How to make homemade cottage cheese: 3 budget options

Homemade cheese may not be comparable to Parmesan or Dor Blue, but there is at least one good reason to prepare it: you can be sure that the ubiquitous palm oil, starch and other harmful additives will not creep into the composition of such a food. It’s also a very interesting process and a delicious result. Want to try?

How to make homemade cottage cheese

You can only get a quality product from quality raw materials, so try to find good cottage cheese. It is not advisable to use a standard store-bought one, since manufacturers stuff it too generously with cheap vegetable oils, starch and stabilizers. And even more so, do not take an incomprehensible mass called “curd product” - it will not make good cheese.

It is advisable to take cottage cheese with a fat content of at least 5% - low-fat cottage cheese will have difficulty melting

Classic recipe

So, you will need:

  • 1 kg of cottage cheese;
  • 100 g butter;
  • 1 liter of milk;
  • 1 egg;
  • 2 tsp. soda;
  • 1.5–2 tsp. salt.

Preparation.

  1. Place the cottage cheese in a saucepan, add milk and, stirring every now and then, begin heating over moderate heat until the whey separates.

    Some people advise grinding the cottage cheese before pouring it with milk.

  2. Place the curd in a sieve and allow the whey to drain. Do not delay this process; it is advisable that the mass does not have time to cool too much.

    Use a sieve, gauze or special bag

  3. Melt the butter.

    Use a stove or microwave

  4. You can do with the whey as you wish, and grind the cottage cheese with melted butter, salt and soda. The latter is needed to make the cottage cheese melt, and also to make it more fluffy and lighter. At the same stage, you can add a beaten egg. Some people don’t use it, and in vain - the yolk gives the cheese a pleasant color, and the white gives it density.

    Without soda, the cottage cheese will not melt, without the protein it will turn out too loose, and without the yolk it will turn out faded.

  5. Transfer the curd mass into a bowl and place it on a pan of boiling water, giving the future cheese a steam bath. Cook it for 10-20 minutes, stirring constantly so that the curd warms up and melts evenly. After about 7–10 minutes, the mass will gather into one homogeneous lump, freely separating from the walls of the bowl.

    Stir the brew vigorously all the time until you remove it from the stove.

  6. Transfer the cheese to the mold, making sure that there are no voids in it where condensation will accumulate, and cool. Close the mold, isolating it from air, and refrigerate.

    Grease the mold with butter or vegetable oil

  7. To reach the desired condition, the cheese will need at least 5 hours, but it is better to let it sit for 1-3 days.

    After 5–12 hours, the cheese can be removed from the mold and tasted

Along with the egg, you can add natural “flavor enhancers” to the cheese mass: dry Provençal or Italian herbs, black pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano; chopped dill, cilantro and parsley; sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, raw smoked sausage. And if you use it, the cheese will be healthier and will get rid of the unpleasant odor inherent in “goat products.”

Video: hard cheese at home

Homemade mascarpone

Traditional mascarpone is made by mixing hot cream and tartaric acid, which is replaced with citric acid at home. But if you need to quickly find an alternative to the famous cheese, you can use cottage cheese and a mixer. In terms of consistency and taste, the replacement turns out to be quite worthy.

You will need:

  • 500 g cottage cheese;
  • 250 g heavy cream;
  • 1–1.5 tbsp. l. butter.

Preparation.

  1. Cool the cream.

    Leave the cream at the bottom of the refrigerator, the temperature at the top and on the door will be slightly higher than you need

  2. Leave the butter to soften on the counter at room temperature.

    There is no need to heat the oil, it should not be warm

  3. Beat the cottage cheese and butter until smooth and set aside to cool with the cream for half an hour.

    Break the grains until smooth

  4. Arm yourself with a mixer again and start whipping the curd and butter mixture, gradually adding cream to it. Be careful, you may not need all the amount of cream indicated in the recipe. The cheese should be soft, fluffy, but able to retain its shape.

    While whipping, watch the consistency of the mass.

  5. Use homemade mascarpone immediately. It is not stored for long - no more than 3 days.

    Although not according to the classic recipe, the mascarpone will turn out very good

Video: preparing Adyghe cheese according to an old recipe

Homemade cheese is tasty, healthy, has a delicate texture, can be combined with a variety of additives and opens up enormous scope for imagination. So much so that after the first try, many turn into enthusiastic cheese makers who do not recognize a store-bought product!

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