Easy Cottage Cheese Recipes
Make this easy cottage cheese recipe with no rennet,culture, or vinegar. Only three ingredients & 20 minutes = the best cottagecheese!
Equipment
- Large Pot
- Heat Resistant Long Spoon
- Cheesecloth
- Colander
- Heat Resistant Bowl
- Knife
- Storage Container with lid
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon Whole Milk
- 1/4 - 1/2 Cup LemonJuice (fresh or pasteurized)
- 1/2 - 1 Cup Cream
- 2 tsps. Sea Salt
Instructions
- Empty the 1 gallon of whole milk into a large pot and place on medium-low heat. Stirring ocassionally, heat to a low, rolling boil.
- Place a colander over a large bowl, and line the colander with clean cheesecloth. Shake the cheesecloth to be sure all lint, hair, and other fibers are dislodged and it's clear of debris.
- Once steadily boiling, add 1/4 cup of lemon juice and stir it into your milk pot. Watch for coagulation, where small clumps that look like cottage cheese curds begin to stick together and a yellowish, watery fuild appears in your pot (the whey). If the curds aren't forming well or the pot still looks very milky, add the next 1/2 cup of lemon juice and stir.
- Once the pot has separated well into curds and whey, turn off heat, and pour the contents carefully into the cheesecloth-lined colander. The cloth will catch the curds and allow the whey to pass through.
- Stop to rinse your cheese pot before it sets up.
- Dump the curds into a container with a lid and use a fork to lightly break them apart into size, per your tastes. If you're going to add 2 teaspoons of sea salt, do it now.
- Pour 1/2 cup of cream on top of the curds and fold the curds into it. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, examine your cottage cheese. Is it creamy enough? If not, add the other 1/2 cup of cream and fold the curds into it. Allow this mixutre to set up in the fridge for at least an hour. You may also eat it right away while it's warm.
- After refrigeration, you can check the cottage cheese for consistency. The cool temperature will set the cottage cheese curds and you may discover you want more cream.
- Store for about a week in the fridge, if you don't gobble it up before then.
Notes
Once the milk has come to a slow, rolling boil, the recipe takes about ten minutes to come together before you rest the cottage cheese in the fridge for an hour.
The curds will absorb more cream as they sit together, so you may want to add more cream later.
We don't usually add salt because we like the lemony, slightly sweet flavor that comes from this recipe. However, it is delicious with sea salt, too.
You may also eat the cottage cheese while it's still warm. Store it in the fridge for up to a week in a closed container.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!