How to Make a Simple Little Cheese

4.68 from 31 votes

I’ve been a fan of New England Cheesemaking Supply ever since I picked up a copy of Ricki Carroll’s book, Home Cheese Making. Having followed her instructions for everything from 30-minute Mozzarella to Halloumi to Manchego, my copy of her book is proudly well-worn. I asked Jeri Case at New England Cheesemaking if she would help put together a guest post on cheesemaking, and she was happy to oblige!

How To Make A Simple Little Cheese


We at New England Cheesemaking Supply Company are proud to support you in your pledge to eat healthy food.  Andrew has been one of our guest bloggers several times and we’re big fans of his website.

We want to take this opportunity to tell you that you don’t have to be a gourmet cook to make your own cheese. In fact, our mission is to make it very easy for you.  We have many recipes in our book, on our DVD, at our website, in our blog, and in our monthly “Moosletter.”

In fact, just recently we received a recipe from one of our customers, Nancy Ferland, which will be featured in our November Moosletter. It’s basically an American version of queso blanco (South America) and panir (India).

This recipe is absolutely foolproof! The only equipment you may not have is cheesecloth, but you can use an old pillow case or even a paper towel. Any milk (except ultra-pasteurized) will work.

So, try it and we think you’ll be hooked. Then you can come to our website at cheesemaking.com, and we’ll have you aging your own Camemberts in no time!

Homemade Cheese

4.68 from 31 votes

Simple Little Cheese

By: Nancy Ferland
I'd like to share this wonderful, easy, inexpensive recipe for a simple but delicious little cheese. Kids, with adult supervision with the heating, can even make this, as the ingredients are all just simple stuff from your kitchen!
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1 gallon Goat or Cow Milk
  • 1 cup White Vinegar
  • 2-4 tsp. Sea Salt

Instructions 

  • Put milk in stainless pot, sprinkle on the salt and stir it well.
  • Heat to 190 degrees F.
  • Remove pot from heat and quickly stir in the vinegar, making sure it's well blended; let set for 20 to 30 minutes (checking to make sure it is good and curdled).
  • Line colander with cheesecloth, pour milk through (whey should be yellow and a little cloudy).
  • Bring up the corners of cheesecloth and squeeze as much whey out as possible; I let it sit hanging from the edge of the pot at this point for maybe 15 to 20 minutes to make sure all the whey has dripped out.
  • Open the cheesecloth and you will have a lovely ball of cheese. Put it in a covered crock in the fridge until chilled.
  • You can use it as a spread, or in salad like feta, or crumbled like queso fresca in enchiladas or tacos, or instead of ricotta in lasagna or manicotti. We have even made a rustic cheese/pear pie with this cheese when we couldn't find mascarpone locally, letting the mixed filling sit in the fridge overnight to soften it up a bit and make it a bit smoother. You can also use it as the base for filling for cheese danish pastry.
  • We like to stir herbs, nuts, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, etc into it when it’s still liquid (it’s easier to stir that way) and this makes a great spread for crackers as an appetizer. Hope you enjoy this nice little cheese!

Notes

Be sure not to use "ultra-pasteurized" milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 332kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 16g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 714mg, Potassium: 965mg, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 935IU, Vitamin C: 6.2mg, Calcium: 636mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

Photos by George Wesley and Bonita Dannells.

A photo of Andrew Wilder leaning into the frame and smiling, hovering over mixing bowls in the kitchen.

Welcome to Eating Rules!

Hi! My name is Andrew Wilder, and I think healthy eating doesn’t have to suck. With just three simple eating rules, we'll kickstart your journey into the delicious and vibrant world of unprocessed food.

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165 Comments
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Natalya
September 26, 2012 10:50 am

Yummy! This looks great! 🙂

Natalya, Ruff House Art

Kathryn
April 11, 2012 8:37 pm

Would this recipe work well if I halved it? I’m about to try.

January 23, 2012 3:10 pm

4 stars
If you save the whey from making your own cheese you can make soda bread with it. It tastes so much better!

Sharon
October 31, 2011 6:56 pm

5 stars
I made a spread out of this cheese with sundried tomamto, dried chiles and cumin and brought it to a tailgate party. It was a HUGE hit. Thanks for the super-easy recipe!

NancyLee Ferland
Reply to  Sharon
November 2, 2011 10:30 am

Oh – chiles would be really good! I’ll try that! I’m making a quick batch right now, so this is a great take on my simple cheese recipe!

Sandra Bagwell
October 28, 2011 7:34 pm

Would love to win this. The picture of the cheese with this article looks so good! I’ve had several different breeds of goats for around 15 years.

October 28, 2011 6:55 pm

I’ve never made cheese, but I would so love to try to!

October 28, 2011 6:34 pm

Great giveaway!!! I’ve been wanting to try this every since I read about it afew months ago!!!

Jodi
October 28, 2011 4:40 pm

Sounds like a great recipe…can’t wait to try it with the kids.

October 28, 2011 3:19 pm

I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making cheese. Would love to win the kit!

maureen
October 28, 2011 2:41 pm

Love this blog. I have been wanting to make cheese for so long. Thanks for the info