Farmers Cheese

This farmer's cheese recipe will show you how fun and easy it is making your own fresh white cheese at home. This cheese recipe uses plain milk, requires no special equipment, and produces a homemade cheese that's a sort of cross between cream cheese and a ricotta.

Makes 1 Cup of Fresh Farmer's Cheese

Prep Time: 05 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts whole milk (use pasteurized, instead of ultra-pasteurized, if available)
• 2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• cheesecloth, rinsed

Preparation:

In a heavy-bottomed pot, over low heat, slowly heat the milk up, stirring often, until it is just about to simmer (about 180 degrees F). Stir in the buttermilk, and then the vinegar, and turn off the heat. Very slowly stir until you see the milk separating into curds (the solids) and whey (the liquid). Leave undisturbed for 10 minutes.

Line a large strainer with 2 layers of cheesecloth, and place over a stockpot to catch the whey. After the 10 minutes, ladle the curds into the cheesecloth, and allow the whey to drain for 10 minutes. Gather up the edges of the cheesecloth, and tie a string around the top to form bundle. Tie the string to a wooden spoon or dowel, and hang the cheese curds over the stockpot and continue draining for 30 minutes.

After draining, remove the cheese from the cloth, and transfer into a container. Stir in the salt and refrigerate. This fresh cheese can be used for up to 5 days. Use as a spread, or as you would use cream cheese, or cottage cheese.