Thursday, 14 March 2013

Daring Cooks March 2013: Homemade Cheese

Sawsan from chef in disguise was our March 2013 Daring Cooks hostess! Sawsan challenged us to make our own homemade cheeses! She gave us a variety of cheeses to make, all of them easily accomplished and delicious!

I made cheese!!I have been wanting to make cheese for ages as it seemed a fairly easy process. I even had cheese cloths ready to go! I made the ricotta, but I would also like to make the yoghurt cheese at some point. I think if I make some again I would leave out the double cream, for me this made the cheese too rich but otherwise it was delicious! I served it over some very simple pasta with a tomato and chilli sauce.
















Homemade Ricotta
(from The Bartolini Kitchens)
(makes 500g cheese)

8 cups (2 litres) whole milk (homogenized)
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon (7 ½ ml) (9 gm) table salt
5 tablespoons (75 ml) white distilled vinegar

Directions:

1.Combine milk, cream, and salt in a large non-reactive pot and stir over medium heat as you bring the temperature up to 85°C (185°F) (about 15-20 minutes).
2. Add the vinegar all at once and stir for 15 seconds; heat for two more minutes before removing from heat.
3.Allow to rest undisturbed for 15 – 20 minutes.
















4. Using a small sieve or slotted spoon, remove the floating curds and place them in a cheesecloth-lined colander to drain.
















5.Place colander over a bowl in refrigerator and drain for at least a couple of hours or overnight (I found 2 hours was enough). The longer you allow it to drain, the more firm the results.


6.Remove the ricotta from the colander, place in airtight containers, and refrigerate.

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