06 May, 2009

Homemade Cottage Cheese




Upon returning home from Guinea this spring I was inspired to use milk for more than just baking. The mother I cooked with in Guinea made yogurt from milk powder...surely we should be doing that - and more with the resources we've been blessed with! So I went looking for a simple cottage cheese recipe. This is what I found, and we love it!! So easy, so squeaky good! The original recipe can be found at The Cooking Inn. I adapted it just a little as follows:

1 Gallon Whole Milk (may skim cream off if desired if using raw)
1/2 C Vinegar
Salt to taste

-Heat milk on medium heat in large covered pot, stirring occasionally (more toward end), until it reaches an almost boil (180-190 degrees).
-Take off heat and stir in vinegar.
-Stir until curds separate, approx. 20 seconds!
-Allow to cool a bit, then pour contents into a strainer to drain the whey.
-Add salt to taste to the curds.
Yummy!!

-We actually like this warm (and squeaky!) or cold (with fruit...mmmmm:)). It is also good in pasta dishes. Add a little milk or cream if desired.


Visit Tammy's Recipes for more dairy ideas!

Here's a little video...what a great science project!

10 comments:

SnoWhite said...

wow - you made that look so easy!

Anonymous said...

Wow how cool, I didn't know making cottage cheese was that easy. Great!

Jane said...

That is amazing.
I would love to do that!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the homemade cottage cheese recipe. My husband has cancer and I've been making him a cottage cheese/flaxseed oil breakfast to hopefully boost his immune system. Research done in the 1950's by German Dr. Budwig showed positive results with increased omega fats (flaxseed oil) along with a sulphur based food (cottage cheese). The organic cottage cheese is expensive and I'm looking for a healthy, quick alternative. I'm definitely going to try this. THANK YOU!

BTW, the recipe for the cottage cheese/flaxseed breakfast is:

Mix in a blender the following:
1. 1 cup low fat cottage cheese
2. 4 tablespoons unrefined, cold-pressed flaxseed oil
3. 2 fresh peaches (sliced), or other fruit
4. 1 tablespoon honey
5. Juice from 1/2 lemon

It's very tasty. Substitutions I've made are frozen berry medley (blue, rasp and marion) as good peaches are hard to come by. 1 tablespoon of agave nector as it has less sugar than honey.

Recipe is from "Outsmart your Cancer" by Tanya Harter Pierce.

Jonathan, Angela said...

Thank you for the recipe, Anon.! I hope it tastes good to your husband. I'd never heard of that research before your comment. Thank you so much for passing it on. May God bless you and your husband during your fight with cancer...

LynetteJM said...

Perfect! Just the recipe I was looking for. I can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm super excited to find this recipe, as we eat cottage cheese a lot & organic is just too expensive! I was wondering, does it matter what kind of vinegar? I usually use apple cidar vinegar, but I noticed you used white in your video....

Jonathan, Angela said...

I think the only difference might be the flavor. The vinegar should cause the curds/whey to separate regardless of the type of vinegar. Hmmm, I just wonder if it wouldn't give the cheese a bit of a fruity flavor? Please let me know if you try it. Thanks for your comment! Hope you like it!

Melissa said...

I was wondering how long your cottage cheese kept after you made it? Thanks, I am trying to be more homemade, and cannot wait to try this recipe!

Jonathan, Angela said...

Melissa,

We use raw milk and our cottage cheese stays nice for about 4-5 days I'd say. I usually throw it in the freezer after about 4-5 days if it's not eaten up. The curds really are similar to mozarella, and we often use it in lasagna or other pasta dishes once thawed from the freezer (or fresh).

Thanks so much for your comment - I hope yours turns out well!