Unfortunately, the recipes for making cheese from dairy raw materials are partially lost.
Indeed, before many housewives, especially in rural areas, they themselves prepared cottage cheese, sour cream, fermented baked milk, butter, cheese from milk from their own cow.
Then, when all this appeared on store shelves, such skills became unnecessary, and in fact they were transferred from the older generation to the younger.
They are preserved in the form of recipes for some cookbooks.
Fortunately, today there is a great internet that helps people share information. And now it’s not a problem to find how to cook, for example, kefir cheese at home. There are a number of recipes that use different methods and apply certain additives to obtain the desired product.
Plus, making cheese yourself is obvious. First, you know what kind of raw materials are used there, how harmless the components are. Secondly, you can regulate the taste and other qualities of the cheeses yourself. For example, only the hostess decides what salinity to make cheese. The same applies to fat. Of the minuses - to make a product you need to make an effort, but it is not at all difficult.
The basic principles of making kefir-based cheese at home
To get cheese from kefir, the liquid fermented milk product must curdle, the protein will separate from the whey. This is achieved in many ways. Due to heating, due to the introduction of additional acids or using natural processes. Also, the cheese product can be subjected to heat treatment - at the initial or final stage, in the latter case, baking soda is added for melting.
A colander covered with gauze or cloth is used to separate milk protein from whey. In addition, a press is also used so that the liquid leaves the product better.
Kefir for cheese can be taken any, but it is better not quite fresh - it is acidic, and not peroxide. Optimal would be a three-day option.
According to some recipes, the finished cheese is kept for several days in brine, but more often do without it, the salt is added immediately to the mixture before cooking.
Cooking yogurt cheese at home with the addition of other dairy products - cream, sour cream, whey, butter and milk itself, as well as salt, acids, baking soda, spices, herbs.
A simple recipe for kefir cheese at home
For this recipe you only need kefir. And some salt if you want salty cheese. If sweet, add sugar. The cottage cheese is made according to the same recipe, but special rules must be observed to obtain cheese. Next is the cooking details. Cheese comes out like Adyghe or feta.
Ingredients
• Two liters of kefir
• A teaspoon of salt - or more to taste
Cooking method
Pour kefir into a container - best in a saucepan.
Salt, stir, try - is there enough salt? Better not go too far.
Put kefir on a small fire and heat until boiling.
No need to stir at this time.
When the boil begins, protein flakes will appear. It's time to turn it off.
By this time, a colander with two-layer gauze in it should already be ready.
Pour kefir into a colander, substituting a container under the serum.
We filter out the liquid, crushing it with a spoon or spatula. Then twist the cheesecloth.
We put the gingerbread man of the future cheese directly in gauze in a shallow container and press it with a press - for example, a can of water. The fluid should drain.
The next morning the cheese is ready. It is great for Greek salad, toppings in a pie with greens.
Kefir curd cheese at home
In this recipe, cottage cheese is first made from kefir, and then cheese is made from it. It turns out double heat treatment. The product is more dense, shiny, does not crumble when cutting, at the last stage of cooking, you can add additional ingredients - peppers, herbs, vegetables, mushrooms.
Ingredients
• Two liters of kefir, preferably with high fat content
• One egg
• A spoonful of butter
• A teaspoon of salt
• Half a teaspoon of baking soda
• A pinch of paprika and black pepper.
Cooking method
Kefir put in a steam bath - for example, pour into a pan, which is placed in a large pan with water.
It is necessary to wait for clots to form from kefir and light water to separate.
Condensed kefir is thrown back on gauze, laid in a colander. Squeeze out the excess liquid and let stand, draining, for half an hour.
The curd cake mix is ready. Now it needs to be turned into cheese.
Return the cottage cheese to the saucepan, add the remaining ingredients.
All must be thoroughly mixed and kneaded so that the pieces of cottage cheese are as small as possible. Fork, pusher or blender are suitable here.
Again, the pan must be placed in a water or steam bath, turn on the fire and wait until the cheese begins to melt.
Next, you need to constantly stir the product with a spoon or spatula so that the melting proceeds evenly and all pieces of cottage cheese dissolve.
You should get a homogeneous mass of yellowish color, usually it takes about 15 minutes.
Lubricate the cheese pan with butter - creamy or vegetable.
Pour the melted mass into a mold, cool to room temperature and put in the refrigerator. In an hour or two you can try.
Spicy kefir and milk cheese at home
The technology for making this cheese is similar to both previous recipes. But, unlike them, kefir is necessary to obtain whey, which is then mixed with milk. Additives also play a large role - thanks to them, the home product is fragrant and pungent. If desired, you can reduce the degree of severity, and adjust the smell using other favorite spices.
Ingredients
• Three liters of milk
• One liter of kefir
• Two teaspoons of salt
• Half a teaspoon of hot red ground pepper
• A pinch of sugar
• Five peas of allspice, ground in a coffee grinder
• Ground cinnamon on the tip of the knife.
Cooking method
Kefir is heated over low heat until the whey begins to separate, and the clots of milk protein begin to float.
Allow to cool slightly and strain through a cloth laid in a colander.
Cool the resulting cottage cheese and use for the necessary purposes - eat with sour cream, use for filling pies, dumplings.
For the further preparation of cheese, we need the resulting whey. She needs to be left in the room for two days - sour.
Then put the milk in a large pan and boil.
Pour the whey to the milk and cook over low heat until the milk begins to curdle.
When protein clots rise abundantly up, it's time to turn it off.
Also strain through cheesecloth.
Place the clot in a bowl, salt, add salt, hot pepper, cinnamon, allspice, mix well.
Again, return all this to gauze, tie and hang to drain for half an hour - an hour.
Then we put the future cheese head under the press in a plate or other container so that the liquid drains, and leave it for about half a day.
Delicate cream cheese on kefir and sour cream at home
This cheese is similar to cream - it can be spread on bread, you can form not sausages, but balls, each roll in greens, and add in this form to salads. Or add oil and leave to pickle. Pressed garlic can be added to greens if desired. It is also suitable for pita based snacks. The secret of tenderness is in sour cream, which is fermented with kefir.
Ingredients
• A liter of sour cream with a fat content of at least 20%
• A liter of kefir fat content of at least 2.5%
• One to two teaspoons of salt
• A bunch of greens - parsley, dill.
Cooking method
Mix sour cream and kefir, salt, punch with a blender to get a completely homogeneous mass.
Line a colander with a cotton or gauze napkin.
Pour the mass, wrap the ends of the fabric, put a press on top.
Cheese must stand in the refrigerator for a day. In this case, the released liquid should drain.
After a day, form two thick sausages from the mass, roll them in chopped greens, tightly pressing.
Store in the refrigerator, separating in a circle if necessary.
Tricks and tips for making kefir cheese at home
Kefir for making cheese at home should be taken as fat as possible, at least 2.5%. Also, if milk or sour cream is used, they should not be fat-free.
You can make sweet cheese by adding sugar or honey when forming.
If the cheese is cooked by melting, it is better not to put the dishes on the fire, but to do it in a water or steam bath. In any case, you need to thoroughly mix the melting mass.
It is better not to store homemade cheese for too long, optimally - a few days, a maximum of a week. Otherwise, it may become moldy or begin to peroxide. You also need to protect the cheese from drying out. If you want to stock the product for a long time, you can pickle it or put it in brine.
