Here is a very easy way to make homemade cottage cheese right from your own kitchen. Once you taste this you'll never want to buy it from the grocery store again. Of course if you have access to fresh raw milk, that's the best, but even if you don't you can still make this recipe easy and fairly quick!
What You Will Need:
1 gallon Whole or Skim Milk
.75 cup fresh white vinegar
1.5 teaspoons salt
.5 cup half and half or cream
Stainless steel pot
Food thermometer
Cheese cloth & strainer
Instructions: Pour the milk into a large stainless steel sauce pan and place over medium heat. Heat the milk to 120 degrees F. Remove from the heat and gently pour in the vinegar. Stir slowly for 1 minute. The curd will separate from the whey. Cover and allow to rest to room temperature for 30 minutes. Pour the mixture into a strainer lined with cheese cloth and allow to sit and drain for 5 minutes. Gather up the edges of the cheese cloth and rinse under cold water for about 3 minutes or until the curd is completely cooled. Squeeze and move the cheese around in the cloth the whole time you rinse. Once the cheese is cooled, squeeze as dry as possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the salt and stir to combine, breaking up the curd into smaller bite sized pieces. If ready to serve immediately, top with the half n half or cream. If not, transfer to a sealed container and place in a refrigerator. Add the half n half or cream when you are ready to serve. It makes a great ingredient for your lasagna too.
Here is a photo of the cheese draining over the sink.
Happy Cheesing!!