Basic Cheese

One of those things I've always wanted to try is to make home-made cheese. We found a Bare-Bones Recipe of the most basic of all cheese-making, and decided to try it on our Memorial Day Holiday last year. We made 1/4 of what the recipe called for because we just wanted to try it out.

First, we took one quart of 2% milk and warmed it to 190 degrees F.

Remove from heat and add 2 Tablespoons of Vinegar. This will make the milk curdle until you have curds and whey (like Little Miss Muffet food!). Let stand until cooled.

When cooled, pour through strainer to separate the curds from the whey. Gently stir the curds to release all the whey.

Then add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. This makes a ricotta-type cheese that you can use like you would use ricotta like in lasagna or salads. Did you ever know that making cheese was so EASY?

So my mom dished up everyone a bite-size taste. My mom was the bravest soul that tasted it first. My sisters were next to try it. They said it reminded them of yogurt. My dad said it needed more salt, so mom put more salt in it. THEN it was my turn.

TOO MUCH SALT! I don't recommend putting too much salt in your cheese. It wasn't good like that. I think next time I'll try it before anyone adjusts the recipe.   So, unfortunately, I can't give you an accurate account of how it is supposed to taste. 

All the kids wanted to try it. Some really loved it. Some wanted seconds, and one child had probably 10 bites of it...till there was no more. Others were good sports and had polite reactions to the too-salty cheese.

This cheese was so simple and easy to make. Now that we have the basics of cheese-making down, I'm going to try a more advanced type of cheese in the future.