| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Róisín |
Make Your Own Paneer/ Ricotta CheeseI made this tonight (it was a productive night!), did a search to see if it's been discussed before, found nothing, so said I'd post it.It's an insanely easy and quick way to make a soft cheese that is just like paneer or ricotta, whatever name you want to use. You just get four litres of bought milk, bring it to the boil and keep it simmering for a few minutes. Then throw in quarter of a cup of vinegar. (Not the American measurement, literally any cup, the amount of vinegar doesn't really make much difference.) Stir. Watch the curds and whey separate; it'll look like white bits floating on greeny liquid. Have an old pillowcase to hand (maybe get someone else to hold it for you over the sink/other pot/bucket; but I didn't do this I just balanced the pillowcase in a strainer in the sink) and pour the contents of the pot in. The whey will go down the sink (or you can keep it). You just hang the pillowcase over a bowl for a couple of hours to drain everything away fully. Give it a few squeezes to help it on its way - this did mine no harm. Keeps in the fridge for a couple of weeks but really, you'll eat it sooner  This was my first time making it and it worked so this proves that anyone can do it. The only surprise I had with it was that I never realised how *much* milk it took to make such a small bit of cheese! (You get about a packed cereal bowlful from this recipe.) Four litres! Oh well you live and learn.
*I learnt how to do this on this website: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art28988.asp and this website: http://fiascofarm.com/recipes/index.html |
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| jema |
Interesting. I use paneer not as much as I'd like to. So must give this a go
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| Stacey |
I do this with excess goats milk. You can substitute lemon juice for the vinegar if you get fed up with the vinegary tang. Personally I like the vinegary tang but OH and eldest boy moan about it 
Also if you want to add salt add it to the curds, like you do with butter. |
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| Róisín |
My recipe said that vinegar was the best for beginners and idiots like me so I went with that!
Stacey - you've done lots of this - have you ever flavoured it? With what - chives or garlic or what? And when do you add it? 
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| sally_in_wales |
Must try this, I've made strained yougurt 'cheese' before, but this would be handy when I occasionally see the big jacks of organic fullfat milk reduced to nearly nothing at the shops. Is the yield better if you add some cream? | ||
| Stacey |
I've been spectacularly unadventurous Róisín  It's always a rush job when the nagging about excess milk clogging up the fridge reaches boiling point. I did add some garlic powder once to see what it would taste like. It was ok but it's not a cheese that's meant to be kept very long I think, so I just tend to use it very quickly. I put some on our pizza tonight and that worked well. Cracked black pepper might be nice, I'll try that soon.
Any additives would be put in at the curd stage as if you add it before you end up chucking most of it away. I'd add it at the same time that you add the salt. |
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| Róisín |
lol I didn't add salt!
Hmm I think chives at the curd stage might be nice. I used it for the first time tonight in a comfortsupper and it was superb. I'll tell ye what I made: I chopped half a red pepper and chucked it into a saucepan with some oil and water. ('bout 2 tablespoons of each.) Then I added about 8 chopped cherry tomatoes, 10ish whole button mushrooms, half a fistful of the paneer, a chopped large clove of garlic and the crusts of some bread I made the night before. Put the lid on the pan and let it simmer for about ten minutes. Ate with a spoon from a bowl. Oh how yum.
PS Sally I don't know about adding cream. I don't think I could even hazard a guess as to how it would turn out. |
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| Rob R |
Look what popped up when I googled 'ricotta' 
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| Sherbs |
what could you do with the whey if you kept it? | ||
| Sherbs |
what could you do with the whey if you kept it? | ||
| Minamoo |
You could use the whey in pancakes, bread (it makes it super soft and moist), add it to soups, use it to make white sauce.......... Lots of things.
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| Rob R |
Actual ricotta is made from the whey after cheesemaking. Miss Muffet didn't seem to mind it though.
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| Nick |
Did you? It doesn't make it like you get in the shops, it's much softer and crumblier. Nice, but not that same thing. |