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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Vinegar Cheese

This is a great all around cheese to make and super simple for the beginner cheese maker. I know since I am a beginner cheese maker myself. I had no problems with this recipe and used it like ricotta in manicotta. I have also used it seasoned with herbs to top crackers for snacks. Awesome cheese!

How to:
Vinegar Cheese
Bring FRESH milk to about 185 degrees over medium heat in stainless steel pot, stirring constantly. Stir while slowly pouring 1/4 or up to 1/2 cup white vinegar per gallon of milk. Remove from heat. The milk will begin to separate into fine curds and whey.
I usually put my pot onto a rack and cover the pot with a splatter screen. Allow to cool until it's safe to pour. Pour into a fine cheesecloth (cotton handkerchief or muslin) lined stainless steel colander. Tie the ends and hang to allow to drain for 30 minutes to two hours. The longer you allow to strain the drier and more crumbly the cheese. Once done draining turn cheese into a mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Italian Medley or Mrs. Dash Garlic seasoning, 1 tsp minced garlic and 1 tsp salt per gallon of milk used. We LOVE this cheese on crackers or salads, etc. Keeps one week refrigerated, or can be frozen in smaller portions for later.

Thanks to Sondra at Dairy Goat Info for this recipe, it is truly a gem!

Edited to add that this cheese is also known as Queso Blanco (white cheese)

4 comments:

Kelly Cook said...

Do you know if you HAVE to heat the milk? We prefer to use all of our milk raw, preserving the enzyme benefits found in it.

Kat said...

Hey Kelly, I am still a newbie in the cheese department. From what I understand from those in the know is that temperature is very important to getting the curds and whey to seperate like you want them to. Just about every recipe that I have come across has a certain temp for a certain cheese and they all stress that it is important to stick to that temp. So maybe someone out there makes raw milk cheese with no heating. I figure we drink enough of the milk to get the benefits along with eating yogurt so I will enjoy my cheese anyway that I can get it. Blessings from the farm, Kat

Kelly Cook said...

Have you made chevre? Is this similar? What's its consistency and flavor like?

Kat said...

The consistency of this cheese is like ricotta or a fine curd feta. This is not really considered a true chevre which is made from a mesophilic culture which is allowed to incubate. Typically, a chevre is made with a mesophilic culture and incubated at low temp (74 to 86 degrees depending on the recipe) for 12 to 18 hours. It is a much creamier cheese. This vinegar cheese is crumbly with a mild flavor. It is very nice and very versatile. We used it to top salads yesterday. Hope that helps, Kat