Homemade cottage cheese is much tastier than the store. It has no chemical additives and antibiotics, because of which the shelf life of the raw materials is increased. To obtain a useful and safe product, several processing steps must be performed. How to make homemade cottage cheese is described in the article.
How to choose raw materials
What is cottage cheese made of? It is believed that pasteurized milk from the store is not suitable for this. It is advisable to buy the product on the market or from the farmer. Many are interested in how to make cottage cheese from milk. If you use a store drink, it is important to consider some nuances:
- Do not purchase a product with a high shelf life. It has antibiotics that protect it from souring.
- You need milk with a fat content of 3.6% or higher.
- From 1 liter of packaged raw materials, you can get about 200 g of cottage cheese.
Pasteurized drink is higher in price than sold in the market. Manufacturers subject it to heat treatment, so with repeated heating the product loses 60-70% of its valuable properties.
What is cottage cheese made of in production? Cow's milk is usually used. But there is cottage cheese made from goat milk. Whatever raw materials are selected, it is important to follow the cooking process.
Benefits of Packaged Milk
Such raw materials have the following advantages:
- Cottage cheese from such milk has a soft and delicate texture. It will not be as granular as from whole raw materials.
- You just need to knead the product with a fork to get a homogeneous mass, which is great for baking. Do not grind the sour-milk component with a blender or sieve.
- A pasteurized milk product is ideal for people who do not want to consume excess calories. Cottage cheese will be dietary, with a small amount of fat and a delicate creamy taste.
Benefits of Whole Milk
You can make cottage cheese according to different recipes. It is better to use whole cow or goat milk for this purpose. The advantage of this method is:
- Natural raw materials contain a lot of calcium and other minerals that are useful for adults and children.
- The product is fatty, has a sour taste.
- From 1 liter of the drink, 250-300 g of the product is obtained, as well as cream, removed in 1-2 days of settling.
The whey remaining after decanting the cottage cheese is used to prepare okroshka. It is also added to the dough for dumplings or pies.
Milk
What is cheese most often made of? Commonly used cow's milk. If there is no confidence in the quality of the product, it is advisable to boil it. Elevated temperatures eliminate all harmful components.
What else is cottage cheese made of? According to some recipes, from sour milk, more precisely, from yogurt. Raw materials must be brought to the required consistency.
Capacity
The product is poured into a glass jar. Iron pots and other containers are not used to defend milk. As a result of fermentation, oxidative processes occur, so the raw material acquires an unpleasant aftertaste.
Banks should not be clogged, they are only covered with a towel. The lid does not let air through, which accelerates the ripening of products, so it does not need to be used. A rag serves as a protection of raw materials from ultraviolet radiation. Milk, which is in the sun, not only quickly turns sour, but also can turn green, deteriorate.
Fermentation acceleration
How to make cottage cheese at home faster? To make yogurt in 1-2 days, a piece of rye cracker is added to the raw materials. Fresh bread is also suitable because souring accelerates the yeast that is in the dough. With these mushrooms, fermentation is activated, milk turns sour in a day, but the period may be less. It all depends on the freshness of the product.
In boiled raw materials, which have cooled to 40-38 degrees, it is advisable to add sour cream (2 tablespoons). This product has lactic bacteria that perform the function of fermentation. It is advisable to take homemade sour cream or kefir.
Another option is citric acid. A spoonful of the additive is diluted in 3-4 liters of warm milk. It is necessary to mix everything thoroughly and leave for 1-2 hours. Raw materials become yogurt very quickly. Whey made from milk with vinegar is not allowed to be drunk or used for okroshka. This product can increase the acidity of the stomach, it causes irritation of the walls and burns the mucous membrane. An alternative to vinegar is fresh lemon juice.
Milk can be mixed with dry bacteria or liquid starter cultures sold in pharmacies and supermarkets. The additive is activated only in heat, so the raw materials are preheated. Bacteria make yogurt from milk in 6-8 hours.
Appropriate place
How to make cottage cheese so that it turns out delicious and high-quality? Tanks with the workpiece should be placed warm:
- Near the battery.
- Near the stove.
- Near a hot pot or kettle.
- Near the back of the refrigerator.
Souring milk faster in the bathroom. Because it is always warm there. It is important that the light from the sun does not get on the product container, which causes the evaporation of vitamin C and the deterioration of taste. In the refrigerator, fermentation is inhibited, milk does not turn into yogurt, but only becomes unusable.
A pasteurized or whole product should not be stirred, pounded, whipped or shaken. You should wait until the milk is divided into yellowish whey and large white breasts. If small flakes are present in the dish, this means that the process is not completed. On average, 1-3 days are enough for the raw material to have the desired consistency.
Heat treatment
How to make cottage cheese from milk at home? Yogurt is poured into a large pot: for 3 liters of product, a volume of 5 liters or more is required. Cottage cheese rises a little during cooking, so it can spill out of a small bowl onto a stove.
The pan is placed on an electric or gas burner. Yogurt is heated, but not brought to a boil. It is advisable to regularly check the temperature of the liquid. The folk method is suitable: the index finger is dipped in liquid, after which it is necessary to wait 2-3 seconds. If it is very hot, you need to reduce the power or turn off the stove.
The product is stirred with a wooden or iron spoon, but not very often. When large lumps appear on the surface, the pan settles and cools slightly. You just need to strain the cottage cheese and squeeze out the excess serum.
There is also a steam version of heat treatment. In a large pan, water heats up, and a smaller container is placed in it. In which poured sour milk. The warming lasts 15-20 minutes, until small flakes are knocked down into a large breast, similar in consistency to jelly.
Using a microwave
This electrical engineering can also be used. We make cottage cheese from milk at home using a microwave according to a similar technology. This method is perfect for those who do not want to spend a lot of time on cooking. We perform the following actions:
- We transfer yogurt into a jar (1 liter).
- We set the power of the appliance 360-400 W.
- We set the timer for 10 minutes. The bank should not be covered.
- Cottage cheese will float to the surface, and the whey will be transparent greenish. If it has a milky tint, you must also turn on the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
It is necessary to strain the cottage cheese when it cools down. Do not wring out the mass. So it will turn out rather dry. If maximum power is set, the process will not accelerate. The mass from elevated temperatures dries and burns along the edges.
Oven
How to make cottage cheese from milk in the oven? To obtain a lean fermented milk product, only yogurt is used. If fat cottage cheese is required, then the sour milk is mixed with sour cream: 1-1.5 l of the second is needed for 3 l of the first component.
The products are poured into an enameled pan, covered. The oven is heated to 145-150 degrees, the sour milk curd 45 minutes. Then the oven turns off, the product is left inside until it cools. Cottage cheese is separated from whey. After insisting, it can be consumed.
Slow cooker
In this appliance, you can also cook cottage cheese. To do this, do the following:
- Sour milk is poured into the bowl.
- Use the "Heating" mode.
- The timer is set for 30 minutes. If crumbly curd is required, then for 45 minutes.
- The mass is thrown into a colander. After cooling, the product is ready for use.
In a bowl of 5 l is poured no more than 2-3 liters of sour milk. If there is a lot of yogurt, then when cooking it flows out and fills the slow cooker.
Straining
You will need a clean pan or large container, a dense material or gauze, which can be folded in 4 layers. A colander is attached to the container, a rag is placed inside so that its edges hang down by 4-5 cm.
Cottage cheese should be poured out gradually, pushing large pieces with a spatula. When the mass is in a colander, it is tamped and knocked into a lump. Gauze is tied and hung on a hook or rope. Under the curd they put a bowl where the liquid will drain.
Gauze can not be suspended, but then put on top of the press:
- A bottle of liquid - 1.5 liters.
- Grindstone.
- Dumbbell - up to 2 kg.
Cottage cheese is covered with foil or a plate. If you want to get a soft product, you need to wait 20-40 minutes.
How do cereal curd? The cooking procedure is the same, but the press should be kept for 2-3 hours. Cottage cheese is stored in the refrigerator. The product should be consumed in 3-4 days, since it spoils quickly.
High calcium
The method operates with different milk: whole, sterilized, pasteurized. Raw materials should not be defended, it must be heated to 40 degrees, add a powder of 10% calcium chloride.
For 500 ml of base you need 1 tbsp. l pharmacy products. The milk is stirred until calcium is dissolved, waiting for boiling. The mass collapses, lumps float to the surface. The workpiece cools and is filtered. Per day, you should eat no more than 100 g of cottage cheese, which is made on the basis of calcium chloride, otherwise there is a violation of mineral metabolism.
No heat treatment
Yogurt is poured into a plastic container. He is sent to the freezer. Wait until the mass freezes. Yogurt is put in a colander covered with gauze. When the mass has melted, gauze with it is suspended over the container and waiting for the whey to drain. The result is airy curd.
Curd
Pour 3 liters of milk into the pan, bring to a boil. After that it is necessary:
- Add kefir - 1.5 liters.
- Turn on a small fire.
- Heat the product for 10 minutes.
- When the mass coagulates, it is necessary to cool it and recline on cheesecloth.
- Cottage cheese is mixed with bananas, apples or other fruits, and then fray in a blender.
Homemade cottage cheese is a delicious and nutritious product. You can eat it daily. It strengthens teeth, bones, immunity, improves mood. Getting the curd from milk takes 40-50 minutes.