Cottage Cheese (not sure if this is right place for it)

[CarolineW]

Name of Recipe:  Homemade Cottage Cheese
Number of People:
Ingredients:
Sour milk
cream
salt & white pepper to taste


Preparation:
COTTAGE CHEESE  Method NO.  1

  Cook one pint (570 ml - but I just use whatever I have) of thick sour milk in double boiler over simmering water until it begins to whey (Pour thickened milk into TM bowl.  Heat at 100 at speed 1 for 10 mins).  Strain through fine napkin (steamer basket lined with cheesecloth / muslin), squeeze out the whey, and add three teaspoons of cream, a little salt, and white pepper.  Make into small balls (I just pop it all into a tupperware container, never turned them into balls).  This amount makes four or five.   (I found this method not as good as method 2.  I'll give it one more go, next time at speed  and 90oC.)

COTTAGE CHEESE NO.  2

  To three pints of thick sour milk (poured into steamer basket placed in TM bowl) add one pint of boiling or very hot water (already in  .  Let stand half an hour, pour off water (I remove steamer basked from water, which automatically strains it), and put curd in small bag to drain (often don't bother - just depends on what the consistency is when I've drained it).  Add salt, a little soft butter, and cream if at hand (I've only ever added cream, salt & white pepper to taste, but butter should have same effect as cream).

Photos:

Tips/Hints:  So far I've mainly done method 2 in the TM, and saved the water which I've then used as buttermilk (which it is - just somewhat diluted).  It works fine in all buttermilk recipes I've tried it with.  I've included the method 1, even though I haven't finished converting it to a thermomix - more so I don't lose it than anything else!  I will complete the conversion soon - unless someone beats me to it 

Got these recipes from a sour milk uses list at http://www.cooks.com/rec/story/121/#F .  I've used them for ages, but just began to use the TM for them instead a couple of months ago.  It tastes great, much better than the store bought cottage cheese.

[brazen20au]

by sour milk do you mean fresh milk you've added vinegar to?

[CarolineW]

Well, that should work too - but no, I mean milk that went sour in your fridge.  Sounds yummy, doesn't it    If it smells like sour milk, it's still absolutely fine - just doesn't taste like milk any more due to a culture that's growing in it.  If it smells completely rancid - don't really know how to describe it - As in, it really, really stinks - then it isn't sour, it's off, and you shouldn't use it.  It has bacteria growing in it, and could be harmful.

I have to say that I've only come across milk like that once in my life, and it had been out of the fridge in the heat for more than a week.  It's very rare.  Usually it's just sour. 

[Rowyfo]

Oh, eeeek. It would take me guts to work with smelly milk. So you can really tell the difference between sour and off? Is sour still the same consistency, then?

Milk never gets a chance to go off in our house, we would go through 5 litres in 3 days between the 5 of us.

If you made this recipe with fresh milk, what is the end product called?

[CarolineW]

The milk  goes lumpy and thick - because the culture is already at work to produce cottage cheese.  The cooking bit is really just to clean it up (I'm sure that's the technical term  ) and rinse it free of the whey.

I usually have to buy extra milk, just to go sour, as we get through all ours, too.  I get the special offer stuff that's near its sell by date, and then wait a few days.

Trust me, I've been eating sour milk in scones and cottage cheese since I was a child, and have never suffered even the mildest of ill effects.  It's actually one of those friendly doobries that you find in live yogurt - the name escapes me just at this moment.  Still, I suspect it may well work if you turn it sour yourself with lemon juice, as that works for scones.  Let me know if you try it, as I'm interested now. 

[bron]

is it called L.Casei, that rings a bell maybe???

[ahoney]

Have almost 2 litres of sour milk in my fridge was thinking of trying this but not sure about measurements, how much is a pint?

[Debbiebillg]

Ahoney, It says 570ml in the recipe.  Haven't checked the conversion, but sounds about right. 

[ahoney]

Thanks, silly me i didn't read the 1st recipe only the thermomix one, several times!

[andiesenji]

If you are wary of using soured milk, you can also make cottage cheese with fresh sweet milk - you do have to add rennet, but it's easy to find. 

Health food stores should carry it and there is always Cheeselinks.

[debetha]

Method 1 worked perfectly for me - 10 mins/ 90/ speed soft
Thanks that is a fantastic way to use up my soured milk - and now I can take cottage cheese off my shopping list!
deb

[JuliaBalbilla]

You can also use fresh milk and curdle it using lemon juice or cider / wine vinegar.

JB

[ahoney]

Hi just checking tht in method 2 there is no actual cooking involved?