Homemade Soft Cheese

I came back from Normandy with an unbelievable hunger for Mediterranean foods. After a week of eating cream, butter and cheese, I was starving for lighter fare - fruits, veggies, olive oil and herbs. So to this end, I checked out Patricia Wells' fabulous Provence Cookbook from the library. Open the book and the stories and pictures bring Provence wafting right into your kitchen. I can almost smell the lavender and rosemary, and I am right there with her, carrying my basket through the local market, collecting ingredients for the evening meal.

In St-Mere-Eglise, I bought some Gruyere and Comte cheese from a man who herds sheep in the Pyrenees. I've been enjoying a small piece with a chunk of baguette each morning while I pretend that I am still on vacation. But since I have been eating the fragrant, sheepy cheese, the cheddar cheese I bought at the grocery store just seems flat, lifeless and without taste. So when I read Patricia's recipe for Homemade Fresh Cheese, I was intrigued. She writes that making your own fresh cheese is the most clear and simple process of food creation, and swears that once you've created your own fresh cheese, you''ll never want store bought again, which is where I am already. So I got right to work. I poured the milk into the pan, added some vinegar and waited patiently as the the mixture bubbled and frothed. The kitchen filled with the clean aroma of vinegar and I was amazed to see foamy curds forming. I strained the cheese and sprinkled it with sea salt. Amazing! In a little over 30 minutes, I had created my own creamy, white cheese! It was even good! A little like mozzerella, it squeaked on my teeth as I bit into it. I sprinkled it on salads, mixed it into hot pasta, rolled it in a tortilla with some hummus, made burritos with it and smothered it with green chile. I'm hooked and will now be making my own cheese on a regular basis!

As a footnote, I tried this yesterday with balsamic vinegar, imagining that I was going to marinate the balsalmic cheese in Italian dressing and make tomato salads with it. Don't do it. The cheese came out this weird pinkish brown color, and when I added the dressing, the cheese soaked up it all up, making it purple and grainy. It tastes good, but looks terrible. I guess I will be eating all of it myself, no one else will come near it. Bon Appetit!    

Patricia Wells' Fresh Homemade Cheese

1 quart Whole Milk

1 1/2 tablespoons of WHITE Vinegar

sea salt to taste

Pour the milk and vinegar into a non-reactive pan, and heat without much stirring over a low flame until temperature reaches 205 degrees. Be patient, it takes a while. Turn off the heat and let the curds sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Put a double layer of cheesecloth in a colander or strainer over a bowl and pour boiling water through to sterilize it. After 10 minutes, gently spoon your cheese curds into the strainer and let drain for several minutes, pressing the water out if necessary. Sprinkle with the sea salt. You can either use it warm, or refrigerate it. It will keep for several days. Enjoy! 

Comments

[Natalia]

Well written article.