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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Diane M.
October 28, 2011 7:27 am

Cheese is one of my favorites foods and it has been one of my staples during this unprocessed month. I’ve never made cheese at home although I’m really excited to try it. I also just purchased a yogurt maker and can’t wait to give that a go too!

Suzanne
October 28, 2011 7:26 am

would sooooo love to win this to share with my kids.

Jess
October 28, 2011 7:24 am

Ricki is amazing and so is this give away! Thanks!

October 28, 2011 7:19 am

I made yogurt yesterday and 30-minute mozzarella this morning. I’d love to win the kit to give to someone who’s never made cheese before. Sharing this skill is important, I think.

Kate
October 28, 2011 7:16 am

5 stars
I would love to start making my own cheese! The recipe above looks easy enough. Definitely going to pass along!

laura orlowski
October 27, 2011 8:06 pm

Ever since Eating Rules, I have been interested in starting to make a lot of the food I buy at the store… canning, making soy milk, baking bread and now I want to start making cheese!!

linda l
October 27, 2011 7:20 pm

Would this work with almond milk or soy milk

Claudia
October 27, 2011 5:48 pm

Wonderful, wonderful…I can’t wait to try this. Seems so simple. Pasturized is okay but the “ultra” is not?

Sarah
October 27, 2011 3:59 pm

Fingers crossed this will help me overcome my fear of cheesemaking. This recipe seems so easy!

Jennifer Luther
October 27, 2011 1:44 pm

I am psyched to see this post! Just getting into more of making our staple foods in our home, would love to win the giveaway!

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