Homemade Cheese
Curds
In a day and age when every food product seems to be filled with chemicals, additives and preservatives you can't even pronounce, it's nice to find ways to do things from scratch. Making cheese curds might sound about as likely as conquering rocket science. However, it is much easier to make than you think.
Recipe
Your ingredients will include powdered skim milk, whipping cream, vinegar, and salt. The vinegar becomes the acid necessary for curdling your cheese. Using powdered skim milk and the whipping cream will give you the desired texture in your cheese as opposed to using 2 percent or whole milk, which makes it harder to form the curds.
Mixing
Mix the powdered milk according to the directions on the box. Mix this with the whipping cream and heat the mixture on the stove. Remove it from the stove eye just before it reaches a boil. You can heat this liquid directly on the stove since the quantity is too large to place in a double boiler.
Set the mixture aside and add the vinegar. Stir well then allow it to cool completely. Once it has cooled you can strain it by pouring it into a colander that has small holes to remove the whey. The whey is the liquid that remains after the firmer cheese curds are formed. Once you have thoroughly strained the cheese, pour the curds into a bowl and add the salt.
Proceed
This process is a quick way to make your own cheese curds. The curds you produce will be soft. However, if you prefer an even softer cheese, then your next step is to either leave it as is and refrigerate or to add a little cream to give it an even silkier texture.
Pour the cheese, which is more like a Ricotta or cottage cheese, into a container that you can tightly seal. Refrigerate until ready to use. It should stay fresh and edible for up to two weeks.
Tags: whipping cream, your cheese, cheese curds, Homemade Cheese, Homemade , milk whipping, cream