Farmer's Cheese

 Well it turns out that I haven't posted here about making Farmer's cheese.  I can't believe it, but it's true. I only mentioned it here.  The next time I make it, I'll add photos to this.

Farmer's cheese is just about the easiest cheese you can make at home.  You don't need special equipment.  You don't need rennet or junket.  

You simply need a large heavy pot, like enameled cast iron or thick bottomed stainless steel.

Depending on how much cheese you want to make will depend on how large a pot and how much milk you will need.  

To give you an idea, I usually just use a gallon of good quality WHOLE milk and then use my 8qt stainless steel double bottom spaghetti sauce pot. From that I get 1 pound and 6ish ounces of cheese curds.

You can easily adjust this to a half a gallon of milk.

So what is Farmer's cheese?  It lies somewhere between the world of Ricotta and Cottage cheese. It is just the curds from heavy milk, that are drained, pressed, salted, and if you want to go nuts, seasoned.

NOW what do you do with it?

I use it like ricotta and mix it with egg and seasoning to fill stuffed shells or sprinkle in lasagna or on top of pizza, or in quiche or on salads.

BUT more likely than not, it is salted, seasoned, and pressed into an inexpensive cheese mold and then served as a high protein snack with crackers.  

I use the collected whey from the process for my liquid in bread making.  It's a sneaky way to add protein to your bread.

You simply pour your milk (DO NOT use high filtered milk like Fairlife) into your pot and set the burner to medium and get it warming up. The fattier your milk, the more curds you will get.  This is where I will toss any cream in the fridge that is close it it's date as well.  

I DO NOT SALT MY MILK. Save the salt for the end. 

 You don't want to get it to a boil, you're looking for just below a simmer.  It will start to get bubbly and foamy on the top.

Stir it on occasion while you are setting up the draining area:

I cut about 3 feet of kitchen cotton string and have it handy too.  You will gather the ends of the towel later and hang it from a cabinet knob to drain.

Mixing bowl for salting and seasoning.

I put a 6 qt bowl in the sink and place a colander on that.  Over the colander I lay a clean flour sack dish towel.

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OK back to the almost simmering milk. Turn off your heat and give it a good stir.

ADD for each half gallon of milk a 1/4 of a cup of acid. That's right, just dump it in and stir it for a few seconds. The division of curds and whey should be almost instantaneous.

( They whey should almost look like weird lemonade.  You can add a little more acid if you think it still looks too milky.) Then STOP and put the spoon down.

ACID?!?!?!?  yes, but you've got it already, I promise.  You can use vinegar or lemon juice.  Some people use all lemon juice and some all vinegar.  I prefer a 50/50 mix as the citric acid stays in the whey and helps my yeast rise in my breads.  (remember you save the whey)

Let it just sit there for 20 whole minutes, no heat, no stirring.

When your time is up, pour your curds and whey slowly onto the dish towel that is lining the colander, over the bowl.

Gather up all the sides of the towel and tie and hang from a knob on your cabinets to drain for a few minutes. Either over the sink or a spare bowl.

Resist the urge to squeeze your cheese.

The more whey you remove the drier your cheese.  Good for some applications/final products not for others.  

When it feels like a blob of dough in a sack, pour your curds into a bowl and add salt, go easy to start, like 1/4 teaspoon and mix well.  Taste.  Need more? add more.

I also add garlic powder, onion powder and fresh cracked pepper and paprika.  Go crazy. Release your inner mad scientist.  (dill is good too, basil, oregano, sure! Why not?!) Even cinnamon and sugar with pecans is amazing!

Now put your mixed curds into a press and un-mold later, or if you don't have a mold, simply put back into the dish towel and roll and twist and squeeze it into a ball and turn out on to a plate.

Store wrapped or covered with plastic wrap or in a sealed container.  Use in less than 7 days.  We have frozen it for crumbling use later, but not for spreading or slicing.