use a heavy press, the density depends on the pressure. But it still won’t affect the taste, so think carefully about whether you need it?
2. The cheese needs to ripen, give it a chance to sit. Its taste will be more rich and piquant. It will ripen well if its weight is more than half a kilogram.
3. To shape it, you can use a regular colander.
4. Over-salted rennet or pickled cheeses need to be soaked, excess salt will go into the water.

Conclusion

If you want to make homemade cheeses based on savings, then you are unlikely to gain much. But you will be confident in the freshness of the product and the quality of the ingredients. Do you know how your cheese will differ from store-bought cheese? It will be prepared with love, which means it will bring double benefits to your family.

Mother of two children. I'm leading household for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

Many young housewives (as well as experienced housewives), who are just beginning to learn the secrets of cooking, are in constant search for various culinary ideas, secrets and techniques for preparing this or that dish. As a result of this, it has become popular today to cook various products, often purchased at the market or in a store, at home. Since homemade food is more healthy and does not raise doubts among its consumers. That is why, in this article we will talk about how to make cheese at home from milk so that the result is not only tasty, but also very healthy for the body.

Each recipe for milk cheese at home has its own subtleties and cooking characteristics. Some people use fermented milk products, vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice as a milk-clotting agent, while others use rennet and pepsin as a priority for this purpose.

Also, the type of milk plays an important role, because traditionally in mountainous areas cheese made from goat and sheep milk was considered the most delicious; in the steppe regions, tribute was paid to horse milk. However, at all times, homemade whole cheese remained unrivaled. cow's milk- a product that is undoubtedly healthy and very nutritious. If you get acquainted with the technology of preparing useful sour dairy product, making cheese at home from milk will not be so difficult.

There are at least 100 recipes for making homemade cheese, each of which has its own characteristics.

Therefore, you can prepare not only traditional hard cheese yourself, but also the following types:

• fused
• cream cheese
• Suluguni
• Adyghe
• mascarpone
• paneer
• feta cheese
• brunost

Some of the above dairy snacks can be used as a base for making sweet desserts, baked goods, creams and fillings. In addition, the composition home product may include nuts, dried herbs, oriental spices, pickled or fried mushrooms and even bacon bits.

How to make cheese at home

Homemade feta cheese

Feta cheese is a good option to try your hand at cheese making. It turns out to be quite recognizable and fits perfectly into Greek salad or other snacks, and at the same time quite easy to make. Experts, of course, will object - real cheese feta can only be produced in Greece. That’s true, but our cheese will turn out much better than much of what is sold outside this sunny country, and most importantly, it is made in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 1 l. milk
• 1 tbsp. l. yogurt
• 1.5−2 tab. acidin-pepsin (or rennet)

Preparation:

Pour the milk into the pan and, stirring occasionally, bring it to a temperature of 31 degrees. Stir 1 glass of milk with yogurt thoroughly, pour it into the pan, stir again, cover with a lid and leave at room temperature. Grind acidin-pepsin into powder and pour in ½ tbsp. cold water.

After 1 hour, pour water with acidin-pepsin into the pan, stir and leave overnight. During this time, the milk will curdle and the whey will separate from the curd mass. Using a knife, carefully cut this mass on the surface of the whey into squares with a side of about 1 cm, stir several times at intervals of five minutes, and pour the contents of the pan into a colander lined with several layers of gauze. Leave for several hours to allow all the liquid to drain.

Mix ¼ tsp into the curd mass. salt, put the cheese into a mold (this can be made, for example, from a juice carton) and leave at room temperature for another 12-24 hours - the cheese will finally “set” and the consistency will be like real feta. Prepare the brine: 200 ml. whey (you didn’t pour it out, right?) mix with 1.5 tbsp. l. salt, cut the cheese into cubes, fill with brine and put in the refrigerator. This, firstly, will “pull” the liquid out of the feta even more, and, secondly, will allow it to be stored almost forever - however, you will eat it earlier.

How to make ricotta cheese

Next we will cook with you italian cheese ricotta - and after you master this simple procedure, you will no longer buy ricotta in the store. Besides the obvious savings, homemade ricotta also has a much creamier texture and delicate taste. Use it for appetizers, pasta, lasagna, baked goods and desserts. That being said, if you are making ricotta for dessert, you can reduce the amount of salt, increase the milk to cream ratio and/or use heavier cream for better results.

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 1 l. pasteurized milk
• 300 ml. cream 22%
• juice of ½ lemon
• ½ tsp. salt

Cooking method:

Combine milk and cream in a saucepan, add salt and place over low heat, stirring occasionally. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil - the slower the better. In order to estimate the time remaining before boiling, it is convenient to use a thermometer. A meat thermometer works great for this purpose. When the milk and cream mixture finally boils, pour the lemon juice into the pan and stir well. After a minute or two, when the curdled milk has separated from the whey, remove the pan from the heat and cover with a thick towel.

Let your future ricotta sit, ideally until it cools completely. Fold a piece of gauze in half and place in a colander. Carefully transfer the curd mass that has accumulated on top into a colander using a slotted spoon. Wait for the excess whey to drain—this should take no more than an hour, otherwise the ricotta will be too dry—wrap the cheesecloth around the cheese and squeeze lightly. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl or other container and put it in the refrigerator, where it can be stored for two days.

Homemade cheese Fromage blanc

You don't need rennet to make this homemade cheese, which is a great way to get your feet wet before you embark on more serious homemade cheese-making experiments.

Ingredients:

2−4 servings

• 1.5 l. milk
• 200 ml. cream 22%
• 300 ml. buttermilk
• 1.5 tbsp. l. lemon juice

Preparation:

Buttermilk is a byproduct of churning butter. Order it from the women selling dairy products at the market; often no one needs it, so it’s quite possible that they will give it to you for free. Mix milk and cream in a saucepan and place over low heat. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and lemon juice, pour into the pan, and stir well. After this, bring the contents of the pan to a temperature of 80 degrees, without stirring if possible, remove from heat, cover with a lid, and leave on the stove for at least an hour.

When you remove the lid, you will see that the curdled mass has formed something like a crust of ice on the surface of the whey. Using a sharp knife, cut it into small cubes and place them in a colander lined with a double layer of gauze. Bring the corners of the gauze together, tie and hang over a pan or sink to allow the whey to drain. The hanging time depends on what you want to achieve - if you want the fromage blanc to hold its shape, leave it overnight, if you are going to use it for spreading on bread, it will take a few hours less.

Transfer the finished cheese into molds and, if desired, serve it for dessert, topped with heavy cream and jam.

A simple recipe for delicious homemade cheese

Ingredients:

• Milk - 3 liters
• Lemon - 3 pcs.
• Sugar - 1 tbsp. l.
• Salt - 1 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

Bring milk to a boil in large saucepan, add salt and sugar. Wash the lemons and dry. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and pour it into the milk. Boil milk with lemon juice for one minute, stirring, preferably with a wooden spoon. Remove the pan from the heat and leave covered for 20 minutes. You will get a mass with clots. Catch these clots with a slotted spoon and place in a colander lined with gauze. Press down the cheese mixture a little to remove excess liquid. Lightly salt our future cheese, add cumin if using and transfer to a ceramic or glass bowl. Place the homemade cheese in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to mature.

Hard spicy cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 kg cottage cheese
• 1 liter of milk
• 70−100 g butter
• 5 g salt
• 5 g baking soda
• 5 g turmeric
• curry
• pepper
• asafoetida on the tip of a knife

Cooking method:

Bring the milk to a boil, add cottage cheese, bring to a boil again, and immediately remove from heat. Strain the mixture through a colander lined with two layers of gauze and squeeze. Fry the curd mass in melted butter for 1-2 minutes, breaking up any lumps. Bring the mixture to a viscous consistency.

Continuing to stir, add soda, salt, and seasonings. Then transfer the hot mixture into a cheese mold and cool.

Adyghe buttermilk cheese

Ingredients:

• 3.5 liters of milk,
• 1 liter buttermilk,
• salt.

Cooking method:

Bring the milk to a boil, pour in the buttermilk, stirring constantly. The milk will separate into curds and whey.

Strain the resulting mixture through a colander lined with gauze folded in two layers, leave for 2-3 hours to drain the liquid. Add some whey and salt. Place the cheese on a clean surface, form into a ball, wrap in cellophane film and place under a press weighing about 1 kg, place in the refrigerator for 1 day.

Buttermilk is the sour-tasting liquid that remains after churning butter from sour cream or cream. By nutritional properties Close to buttermilk is whey, which is obtained during the curdling of milk. It is in it, and not in butter and cottage cheese, that most of the biologically active substances, including lecithin and choline, are concentrated. Buttermilk cheese promotes the formation of instant cholesterol compounds in the body. They help strengthen the walls of blood vessels and make them more elastic.

Making Paneer cheese at home

Ingredients:

• 1 liter of milk
• 150 ml kefir

Way preparations:

Bring the milk to a boil, just before boiling, add kefir, remove from heat, mix thoroughly and leave the mixture for 3 minutes. Line a colander with two layers of gauze and place the cottage cheese on it to drain the whey.

Tie gauze tightly and place the cottage cheese under a press weighing 2-3 kg for 30 minutes. Then remove the press and remove the finished cheese from the gauze.

You can use a pan filled with water as a homemade press for making homemade cheese.

Homemade cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 liter of milk
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 eggs
• 200 g sour cream

Preparation:

Bring the milk to a boil. Without reducing the heat, add salt, beaten eggs and sour cream. Cook the mixture, stirring, for about 5 minutes. When the whey begins to separate, drain the mixture into a colander lined with gauze. Hang the cheese for 3 hours, and then put it under the press for a few more hours.

Processed homemade cheese with parsley

Ingredients:

• 500 g cottage cheese
• 120 ml milk
• 40 g butter
• 5 g baking soda
• 1 bunch of parsley

Cooking method:

Add soda to the cottage cheese, pour in the milk and mix thoroughly. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly. As soon as the cottage cheese begins to melt, add butter, salt, washed and chopped parsley. Heat until the cottage cheese is completely melted. The density of the mass should resemble semolina porridge. Pour the hot mixture into molds and place in the refrigerator.

Homemade goat's milk cheese

If you like cream cheese that has a delicate taste, then this recipe is just for you. Homemade cheese made from goat milk, will delight you with incredible taste and melting sensation in your mouth. It is also recommended to add other components to the recipe.

Ingredients:

• goat milk - 1500 milliliters
• fresh kefir - 1000 milliliters
• one teaspoon of salt

Cooking technology:

Boil kefir in a deep saucepan. Remove the curds from the surface and place them in a sieve. Strain the remaining whey into a separate bowl and leave for a couple of days, keeping it at room temperature.

Pour the milk into a clean pan, place it on a hot surface and wait until it boils. After this, add the whey. Boil the entire mixture over the fire for about fifteen minutes. During cooking, clots form. After that, salt the composition as desired, filter and transfer to cheesecloth. We try to squeeze it out well and hang it for thirty minutes. After this, you can begin to form a ball of cheese. To do this, place the cheese between a couple of plates and place a jar of liquid on top. This “construction” should be left for a couple of hours. After this, put the cheese in the refrigerator for eight hours.

Where to buy pepsin?

In principle, you can purchase rennet via the Internet, cheese factories, or simply negotiate on the market - enthusiasts will probably do this, but for 99% of everyone else there is a much more affordable way. Fortunately, in addition to cheese making, pepsin is used for medical purposes, to treat various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, dyspepsia, and so on. Well, if so, it means our path lies to the pharmacy. In domestic pharmacies there are two drugs that can be used in cheese making - abomin and acidin-pepsin. The second one seems to be much more accessible - and therefore a little more about it.

Acidin-pepsin (other trade names - Acidolpepsin, Acipepsol, Betacid, Pepsacid, Pepsa-min) contains 1 part of pepsin and 4 parts of acidin. Acidine, when hydrolyzed, releases hydrochloric acid, which is absolutely harmless, since, firstly, it is already contained in gastric juice, and, secondly, it will be present in the finished cheese in negligible volumes. For 1 liter of milk, from which, depending on the recipe, about 200-300 g of finished cheese is obtained, 1-2 tablets of acidin-pepsin are used, which are dissolved in water and added to the milk brought to a certain temperature. A package of acidin-pepsin costs about 50 rubles and is available without a prescription.

What seasonings are added to cheese?

Seasonings beneficially enrich the flavor and aromatic properties of the dairy product. Choice herbs and spices are varied, so it is recommended to pay special attention to the following:

• Ground pepper
• Coriander
• Lovage
• Melissa
• Nutmeg
• Parsley and dill

If you plan to make your own homemade dairy product, it is not necessary to use all the spices for the cheese.

It is quite enough to focus on greens, turmeric, nutmeg or chili, cardamom, coriander, and anise.

• It is advisable to use medium fat milk. After cooking, the cheese will have the desired consistency and will not be very hard;
• Boil the cheese mixture in a thick-walled container; it will not burn in this pan;
• When pouring kefir and eggs into milk, be sure to stir everything. It is best to use a wooden spatula for stirring;
• Additionally, you can add spices, herbs, olives or pieces of vegetables to the cheese.
• homemade cheese is made from natural milk and cottage cheese, so be very careful when purchasing these dairy products in stores, if the cottage cheese or milk is not natural, then your cheese will not ripen;
• for making homemade cheese by curdling milk, high-quality natural milk, but not ultra-pasteurized and sterilized store-bought;
• Homemade cheese ripens better if the original milk material is no less than half a kilogram;
• the high fat content in cottage cheese gives the finished cheese a natural oiliness and special tenderness, which is what distinguishes homemade cheeses;

Making cheese at home is becoming increasingly popular, and the reason for its development recently is the danger of buying cheese in a store that contains the notorious Palm oil Low quality. And at first, perhaps, homemade cheese will be inferior in taste to branded ones, but practice will certainly improve its taste, and the usefulness and safety of this product, beloved by many, will undoubtedly remain higher. Spare no time and effort, prepare it yourself, your family will appreciate your work.

The basis of cheese is milk: cow, goat or sheep. You can add cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir, and butter to milk. It is best to use farm products with high fat content: ultra-pasteurized milk will not curdle, and skim milk will simply not turn out very well. delicious cheese.

Excipients are certain bacteria and enzymes that accelerate the process of separating milk into whey and curd. They can be bought in a store or ordered online.

Lemon juice does the same job citric acid or vinegar.

Bacteria and other microorganisms also affect the taste and texture of cheese. But you can prepare it without a special starter - at the initial stage it is better to do so.

In addition to the main and auxiliary ingredients, you can add additional ingredients: nuts, herbs, mushrooms, vegetables or ham. You can also use spices such as turmeric, which will give the cheese a yellow color.

Technology

Preparation

Prepare cheese in clean containers and on clean work surfaces. If you touch something foreign, be sure to dry them with a fresh towel.

If these rules are not followed, harmful bacteria may enter the cheese and it will spoil.

In addition, cheese easily absorbs foreign odors, so there is no need to use perfumed products before preparing it. It’s also not a good idea to cook other dishes at the same time: the cheese can absorb the flavors of the food.

Cooking process

Cheese is made by dividing milk into curd mass and whey. To do this, pour milk into a non-stick pan and bring to a boil. Usually other dairy products and auxiliary ingredients are added at this stage. The milk is then continued to be heated until the curd mass separates from the whey.

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The separated curd mass is filtered through clean gauze and a sieve.

After this, the future cheese, still wrapped in cloth, is pressed down with a weight or hung to finally rid it of whey. In this position, the cheese usually ripens from several hours to a day.

Under pressure they become harder. It is believed that the heavier the load and the longer the mass lies under it, the denser and richer the cheese will be. It is optimal to use a load of 10 kg.

Store homemade cheese in the refrigerator for about a week.

Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 liter of milk;
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar;
• 2 tablespoons butter;
• 1 teaspoon of dry herbs;
• 1 teaspoon salt.

Preparation

Bring the milk to a boil and add the remaining ingredients. When the mixture boils again, remove it from the heat, strain through cheesecloth and squeeze. Place the mass under the weight. When the cheese has cooled, you can cut it into pieces and serve.

Ingredients

• 1 liter of heavy cream;
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice.

Preparation

Place the cream over medium heat and heat, stirring, but do not bring to a boil. As soon as bubbles begin to appear on the surface, remove the pan from the heat and, while continuing to stir, add lemon juice.

Return the pan to the stove, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. When the mixture turns into thick cream, throw it into a sieve lined with gauze.

Leave the mixture for about an hour or hang overnight. When all the whey has drained off, you can taste the cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 liter of milk;
• 2 tablespoons salt;
• 3 eggs;
• 200 g sour cream.

Preparation

Bring the milk to a boil. Without reducing the heat, add salt, beaten eggs and sour cream. Cook the mixture, stirring, for about 5 minutes. When the whey begins to separate, drain the mixture into a colander lined with gauze. Hang the cheese for 3 hours, and then put it under the press for a few more hours.

Ingredients

• 3 liters of milk;
• 2 kg of cottage cheese;
• 100 g butter;
• 1 egg;
• ½ teaspoon of soda;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation

Heat the milk, but do not bring it to a boil. Add cottage cheese and stir. After this, reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture, stirring constantly. When the curd mass separates, place it in a colander lined with gauze or a cotton towel.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, put the resulting cheese in it, add the egg, soda and salt. Prepare the mixture, stirring constantly. When it begins to acquire a creamy consistency and turn yellow, remove it from the heat. Place the cheese in a mold, press down with a weight and put it in the refrigerator for several hours or a day.

The resulting cheeses can be served as an independent snack or used to make sandwiches, salads, etc. The separated whey can also be put into circulation: for example, you can use it to make okroshka or pancakes.

On store shelves you can find various varieties and types of cheeses.

Most of them were brought from abroad - from Switzerland, Holland, France or Italy.

Although due to the influence of sanctions and Russian cheeses no longer in the minority.

But prices for good cheese very “bite”.

And who can guarantee that store-bought cheeses contain no preservatives, thickeners or flavorings?

People knew about cheeses several centuries ago, when it was not possible to mass produce this product. Every family knew the recipe for making cheese, because making cheese with your own hands is not at all difficult. You can make cheese from store-bought pasteurized cheese, cow cheese, goat cheese, and even soy milk. The essence of the preparation is either boiling milk with coagulating enzymes or melting dairy products. There are a great many recipes for making homemade cheese. Read on in the article to learn how to make cheese at home from milk.

Making homemade cheese from milk: cooking features

No cheese recipe is complete without milk, so you should be careful when choosing this ingredient. If the recipe does not specify how much fat the milk should be, then it is better to use homemade farm milk. If it is not possible to purchase farm milk, it can be replaced with store-bought milk with a maximum fat content and a minimum shelf life.

In addition to milk, many cheeses contain homemade cottage cheese is also included. And you need to be careful with this product - real cottage cheese is rarely found in grocery stores, mostly curd mass or curd product. The curd mass will not make real cheese. Therefore, it is better to purchase cottage cheese from farmers or make it yourself at home. Only in this case can you be sure of the quality of the cheese produced.

Don't expect homemade cheese to be as hard as store-bought cheeses. Homemade cheeses are much more tender and softer. But if you wish, you can make the cheese harder, because the hardness of this product depends on the pressure of the press. Accordingly, if you need hard cheese, then the press should be as heavy as possible.

When choosing low-fat products, you need to be prepared for the fact that a lot of whey will be released and relatively little cheese will be obtained. The higher the fat content of the cheese, the more buttery and tender it is, which undoubtedly has a positive effect on taste qualities product.

Concerning hard cheeses, it is better that after cooking such cheese lies for some time - “ripe”. The taste will become brighter and richer. However, you need to keep in mind that cheeses weighing half a kilogram or more ripen well. Therefore, to make homemade hard cheese tastier, you should not skimp on the ingredients and it is better to wait a few days after preparing it.

As for devices for making homemade cheeses, everything is not so scary. A mold for cheese, if it is missing, can be easily replaced with an ordinary colander, sieve or fine mesh that comes with the deep fryer. And as a press you can use a jar filled with water.

Whey is released during the cheese making process. Many people simply pour it out, but whey can be used in some dishes. Thin openwork pancakes easily obtained from a whey test. Some people use this product when preparing okroshka.

How to make cheese at home from milk: preparing hard cheese

Hard cheeses are made by boiling dairy products with curdling enzymes. During the manufacturing process, whey is released, and the more whey is separated, the harder the cheese will be. Hard cheese must be kept under pressure, then it will turn out denser. Let's take a closer look at the most popular recipes preparing hard cheeses from milk at home:

1. Adyghe cheese

This recipe is the easiest to prepare and requires little financial investment. The result is the most delicate cheese without preservatives, flavor enhancers or flavorings.

Ingredients: Pasteurized milk (you can use farm milk, the fattier the milk, the better) – 3 l, kefir (preferably farm or homemade) – 1 l, salt – 1.5-2 tsp. (you can do more, you can do less - you should focus only on your own taste)

1) The specified amount of kefir must be poured into a deep saucepan and put on low heat. It is better if the kefir is not low-fat, but as fat as possible. Cook kefir over low heat until the curds separate from the whey and float to the surface.

2) The next step is to separate the curds from the whey. The serum must not be thrown away! It will come in handy later in the cooking process. It must be left at room temperature to sour for two days.

3) Pour the specified amount of milk into a deep saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then you need to reduce the heat and pour in the same whey that has been turning sour for 2 days. Mix well and cook over low heat until the cheese rises to the top.

4) Next, you need to strain the cheese and separate it from the liquid. Add salt to the cheese and stir. After this, the resulting mass must be placed in gauze and hung over a container or over a sink. This must be done to allow the remaining liquid to drain.

5) After 30 minutes, remove the cheese from the cheesecloth, place in a clean bowl and place under a press. The water that has separated from the cheese must be drained. The cheese should remain under pressure for at least 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Hard homemade cheese without eggs

This cheese recipe, like the previous one, is ideal for vegetarians whose lifestyle involves excluding eggs and animal enzymes from their diet. This recipe, similar to the first one, is very simple.

Ingredients: Milk (same as in the previous recipe, it is better to take thicker milk) – 1 l, butter – 100 g, cottage cheese (preferably farm or homemade) – 1 kg, salt – 1-2 tsp. baking soda – 0.5 tsp. turmeric – ¼ tsp. black ground pepper- ¼ tsp. asafoetida – 1 pinch (seasonings are indicated in the recommended amount, you can add or reduce the amount, focusing on your own taste sensations).

1) Milk must be poured into a deep saucepan, placed over high heat, and brought to a boil. Add cottage cheese in the specified amount to boiling milk and bring to a boil again. Immediately after boiling, the stove must be turned off.

2) The contents of the pan must be strained through cheesecloth. The liquid that separates during straining must be drained. Next, you need to continue working with the mass that remains in the gauze. You can hang the gauze for 10 minutes to drain the liquid, or simply squeeze the workpiece well in the gauze with your hands.

3) The butter must be melted in a frying pan. Then add the resulting curd mass to the frying pan, mix well, break up the lumps. It takes a couple of minutes to fry the mixture. While stirring, add salt, soda and seasonings. The result should be a mass of viscous consistency.

4) Hot cheese must be transferred to a mold and cooled for several hours. It is better to use a silicone mold, since the cheese comes away from its walls better. After the cheese has cooled, you can eat it.

3. Mozzarella at home

If you need to learn how to make Mozzarella cheese at home from milk, you are exactly at the right place. There are 2 options for making this cheese at home. One of them is using rennet (an enzyme of animal origin), and the second is from dairy products with vinegar. The most successful of these two options is undoubtedly the first. But vegetarians should not eat this cheese, as it contains rennet. IN this recipe pepsin (animal enzyme) is indicated, you can buy it at the pharmacy.

Ingredients: Milk (necessarily full fat, at least 6%) – 2 l, water – 1.5 l, lemon juice and salt – 2 tbsp each. each, pepsin – ¼ tsp. or on the tip of a knife, but if you get a little more, don’t be afraid - this enzyme is safe for the human body.

1) Add pepsin to half a glass of water (preferably warm or room temperature).

2) Pour milk into a deep saucepan and place over medium heat. You need to heat the milk to 70 degrees. Then diluted pepsin and lemon juice are added.

3) Next, the process is very fast - the whey will begin to separate immediately. There is no need to wait for it to boil. Immediately after the whey is completely separated, you need to carefully drain it (the whey will still come in handy). The remaining hot mass must be squeezed out by hand.

4) Pour water into another pan and heat to 90 degrees. Immediately after heating, remove the pan from the stove, add salt to the water and stir. Then you need to place the cheese in water for 2 minutes to make it softer. Remove the cheese from the water, stretch, knead, while dipping the cheese into the water several times for a couple of minutes. The cheese mass should be smooth and homogeneous.

5) The resulting mass should be placed on a board, kneaded with your fingers, and then folded into an envelope and sent back into hot water.

6) Spread cling film on the table, put the cheese mixture on it and roll it into a “sausage”. Wrap the resulting “sausage” tightly with film and tie it with a string in several places to form small balls.

7) After cooling, remove the cheese from the film and transfer it to a container with the whey that remained at the very beginning of cooking. Homemade Mozzarella must be stored in whey in the refrigerator.

How to make cheese at home from milk: preparing soft cheese

Usually, soft cheese The easiest to prepare compared to hard ones. Let's look at a couple delicious recipes cheeses that can be easily prepared at home:

1. Philadelphia cheese

This cheese is not cheap in stores and is used quite widely. Many people are used to meeting this soft cheese as part of rolls, but it can also be used in the preparation of baking creams.

Ingredients: Milk (necessarily full-fat, otherwise you won’t get cheese) – 1 l, kefir (low-fat, or even low-fat) – 0.5 l, egg– 1 piece, salt and sugar – 1 tsp each. each, citric acid - 1 pinch or on the tip of a knife.

1) Pour milk into a saucepan and put it on fire. Stirring constantly, add sugar and salt, bring the milk to a boil.

2) Immediately after boiling, add cottage cheese to the milk and stir. You need to cook until the mass curdles. After this, strain the mixture, put it in cheesecloth and hang it in a container or over the sink for 10 minutes to drain off the excess liquid.

3) At this time, while the curd mass is draining, you need to beat the egg and a small amount of citric acid. Then carefully add the gauze mixture and continue beating. The cheese should be smooth and fluffy.

If desired, before putting the cheese in the refrigerator, you can add chopped herbs to it. Such delicate cheese must be stored in the refrigerator, but no more than one week.

2. Mascarpone at home

There are many variations in the preparation of this cheese, and all of them do not involve cooking. This is a “cold” cheese, the lightest of all homemade cheeses. Ideal for making cream cheese. There is no milk in the ingredients in this recipe, but it will be better if the cottage cheese, which is necessary for making this cheese, is made from farm milk at home.

Ingredients: Cottage cheese (fat) – 200 g, cream (fat, 33%) – 200 ml.

1) Granular cottage cheese does not have the right consistency for cheese, and the curd mass is inferior in fat content and sometimes includes unnatural components in its composition. Therefore, the cottage cheese used must be rubbed through a sieve 2-3 times.

2) Then you need to add cold cream to the cottage cheese. Using a mixer or blender, beat the cottage cheese with cream at low speed. The cheese will be ready as soon as the whipped mass becomes homogeneous. Stores in the refrigerator for up to one and a half to two weeks.

Home cottage cheese is one of the easiest cheese recipes you can make at home. It does not require special starters and enzymes, as well as complex equipment, only what every housewife has on hand. Also, you don’t need to wait for this cheese to ripen: it is ready almost immediately. Our mothers and grandmothers used this recipe to prepare homemade cheese during times of shortage, when real cheese could not be found on the shelves. This homemade cheese is quite tasty and nutritious. So, if you have never made cheese yourself, then feel free to start here simple recipe homemade cheese made from cottage cheese and milk.

By the way, such a product is not cheese, but rather a cheese dish. After all, cottage cheese is a type of cheese in itself, so it turns out that we are making cheese from cheese =)

Ingredients

1 l.

whole milk

1 kg.

cottage cheese

3 pcs.

chicken egg

take one whole egg and 2 yolks

100 g.

butter

soften

1 tsp

baking soda

1/4 tsp.

salt

taste

After cooking you will receive: cheese weighing 900 - 1000 g.

Equipment

3 l.

pot

enameled or stainless steel

5 l.

pot

for water bath

colander

skimmer

wooden or plastic

per 1 kg.

container for molding cheese

gauze

Step-by-step recipe for making homemade semi-hard cheese from cottage cheese and milk

1. Pour milk into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.
2. Add cottage cheese to the milk, mix thoroughly and cook for 5 minutes until the whey separates, stirring constantly.
3. Line a colander with a double layer of gauze and use a slotted spoon to transfer the curd mass into it.
4. Leave for 15 minutes to drain the serum.
5. Tie the edges of the gauze and hang the resulting knot over the sink or pan until the whey stops dripping.
6. Mix the yolks and soft butter. Add salt, soda and beat with a mixer until a smooth, homogeneous mass is obtained.
7. Break the dried curd mass into small pieces and also mix with eggs and butter with a mixer.
8. Pour the resulting mixture into a saucepan and place in a water bath.
9. Bring the water in a water bath to a boil, then cook the cheese mass for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The cheese should become viscous.
10. Transfer the cheese mixture into the prepared pan and place in the refrigerator to harden for 2-3 hours. To give the cheese a firmer consistency, you can place a small weight on top.