Homemade Cottage Cheese from Sour Milk
Homemade cottage cheese — you know exactly what goes into it! This is a simple recipe for a delicious and very wholesome product. Made at home, the cottage cheese comes out tender, mild rather than sour, and crumbly. It's rich in calcium, the building block for strong bones and teeth, which makes it especially good for kids and older folks. Serve fresh cottage cheese for breakfast or an afternoon snack, topped with sour cream and a handful of berries or some jam. It's also perfect for making syrniki (cottage cheese pancakes), casseroles, and dumplings.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
To make cottage cheese, you need just one ingredient — sour milk. You can use milk that has soured naturally or, as in my case, homemade clabbered milk (you'll find that recipe on my profile).
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Step 2:
Set the pot of milk over very low heat. It's best to use an enameled pot rather than aluminum.
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Step 3:
As it warms, the sour milk starts to curdle even more.
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Step 4:
Curds like these form, and the whey separates out.
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Step 5:
Keep heating, but watch closely so the milk doesn't scorch or overheat — otherwise the finished cottage cheese can turn rubbery. Warm it to about 120°F (50°C), then turn off the heat and let the milk cool.
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Step 6:
Line a colander or sieve with two layers of cheesecloth or, as I do, a linen napkin. Pour the milk into it, setting a bowl underneath to catch the whey. When the whey stops dripping, the cottage cheese is ready.
- One quart (1 liter) of milk gave me about half a pound (250 g) of cottage cheese. The richer the milk, the more cottage cheese you'll get. Avoid long-shelf-life milk — the tastiest cottage cheese comes from whole farm-fresh milk. I'd recommend souring it first using the clabbered-milk recipe, after bringing it to a boil. Goat's milk makes the most wholesome cottage cheese. If your stove runs too hot, you can use a water-bath method instead: set the pot of sour milk inside a larger container of water and heat it that way. It takes longer, though. Or pour the milk into a glass jar, set the jar in a pot of water, and heat until the whey separates. Don't throw out the leftover whey — it's a very useful product. You can simply drink it or use it in batters, pancakes, and fritters. Homemade cottage cheese keeps for only about three days.
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Sour milk - 60 kcal/100g
