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Crystal's Cream Cheese
Crystal Miller is the
mother of 8. She and her husband, Tobin, live in western Washington.
Crystal loves to write and encourage the homemaking, homesteading way of
life! You can visit Crystal at her blog the
Homemaking Homesteader
or on her website
The Family Homestead.
I N G R E D I E N T S
1 gallon goat's milk (store-bought cow's milk will work too!)
¼ tsp. direct set mesophilic-m culture
2 Tbsp. diluted rennet (add 1 drop of rennet to 5 Tbsp. cool water)
I
N S T R U C T I O N S
In a large pot (I use a 6-qt.) add goat's milk. Heat milk to 80 degrees.
Remove from heat and add the mesophilic-m culture and stir will. Add the
rennet and stir. Cover the pan and let sit undisturbed at room
temperature for 12 to 18 hours.
After the time is up, what you have in the pot should look like very
thick yogurt. Now you will drain and drip your cheese.
Line a colander with your clean pillowcase. I set this colander in a
large bowl to catch the whey. Now drain your thick, yogurt-looking
cheese into this cloth. Gather up the cloth and tie it tightly. Now you
need to hang it somewhere. I have handles on my kitchen cupboard that
work perfectly for this. Wherever you hang it, make sure it is up high
enough to allow the whey to drip through the cloth into a bowl below.
Now let your cream cheese drain for about 6 to 8 hours. You can speed
this process along by stirring the cream cheese about halfway through
the time, and you can do it again if you need to.
When it is completed, what you have left in the pillowcase is your cream
cheese! You can salt it a bit or not; that is up to you. It is ready to
be used right away over a homemade bagel, or you can use it for cooking
or even cheesecake! You can also put some of the cream cheese in a food
processor and blend it up a lot and you will end up with a great
substitute for sour cream.
The whey can be used for cooking. I use it as the liquid to make bread
or in pancakes. I also use the whey in making fermented vegetables (but
that is a whole different article!).
Happy cream cheese making!
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More Cheese Making
Recipes
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Home Cheese Making page.
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Home Cheese Making Book by Ricki Carroll
Home Cheese Making: Recipes for
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