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–+ cups, approximate

Cottage Cheese

Adapted from an internet recipe.
This is also known as Farmers Cheese, Ricotta Cheese, and if more dry and pressed, then it is called Paneer. Regardless of the name, this is a easy to make shortcut. Cottage Cheese and Ricotta Cheese can be used interchangeably in most recipes. True Ricotta Cheese is made from just from the whey and just a finer, drier curd than Cottage Cheese. The rule of thumb here is 1 cup of Cottage Cheese from 1 liter (quart) of milk.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes
Servings 3 cups, approximate

Ingredients
  

  • 3 liters whole milk, do not use UHT milk, (3 quarts)
  • ½ cup white vinegar, or lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt, optional

Instructions
 

  • Heat the milk in a large pot, if you have a thermometer, you are looking for 88° C (190° F), if no thermometer, heat the milk until you see bubbles on the sides and remove from heat.
  • After removing from the heat, gently stir the milk and slowly add the vinegar, once the vinegar is added, stop stirring and allow the milk to cool, about 30 minutes.
  • When cooled, pour the mixture, which is now curds and whey into a fine mesh colander and drain off the whey into another pot, allow to drain for about an hour. You can also line the colander with a clean cloth, cheesecloth, or a paper towel. I used a metal strainer with tiny holes, not a mesh strainer, use a spoon and move around in the curd, along the bottom of the strainer and the whey will drain, let it sit in the strainer for an hour or so, use the spoon every 5-10 minutes.
  • Pour the curds, this is the cheese part into a bowl, add salt and mix or enjoy or use as is in a recipe that calls for Cottage Cheese or Ricotta Cheese or as a side dish. Can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. In this photo you can see the cheese has thickened up as the whey is draining, and you can see the holes in the strainer.
  • For the firmer 'Farmer's Cheese' used in recipes, once you have the cottage cheese strained, line a large bowl with 2 or 3 layers of cheese cloth and pour in the strained cottage cheese, gather up the corners and tie that into a bag shape. Place a cutting board in your sink, place the tied up bag of cottage cheese on the cutting board, place another cutting board or large place on top of the bag, place some heavy canned goods on the top cutting board or plate to force out the remaining whey. After a few hours, Farmer's Cheese.
  • If using this as an ingredient, say for lasagna or another dish, use as is. If using as a side dish, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and mix that in.

Notes

The yield from 3 liters of whole milk is about 3 cups of cheese. Cost for this is 55 Baht for a 946 ml carton of Meiji brand milk (just call it a liter and go with that) 3 cartons is 165 Baht, or about $4.85 for 3 cups of Cottage cheese. You can use the whey to make stock, use in place of milk or water in soup recipes and baking recipes, feed it to animals, and even water plants with it. If you refrigerate this, it will become quite stiff, add some milk and stir, you will have perfect Cottage cheese.
Used in Recipes Listed on this Site:
  • Cheese Cannelloni, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Ricotta Gnocchi, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Crock Pot Lasagna.
  • Cottage Cheese Meatloaf.
  • Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Cottage Cheese Pierogies.
  • Paneer Cheese from Milk.
  • Lasagna Pot Pie.
  • Skillet Lemon Chicken Pasta I.
  • Baked Ziti Casserole.
  • Amish Breakfast Casserole.
  • Basic Lasagna, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Homemade Manicotti Shells.
  • Skillet Ziti.
  • Seafood Stuffed Shells.
  • Tart Cherry Cottage Cheese Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Meatball Mostaccioli, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Mandarin Orange Cottage Cheese Salad, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Cottage Cheese Jello Salad II, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Cottage Cheese Jello Salad I, made it.
  • Noodles Romanoff, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Stuffed Shells with Italian Sausage.
  • Sausage Stuffed Shells, made it, GO-TO recipe.
  • Fruited Salad Mold.