To those that make their own cottage cheese

lilyfield, Apr 21, 6:38am
can you tell me the gain in grams from 2 liters of milk?

In other words- does it work out cheaper then buying?

chinju, Apr 21, 8:09am
Not sure of cost, but fresh, fun, easy to make and mould. Also, you can flavour with herbs etc, spreads so well on a nice bit of foccacia. Yes, milk is far too expensive, vinegar cheap. Up to you really. As it's cottage cheese, freshness is the key. No idea how old the stuff at the supermarket is or what additives.

lilyfield, Apr 21, 8:54am
Ok -will try it once. apparently you can also use milkpowder for it.And use lemons(free).

hilt_dwane, Apr 21, 9:58am
Can you post a recipe please? I'd love to make it

lilyfield, Apr 21, 10:04am
Found this:

Soft Cottage Cheese
2 c. hot water
1-1/2 c. dry milk powder
3 T. Fresh lemon juice or white vinegar

Blend water and dry milk and pour into saucepan (foam and all). Sprinkle lemon juice or vinegar slowly around edges and gently stir over medium heat just until milk begins to curdle, separating into curds and whey. Remove from heat and let rest one minute. Pour into strainer or colander, rinse with hot, then cold water. Press out water with back of spoon. Makes about 1-1/2 c. curds. If desired, moisten rinsed curds with a little buttermilk before serving and add salt to taste. Refrigerate if not used immediately. Whey from fresh milk powder can be used in place of water in breads and soups.

uli, Apr 21, 9:56pm
Depends on the milk - some have much higher milk solid contents than others. I remember when the dairy payouts (for cows milk) went from butter fat to milk solids some time ago - a lot of farmers ditched the jerseys and went for frisian or ayreshire (the latter having very high milk solids).
Goat, sheep and buffalo is different again. When I make goats cheese I get about 400 to 500g of soft cheese out of 3 liters of milk. Or pressing it harder have about 300g of a solid cheese which can be cut and sliced.

Also I would not use lemon juice but rennet to make cottage cheese if you want the cottage cheese "look" and flavour. Lemon juice will produce fine little flakes and a sour flavour - while rennet will produce a sweet flavour and the solids can be stirred to produce those little roundish lumps. I finish mine with a bit of cream.

Why not try it out with a small quantity and weigh and measure if it is worth your time - and most importantly if you like the end result. Good luck!

lilyfield, Apr 21, 11:02pm
thanks Uli- will try it out .with lemon juice firstsee it is free. Quite like the acid flavour of quark. Can you get rennet in P&S ?

ashanti, Apr 22, 12:45am
Cottage cheese=small curd cooked

4 litres whole or skim milk
1/8 tspn calcium chloride dissolved in ¼ cup water if using store bought milk
4 tablespoons buttermilk as your mesophilic starter
flaky salt- optional
heat milk to 24deg c, add calcium chloride now if you need to, cover and let set at room temp for 20 hours.
Cut curd into small pieces and let set for 10 minutes, then heat curd very slowly in water bath until it reaches 38c stirring every few minutes. Increase temp to 45c until curds are firm, around 45 minutes. Let set for ten minutes. Pour curds into a muslin cloth and let drain for five minutes, if you want a sweeter cottage cheese wash some lactic acid off by dipping in a bowl of water a few times before you drain.
Once drained, take curds out of muslin and break up to desired consistency, add cream if you want to and optional salt or fresh fruit to taste.

lilyfield, Apr 22, 6:38am
can you tell me the gain in grams from 2 liters of milk!

In other words- does it work out cheaper then buying!

chinju, Apr 22, 8:09am
Not sure of cost, but fresh, fun, easy to make and mould. Also, you can flavour with herbs etc, spreads so well on a nice bit of foccacia. Yes, milk is far too expensive, vinegar cheap. Up to you really. As it's cottage cheese, freshness is the key. No idea how old the stuff at the supermarket is or what additives.

hilt_dwane, Apr 22, 9:58am
Can you post a recipe please! I'd love to make it

hilt_dwane, Apr 22, 11:01pm
Thanks for these recipes

lilyfield, Apr 22, 11:02pm
thanks Uli- will try it out .with lemon juice firstsee it is free. Quite like the acid flavour of quark. Can you get rennet in P&S !