Can You Make Cheese At Home

Don't Miss

How To Make Goat Cheese

The Best Vegan Cream Cheese You Can Make at Home

This article was co-authored by our trained team of editors and researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow’s Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. This article has been viewed 27,660 times.Learn more…

Goat cheese features a soft consistency similar to that of cream cheese. You can make goat cheese at home from goat’s milk. You will need a cheesecloth, which you can purchase at a department store. It takes some time to make goat cheese, but when you’re done you’ll have a great snack.

How To Make Cream Cheese:

As I said above, the method for making cream cheese is actually very similar to making ricotta Heat your milk, add a coagulant, leave to curdle, drain and blend!

Okay, theres a little more to it than that, but you get the gist.

Whats needed:

  • salt
  • optional add-ons dried herbs, garlic powder, dried chillies

Note* You could alternatively use half whole milk and half heavy cream OR completely use whole cream for soft cheese that is richer/creamier

You will also need a cheesecloth or a fine-mesh sieve

The Steps:

Begin by pouring the milk in a saucepan. Heat the milk and bring it to boil over medium-high heat.

As soon as it boils, add the lemon juice and then turn off the heat.

Set aside for a few minutes while the milk curdles. Youll notice curds forming and a yellow-ish liquid being left behind.

Within a few minutes, all of your curds should have formed. Pour the curdled milk through a cheesecloth and a sieve to strain all the liquid whey.

Alternatively, you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the curdles, while leaving the liquid whey in the pot.

Note* This leftover whey can then be used in a variety of ways. Ive talked about this more in my DIY How To Make Paneer At Home post.

Rinse the curdled milk with cold water by pouring the water over the sieve. This will help to get rid of any extra whey, clinging to the curds.

Squeeze the curdled milk as much as possible to drain any last drop of the liquid whey.

How to eat it?

And a bazillion other ways.

Cheesemaking Recipes For Beginners

  • 1-quart goats milk
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice or vinegar
  • Salt

Method:

  • Slowly heat the milk in a stainless-steel or another non-reactive pot on the stove until it reaches 180 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit . Gentle bubbles should be forming and the surface will look foamy. Turn off the heat.
  • Use a long-handled stainless steel or wooden spoon and stir in the lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes. The milk should curdle and become slightly thicker on the surface. If you dont have lemons on hand, white vinegar also can be used to make homemade goat cheese. It will alter the flavor slightly.
  • Line a colander with two layers of damp cheesecloth. Gently pour the milk into the cheesecloth, then gather the cheesecloth up around the curds and tie it into a bundle. A rubber band or butchers twine also is a good way to hold the cheesecloth together at the top.
  • Hang the bundle over a pot or jar so the liquid can drip out.
  • Let the cheese drain for at least 1 1/2 hours.
  • Untie the bundle and transfer the cheese to a bowl. Stir in salt to taste.
  • Use your hands to pat and shape the cheese into a small wheel or log. You also can use a cookie cutter as a mold to shape the cheese.
  • The flavor and texture of the cheese usually improve a little bit if you refrigerate it for a few hours before serving. The goat cheese should stay fresh in the refrigerator for 1 week.
  • Recipe Variations:

    Sweet Variation: Stir in a drizzle of honey and dried cranberries with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

    You May Like: What Is The Best Cheddar Cheese

    How To Make Homemade Cottage Cheese

    This post may contain affiliate links that wont change your price but will share some commission.

    This homemade cottage cheese recipe is so easy to make and takes only three ingredients. Check out the video, too!

    I started making homemade cottage cheese after reading the ingredient list on a carton from the grocery store. Things like lactose, salt, guar gum, mono and diglycerides, xanthan gum, and carob bean gum. Why so complicated? Homemade cottage cheese takes just three ordinary kitchen ingredients: milk, vinegar, and salt. Its also a fantastic way to use extra milk before it goes bad.

    Stir Cook & Wash The Curd

    An Incredibly Easy, Foolproof Recipe for Making Your Own ...

    For the next several minutes or even hour , you’ll stir the curds in the vat. Possibly, you’ll turn on the heat and cook the curds while you stir. During this phase, the most important thing that is happening is acid is continuing to develop inside the curd and, from the motion of your stirring, the curds are drying out. The more you cook and the more you stir, the drier your cheese will be.

    Washing is the process of removing some of the whey from the vat and replacing it with water. This creates a milder, sweeter, more elastic cheese and cheese paste.

    You May Like: What To Make With Mac And Cheese

    Homemade Mozzarella Cheese Only 2 Ingredients Without Rennet

    I love cheese, it is so good! That is one thing I always have on hand. My all-time favorite cheese has to be mozzarella. I love string cheese, eating it plain, and of course on pizza. Time to learn how to make homemade mozzarella cheese using just 2 ingredients.

    If you are a cheese lover like me, then you have got to give this easy homemade mozzarella cheese recipe a try. You can use it the same way you use store-bought cheese. And you know exactly what is going into it.

    Traditional cheesemaking requires you to use citric acid and a product called rennet. Similar to the process I show in this mozzarella cheese recipe. But, for this recipe, I will teach you how to make it without using those ingredients. It is super easy to make, if I can do it, you can do it. Lets get started!

    What Is Cream Cheese

    Cream cheese is a soft, neutral-tasting cheese made from cow’s milk and cream. Its subtle sweetness, mild tanginess, and silky smooth texture make it extremely versatile: Spread it on a bagel, mix it into cookie dough or cake batter, or use it as a base for your next creamy frosting.

    According to the United States Food and Drug Administration, standard cream cheese must contain 33 percent milkfat and its moisture content cannot exceed 55 percent.

    Inexpensive and easily accessible, you can find blocks or tubs of cream cheese in the refrigerated dairy aisle of most U.S. grocery stores.

    Recommended Reading: What To Put Goat Cheese On

    Vegan Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese

    Source: Vegan Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese

    Pepper jack cheese is known for being creamy and spicy. Somer McCowans Vegan Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese lives up to that. Incredibly simple to make, this cashew cheese can be made with red pepper flakes, green chiles and pimentos to make it as spicy as you can take it.

    Pasteurization Of Raw Milk

    DIY Cheese Presses You Can Make At Home!

    The pasteurization of raw milk is a delicate procedure dependant on temperature and time. It is recommended that the raw milk be pasteurized by heating at 60â62.5°C for 30 minutes. This heat treatment will destroy pathogenic bacteria that could cause foodborne illness. After pasteurization the milk is cooled to 32â37°C . Then the cheese making process may begin.

    • Use a cooking thermometer in the milk to measure temperature. Temperature control is very important.
    • Do not heat milk over 145°F. It may change the texture and flavor of the cheese. Temperatures under 140°F will not kill harmful bacteria.

      Note: Pasteurized milk available at the grocery store has been heat processed and homogenized for a ready-to-drink milk product. This affects milk protein and fat texture. Although homogenized milk can be used, resulting cheese will have a different texture than the traditional cheese.

    Read Also: What Is Kraft Cheese Made Of

    How To Make Homemade Fresh Mozzarella

    Knowing how to make your own mozzarella is a dangerous thing. Knowing that at any moment, should the desire present itself, you could whip up your very own ball of creamy mozzarella, still warm from the whey whence it came? Yes. Very, very dangerous. Heres how to do it.

    Compounding the dangerousness of homemade mozzarella is the fact that it comes together in about twenty minutes. You warm the milk with some citric acid , add the rennet to separate the milk into curds and whey, heat it again, knead stretch knead, and then you have mozzarella. Its basically magic.

    Dont be scared off by the citric acid and the rennet. Both things sound like something Batman might encounter on a bad day in Gotham, but they are actually normal, everyday ingredients.

    Citric acid is just a powdered form of the same mouth-puckering acid found in lemons and limes. Its added here to help acidify and coagulate the milk. Rennet can be found in both tablet or liquid form, as well as in vegetarian orernon-vegetarian versions. Its job is to set the proteins in the milk and form solid, stretchy curds.

    Both citric acid and rennet can usually be found at a good grocery store or food co-op. If youre having trouble tracking something down, however, take a look at the links below for places to buy the ingredients online.

    Ready to make some mozzarella? Lets do this.

    Cheesemaking Supplies

    Homemade Cottage Cheese Is So Simple

    This simple recipe is perfect for whatever amount of buttermilk youve got left. Technically it takes no additional ingredients, though were adding salt and cream to improve the flavor and texture of the finished cottage cheese. You can leave them out if you like, but I encourage you to give them a try first.

    At its simplest, you dont even need to measure anything for this recipe. All you have to do is pour some buttermilk into a pot, heat it for a few minutes, and let it sit.

    Thats it. See, I told you it was super simple!

    Also, heres a fun aside. When you make your own cottage cheese at home, youre making curds and whey just like in the Little Miss Muffet nursery rhyme. )

    I found this idea in one of the Short Stacks Editions I picked up last year. I love these little cookbooks theyre clever and creative, and since theyre so short, they really get to the heart of cooking with no extra fluff. I highly recommend you check them out. Theyre a lot of fun and pretty cheap.

    And in case you dont believe me when I say how easy it is to make this homemade cottage cheese recipe at home, with just your leftover buttermilk, let me give you a visual guide:

    First you heat the buttermilk over a gentle heat. It begins to form curds, even with no added acid. Be careful to not crank the heat, or your homemade cottage cheese will scorch to the bottom of the pan and the entire batch will taste burnt.

    Don’t Miss: Does Dunkin Donuts Have Grilled Cheese

    Do You Know How To Make Cheese At Home

    • Kriti Malik, NDTV

    ‘How to make cheese’ is an addictive hobby and one you could seriously get used to.

    As delicious as it is, the process of cheese making can be a real chore. Especially if you’re attempting to make the hard ones like cheddar, gouda etc. But the soft ones like mozzarella, cream cheese, ricotta and cottage cheese are actually pretty easy to make. And you’ll need the right arsenal though: For cottage cheese and ricotta you need a good batch of raw milk, something acidic like vinegar or lemon juice, salt, a cooking thermometer, cheese cloth and a strainer. If you’re feeling ambitious and want to put yourself out there with something like mozzarella then add starter culture and rennet to your shopping list. I tried a few batches of cream cheese myself – watching the milk coagulate and turn into little lumps of heaven, boy was it good. Not only is it delicious but it’s also really healthy.

    Prateeksh Mehra, owner and founder of Spotted Cow Fromagerie, a Mumbai-based creamery that produces artisanal cheese says “Pick up a packet of mass-produced or processed cheese and read through the label. It has sodium, emulsifiers, stabilisers, preservatives and what not. Cheese isn’t supposed to be this unhealthy. It’s actually locked with calcium and minerals from milk. “

    Cheese Making: A Brief History

    Where All Things Begin: Milk

    Starter Cultures

    Rennet

    Ageing

    How to Make Cheese at Home

    1. Cottage Cheese

    2. Labneh or Yogurt Cheese

    Method

    What Can I Do With The Leftover Whey

    Making ricotta cheese at home is easy to do anytime, but ...

    Dont throw out that pot of whey! It is very nutritious and can be used in a variety of ways. Pour it into a couple of mason jars and store it in the fridge. It can be used instead of water in most baking or cooking recipes, or in the following ways:

    • Smoothies
    • Water the plants with it
    • Drink it plain
    • Use it to make ricotta cheese
    • Make butter with it
    • Feed it to the animals

    You May Like: What Can I Eat Cream Cheese With On Keto

    Heat And Stretch The Homemade Mozzarella Cheese

    Time to heat that curd/cheese up to right around 160 F/71 C. There is a couple of ways to do this.

    I just use the microwave and start with 30 seconds then stir the cheese, and then another 20 seconds or so and that usually does the trick.

    Or another method is to heat the whey up to 170 F/76C. And immerse the cheese in it to heat it up.

    Once you get the homemade mozzarella cheese to temp, start stretching and folding the dough with a spoon, it will be hot.

    If there is any leftover liquid/whey pour it into the pot.

    Stretch and need the mozzarella cheese for a few minutes, then shape it into a ball.

    If using the whey to heat up the cheese, immerse the cheese and press it with a spoon, then remove it and squeeze out the whey, etc.

    NOTE: If you would like to add salt, you can add cheese salt, flaky sea salt, or kosher salt right when you are heating and stretching the cheese. Use 1/8th to 1/4th of a teaspoon.

    Paprika Cheese Without Nuts Or Soy

    Source: Paprika Cheese

    This vegan Paprika Cheese by Anja Cass has it all! Its nut-free and soy-free. It grates and slices. Its actually made with sweet potato which helps give it its pretty color. Roasted red peppers and smoked paprika give it a warm, smoky flavor thats perfect on crackers, sandwiches or all by itself.

    Source: Vegan Moxarella Cheese

    When you make pizza, you want stretchy, melty mozzarella cheese. Somer McCowans Vegan Moxarella Cheese can help with that. It browns, stretches, melts and forms a crust when baked just like dairy mozzarella does. Get out your pizza pan because youre going to want to make this amazing cheese that just happens to also come with a pizza recipe.

    Don’t Miss: Is Philadelphia Cream Cheese Keto

    Optional: Cream Cheese Starter Packets Or Cultures

    If you want to go the route of purchasing a starter culture, youll be able to make cream cheese out of heavy cream alone. Packets usually contain strong cream cheese starter bacteria as well as a coagulating enzyme such as rennet. These packets can be hard to find, so this recipe is based on easily found home ingredients.

    Tips For Making Cream Cheese:

    How To Make Cheese At Home
    • Keep the ratios of milk to cream and half and half. You can use just milk, but if you want to use cream and half and half, keep to these ratios.
    • Rinse your pot with cold water, first. This will help with the clean up after!
    • Don’t heat too fast! You don’t want to burn the milk.
    • Make sure you have a good cheese cloth. Be sure that it’s one that’s wide so when you line your sieve or colander so that you have enough room to gather it all to hang to drain.
    • You can do a mixture of a scooping the curds out and then pouring the contents in – but the most liquid poured directly into the cheese cloth will mean more draining time. Also your cloth will likely not fit all of the liquid at once and would need to be poured in batches. Patience is key. Take your time.
    • Hang it for faster draining. You can just let it drain while in the sieve/colander, but gathering the edges of the cheese cloth and suspending it will help it all drain faster. Plus, doing this will allow you to gently squeeze the cloth a bit to release liquid faster.

    Now that you have this Cream Cheese, you can make this amazing Cream Cheese Frosting From Scratch!

    You May Like: What Is Kraft American Cheese Made Of

    You Dont Need Raw Milk To Make Cottage Cheese

    For years, I was under the impression that you need raw, unpasteurized milk to make cheese. The US FDA bans the interstate sale or transport of raw milk, and most states have similar laws, Then one year, a friend who knows Im into making things from scratch gave me a book on cheesemaking. Thats when I learned you could make pretty much any cheese from storebought milk, as long as it hasnt been through the ultra-high temperature process thats known as long-life milk in the U.K. Unfortunately, most organic milk sold in the U.S. has been through that treatment, so if youre going to get into real cheesemaking, be sure to check the label. Although my entire family loved the Cotswold Cheese that I made a couple of years ago, it took months to age.

    Popular Articles

    More Recipes Like This