Buzz
You can easily make cheese at home using simple ingredients and tools that are easy to find. 'Yogurt cheese' is the simplest option to start with. You might not be familiar with many traditional cheeses, but without additional additives, they will taste quite similar to cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese. Milk and acid can create a soft and simple cheese, much like ricotta. Once you've mastered these basic recipes, you'll be able to make most types of cheese, even the more complex ones that require special ingredients like rennet.
Ingredients
Yogurt Cheese (Labneh)
- • Plain yogurt
• Or 1 liter of milk & a packet of starter culture (or yogurt starter)
Fresh Ricotta Cheese
- • 480 ml whole milk (unpasteurized)
• 4 teaspoons (about 20 ml) white vinegar, or lemon juice, or citric acid (lemon acid)
• Salt to taste (optional)
Cheese with Rennet
- • 3.8 liters of milk (unpasteurized)
• 4 drops of rennet dissolved in 60 ml of cold water
• 1/32 teaspoon (equivalent to 0.15 ml) thermophilic culture
• 3/4 tablespoon (about 11 ml) non-iodized salt
Steps
Yogurt Cheese (Simple Version)
Making homemade yogurt (optional). You can skip this step and use store-bought yogurt. However, if you're aiming for a recipe that requires fermentation, you can make your own super thick 'yogurt cheese' from start to finish. To make the yogurt, follow these steps:
- Heat 1 liter of milk to exactly 43ºC using a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature accurately. Do not use pasteurized milk for best results.
- Stir in a pack of yogurt starter (you can buy this from a specialty bakery shop or online cheese-making store). Alternatively, you can use 2 tablespoons (around 30 ml) of plain yogurt with live cultures.
- Instead of filtering in the fridge as described below, use a yogurt maker and let it incubate for 12 to 16 hours. The machine will maintain a temperature of 38ºC to support bacterial growth.
Prepare items for straining. Place a colander lined with 4 layers of cheesecloth over a large pot. Use a spoon to scoop the desired amount of yogurt onto the cloth.
- You can also tie the cheesecloth and hang it above a pot.
Refrigerate for 12 to 48 hours. The liquid from the yogurt will drain, leaving you with a soft, smooth block of cheese. The longer you allow the liquid to drain, the firmer and drier the cheese will become.
- You can make the cheese creamier by mashing it with a spoon.
- The draining process happens faster at room temperature, but it can also increase the risk of harmful bacteria growth.
Storing the cheese. Once the draining process is complete, place the cheese in a ceramic bowl lined with cloth. The cloth will leave an imprint on the surface of the cheese, creating an attractive pattern, but feel free to use any fabric you like. The cheese should be consumed within a week.
- You can mix in salt or herbs to pair with savory dishes, or add sugar to make it a dessert.
- You can discard the whey (the liquid drained from the cheese) or use it as a substitute for milk in baking.
Fresh Ricotta Cheese (Difficult to Achieve)
Pour whole milk into a pan. It's important to use whole milk in this recipe. Non-homogenized milk will give the best flavor, though homogenized milk will still work well. Avoid using ultra-pasteurized (UHT) milk for the best results.
Mix acid into the milk. While adding the acid, measure the pH of the milk using a waterproof pH meter. Continue to the next step once the pH reaches 5.9 to 6.0.
- Lemon juice will impart a fresh, vibrant flavor to the cheese. Fresh lemon juice produces a stronger aroma compared to bottled lemon juice.
- White vinegar is easier to measure and gives a more reliable result than lemon juice or citric acid.
- Citric acid (used for baking) will result in cheese with less lingering aroma compared to vinegar or lemon juice. Some people prefer this option. You can find it in most grocery stores or baking supply shops.
Heat the milk-acid mixture. Gradually heat the milk-acid blend to 80–85°C while stirring constantly. Stirring is crucial to prevent the milk from burning. Maintain this temperature for 15 to 30 minutes. Stop stirring when you notice the milk separating into whey and curds. Do not let them break into tiny pieces.
- Use an infrared thermometer to check the milk temperature.
Strain the whey. Use a spoon to scoop the curds into a piece of cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. Tie the cloth and squeeze to remove most of the liquid.
- You can use a strainer, but this may cause smaller curds to slip through.
- Rinsing the cheese under fresh water will make it milder in flavor.
Enjoy or store the cheese. Let the cheese drain for about 5 minutes for a moist and smooth texture, or for 15-20 minutes if you prefer a drier cheese. You can refrigerate the cheese for 2 to 8 hours to firm it up. Store the cheese in an airtight container in the fridge and consume it before it starts to sour, typically within 2 to 4 days.
- To avoid harmful bacteria, don’t leave fresh cheese at room temperature for more than 20 minutes.
- Add salt to enhance the flavor and extend the shelf life of your cheese.
Cheese from Rennet (Advanced)
Purchase cheese cultures. You can find them at grocery stores, but you may need to order them online from cheese-making supply shops. For this recipe, as with most cheese recipes, any type of 'mesophilic' culture will work. These cultures thrive at temperatures below 39ºC. They help coagulate and ferment the milk. These 'friendly bacteria' also prevent harmful bacteria from contaminating the milk.
- If you can’t find a culture to acidify the milk, you can buy pre-acidified milk from stores. However, these might be made with undefined cultures, which can affect the cheese-making process and flavor.
Buy rennet. Rennet is an enzyme sourced from animal stomachs, though plant-based rennet is also available. Either type will work for making cheese. Rennet will separate the coagulated milk into whey and solid curds.
- You can find rennet at stores that sell cheese-making supplies.
- If using dry rennet, follow the instructions on the package to convert the required drops into the equivalent number of rennet tablets. Make sure to choose 100% pure rennet.
Heat the milk in a pure steel pot. Use a waterproof thermometer to measure the milk's temperature. Heat the milk until it reaches 30ºC. The best options are non-scratch enamel-coated or pure stainless steel pots. Avoid using copper or aluminum pots as acids may cause harmful chemicals to leach into your cheese.
- You can use raw or pasteurized milk. However, pasteurized milk is harder to coagulate. Ultra-pasteurized milk should never be used for this recipe.
- You can use milk with any fat percentage. Whole milk will produce a creamier cheese compared to lower-fat or skim milk.
Add probiotic culture (yeast culture) to the milk. Let it rest for two minutes. After two minutes, stir gently in an up-and-down motion to mix the culture into the milk.
Cover the mixture and let it rest. Place the milk in a warm and dark room. The instructions on your yeast packet will tell you how long to leave the mixture there. If not, or if you're using pre-acidified milk, wait for two hours before proceeding with the next step.
- At this stage, the mixture should still look like regular milk. If it thickens, you may have used too much acid or let it sit too long. (This is quite common since you can't predict how active the bacteria will be). You can still use it for cheese-making, but it might not solidify properly.
Warm the milk and add the rennet culture. Heat the milk to 30ºC. Dissolve the rennet with 60 ml of cold water, or follow the instructions on the packet for dissolving dry rennet in cold water. Stir the mixture thoroughly, just like when you added the yeast culture—up and down.
- Using filtered water will help the cheese-making process go smoother.
Cover the mixture and let it rest for 4 to 12 hours. Leave it at room temperature without disturbing it. Once the cheese has set into a firm consistency, you can proceed. To check, press a clean finger into the cheese and pull it out. If your finger comes out clean and whey drips from the hole, your cheese is ready. If it sticks to your finger, cover it again and check again in 30 to 60 minutes.
- If, after 12 hours, the cheese hasn't firmed up, continue waiting. Your cheese might not dry properly, and it may remain soft and wet.
Drain the whey. Place a piece of cheesecloth in a colander. Set the colander over a pot to catch the draining liquid. Spoon the curdled cheese into the colander. Stir slowly for about 15 minutes to allow the whey to drain completely.
- Regular cheesecloth may not be tight or thick enough to separate the whey from the cheese. You could try using other materials, muslin is a great option.
Cut the cheese into small, even square pieces and heat. Carefully slice the cheese into small, uniform cubes, avoiding breaking it apart. Place the cubes in a double boiler. Heat gently over low heat, stirring regularly until the temperature reaches 38ºC. This process may take up to an hour.
- Continue heating until the water evaporates almost completely. At this point, the cheese will maintain its shape, but when picked up, it will crumble apart.
Finish the cheese. Once you're satisfied with the texture of your cheese, mix in some salt to enhance the flavor and increase its shelf life. Additionally, you can shape the cheese and/or mix in herbs, fruits, or nuts.
- Store the cheese in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark place.
Learn more cheese-making recipes. You can create hundreds of different cheeses by using different bacterial strains, various coating techniques, the amount of whey protein drained, and many other variations. Try making mozzarella and cheddar cheese, or connect with dairy experts to learn more about cheese production.
Tips
- Avoid using loose-weave cheesecloth for soft cheeses. The large holes in the cloth will allow the cheese to pass through. Muslin fabric has a tighter weave.
- Some cheese recipes require heat-loving bacterial strains, which need higher temperatures. You cannot use these strains in recipes designed for heat-tolerant bacteria, or vice versa.
- The acid-based cheese-making method will yield a result similar to fresh ricotta, but using more accessible ingredients. It is technically called "curd cheese."
- Each type of cheese, whether it's cheddar, mozzarella, or Colby, uses different bacterial strains and has unique steps. For instance, cheddar cheese must be turned several times after draining (at 80°C) to develop acidity. This step is called cheddaring. Colby cheese, on the other hand, is drained and then re-soaked in water. This is a water-washed cheese.
Warning
- Do not leave cheese out in the hot sun. It will spoil and taste unpleasant. It's best to store cheese in the fridge for later use.
What You Need
Yogurt Cheese
-
Thick cheesecloth
- Available from stores or websites that specialize in cheese-making supplies.
- Regular cheesecloth from general stores is usually designed for crafts and has large holes.
- If you're making soft cheese, use muslin cloth instead.
- Colander
- Pan
Fresh Ricotta Cheese
- Pan
- Cheesecloth or dish towel
- Spoon
- Thermometer
- Stove
Rennet Culture Cheese
- Stirring spoon
- Thermometer
- Double boiler or enameled (ceramic) pot
- Thermometer with a range from 21–82ºC
- Thick cheesecloth, preferably muslin
- Colander
- Stove
