When we were growing up making paneer/ cottage cheese at home was a usual matter. But as lives became busier and the availability of good quality cottage cheese became common the practice of making cottage cheese at home declined. Further cottage cheese in India is usually used for making vegetables and kebabs. That requires the cheese to be press firm so that it can be cut to pieces that once dipped in gravy don’t crumble.
But when one needs cottage cheese for making cheesecakes the paneer/cottage cheese available in the market is too firm. For cheesecakes the cheese has to be loose and soft. That can be best attained by making cottage cheese at home with fresh milk.
The usual ingredients, used to make cottage cheese in Indian households are milk and lemon. But I would not recommend that if you are planning to make a strawberry cheesecake with your cheese. So here is the simple process of making fresh cottage cheese.
Cottage Cheese :-
Milk 1liter full cream milk or 1 ½ liters toned milk
Citric acid 1 tsp
Water ½ cup
A thick bottomed steel vessel for heating the milk
A sieve for draining the water
• Pour the milk into the thick bottomed vessel and bring to a boil on low gas.
• In the mean time put the citric acid into ½ cup water and let sit. It should dissolve in 5 minutes or you can stir it to dissolve quickly.
• Once the milk comes to a boil add in the citric acid water.
• Immediately you will see the water and cheese separating.
• Boil on low wheat for 3-5 minutes for the process to complete.
• Take off and drain the water leaving the cheese in the sieve.
• Now the longer you let the water drain the firmer the cheese will get.
• To make a cheesecake remove immediately after the water has drained initially.
• If you want to use it in a vegetable, tie it in thin cloth and place in a vessel that has holes in it. If you want the cheese to be very firm place a heavy object over it so that all the water gets drained.
• Leave for 3-5 hours before using.
• During the winters you can leave the cheese outside but it is recommended to refrigerator during summers.
Enjoy the fresh cheese as and when you need ! ! !
