One of my goals for this year is to make my own dairy products. I have had a bumpy relationship with dairy. When I was a kid, I LOVED milk. It was literally the only thing I drank - no water, no soda, just milk (skim milk). When we went out to restaurants and everyone else got soda, I got milk. My parents always joked that they should have cow in the backyard. Then in my teens, I became aware of the animal rights movement and factory farming. I became a vegetarian and then a vegan pretty quickly. I was fine, living on my own in college, experimenting with vegan recipes and not missing dairy. Then I met my husband-to-be. I said that I would only marry someone who was a vegetarian. He said he didn't like eating soy cheese and wanted someone who he could enjoy eating ice cream with. Oh, what a hard decision he presented me with - somebody who loves me AND wants to share milkshakes with me? Yes, I started eating dairy products again, but I never started drinking plain milk again. It just wasn't appetizing to me straight and still isn't. The next phase in my milk journey is when I discovered raw milk. We are lucky to live in a state where we can purchase raw milk in stores, at local farmer's markets, and off the farm. There are actually several raw milk providers in our area. We were researching ways to make our diet better and discovered Sally Fallon's cookbook Nourishing Traditions, which is the word of truth and light for some people. Being vegetarians, we couldn't stomach (ha,ha) most of her recipes (lots of organ meats), but we did agree that eating unprocessed foods and fermented foods is the healthier way to go. For more information on raw milk, this is a good website.
So, on to my cheese making. We buy raw cow's milk from a local farmer and buy other organic dairy products in the grocery store, which are quite pricey. I understand why they are and don't object to paying more for a quality product that I believe is better for me, the animals, and the planet, but it is tough on a single income. My husband likes his cream cheese and bagles, I discovered that I love cottage cheese, and the little babe loves yogurt. So now my husband is making our yogurt and I want to make other dairy products, starting with cottage cheese. I'm going to make one new cheese a month and share with you how it went - the good, the moldy, and the potentially stinky. I found this cottage cheese recipe on The Self Sufficient HomeAcre website and it looked pretty simple. This is how it went.
1. Heat 1/2 gallon of sour milk to 185 F. Yes, it says sour, but the website also said that you could use fresh, which is what I had and I was too impatient to wait. (Can you see how this post is going to turn out?) I had a gallon and didn't know how to measure a 1/2 gallon, so my smart husband told me that TWO quart sized mason jars equals ONE 1/2 gallon. You also need a little more milk or cream to add back into the finished cottage cheese.
(digital thermometer, extra milk, one of the mason jars, the raw milk)
2. So I measured my two quarts and put them into the stainless steel pot.
3. Heat on medium and stir gently to circulate the warm milk, taking the temperature every couple of minutes. It heats up quickly as it nears 185, so check the temp often. This took about 20 minutes. You can't hike the heat up too much because it will scorch the milk on the bottom.
4. Then you remove it from the heat and add 3 Tablespoons of vinegar. According to the recipe, the curds and whey should separate with just a little gentle stirring. It didn't say how long this should take, but made it sound pretty instantaneous. I had my camera ready and was going to document every 5 minutes.
(Photo #1)
(Photo #2)
How many more do you want to see? I could keep going for another 2 hours. They would all look like the two above. My conclusion was that yes, using sour milk is a necessary part of the process. My husband was against adding more vinegar, but I thought that would kickstart things and since this was my cottage cheese process, I added 1 Tablespoon more of vinegar. Since the milk had cooled in the two hours that had passed, I also put it back on the stove on low/medium heat. Within minutes it started separating, the liquid started looking yellowish, and I had the beginnings of cottage cheese! I let that heat for about 20 more minutes until it looked like it was done separating.
4. You then line a colander with cheese cloth and drain it. Make sure to put a bowl underneath the colander to catch the whey, which can be used in place of milk in most baking recipes. Rinse the curds with water to remove any traces of vinegar.
5. Then put in a bowl and add as much of the extra milk that you want, depending on if you like your cottage cheese runny or thick. Ours soaked up all of the milk we added and was still pretty thick. Add salt to your liking. We did 3/4 teaspoon.
So yes, I did make my own cottage cheese, but it was not as quick and easy as I thought. I really think that if you use sour milk to start with, it will go as described in the recipe. Judging by the comments, no one else had problems with the recipe. (Of course not.) It made about the same amount as the tub I buy in the store. The taste is similar, but I think mine has a milder flavor. It also doesn't have the binders that even the organic cottage cheese has, so overall I am happy with it and will be making it again.
Moral of the story - if you are interested in making more of your food from scratch so that you can control what goes into it and to save money (about $1 cheaper than the organic), definitely try this recipe. With sour milk.
**3/5/14 Addendum - I have followed this recipe many times since this first attempt and it works perfectly with fresh milk. Just heat the milk to 185, remove from heat, stir in the 3 tablespoons of white vinegar, stir gently, then let it sit. The curds will start forming immediately. After about 15 minutes, you can drain it over the cheesecloth, rinse with a little water, then add about 1/4 cup of the whey back in along with a smidge of salt. Super easy, super delicious. I have no idea what happened the first time, but it is so worth it to make it yourself!