What cottage cheese is made of: recipe, food preparation, photo

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Homemade cottage cheese is much tastier than store-bought. It does not contain chemical additives and antibiotics, which increase the shelf life of raw materials. 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 in the market or from a farmer. Many are interested in how to make cottage cheese from milk. If you use a store-bought drink, it is important to consider some of the nuances:

• You should not buy a product with a high shelf life. It has antibiotics in it to keep it from going sour.
• You need milk with 3.6% fat or more.
• From 1 liter of packaged raw materials, you can get about 200 g of cottage cheese.

Pasteurized drink is higher in price than sold on the market. Manufacturers subject it to heat treatment, therefore, with repeatedheating the product loses 60-70% of its valuable properties.

What is cottage cheese made of? Usually cow's milk is used. But there is cottage cheese made from goat's milk. Whichever raw material is chosen, 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 grainy as the whole raw material.
• You just need to mash the product with a fork to get a homogeneous mass, which is great for baking. Do not grind the fermented milk component with a blender or sieve.
• Pasteurized milk product is ideal for people who do not want to consume extra calories. The cottage cheese will be dietary, with a small amount of fat content 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 good for adults and children.
• The product is greasy, has a sour taste.
• From 1 liter of drink, 250-300 g of product is obtained, as well as cream, removed in 1-2 days of settling.

The whey left after straining the curd is used to make okroshka. It is also added to the dough for dumplings or pies.

Milk

What is cottage cheese most often made of? Usually cow's milk is used. If missingconfidence 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 curdled milk. Raw materials need to be brought to the required consistency.

Capacity

The product is poured into a glass jar. Iron pots and other containers are not used for settling 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 allow air to pass through, which accelerates the ripening of products, so it does not need to be used. The rag serves as protection of raw materials from ultraviolet radiation. Milk that stands in the sun not only turns sour quickly, but can also turn green and spoil.

Accelerated fermentation

How to make cottage cheese at home faster? To make curdled milk in 1-2 days, a piece of rye cracker is added to the raw materials. Fresh bread is also suitable, as souring is accelerated by 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 that have cooled down to 40-38 degrees, it is advisable to add sour cream (2 tablespoons). This product contains lactic bacteria that perform the function of fermentation. It is advisable to take homemade sour cream or kefir.

Another option islemon acid. A spoonful of the additive is diluted in 3-4 liters of warm milk. You need to mix everything thoroughly and leave for 1-2 hours. The raw material becomes curdled very quickly. Whey made from milk with vinegar is forbidden to drink or use 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 material is preheated. Bacteria turn milk into curdled milk in 6-8 hours.

The right place

How to make cottage cheese to make it tasty and of high quality? Containers with the workpiece should be placed warm:

• Near battery.
• Near the stove.
• Near a hot pot or kettle.
• Near the back of the refrigerator.

Milk sours faster in the bathroom. Because it's always warm there. It is important that the container with the product is not exposed to the light of the sun, under the influence of which the vitamin C evaporates and the taste deteriorates. In the refrigerator, fermentation slows down, milk does not turn into curdled milk, but only becomes unusable.

Pasteurized or whole food should not be stirred, beaten, beaten or shaken. You should wait until the milk separates into a yellowish whey and large white breasts. If there are small flakes in the dishes, then thismeans that the process is not completed. On average, 1-3 days are enough for the raw materials to have the desired consistency.

Heat treatment

How to make cottage cheese from milk at home? The curdled milk is poured into a large saucepan: for 3 liters of the product, a volume of 5 liters or more is required. Cottage cheese rises a little during cooking, so from a small container it can spill onto the stove.

The pan is placed on an electric or gas burner. The curdled milk 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 into the 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 down a bit. You just need to strain the cottage cheese and squeeze out the excess whey.

There is also a steam option for heat treatment. Water is heated in a large saucepan, and a smaller container is placed in it. In which curdled milk is poured. The heating lasts 15-20 minutes until the small flakes are brought together into a large breast, similar in consistency to jelly.

Using the microwave

This electrical technique can also be used. We make cottage cheese from milk at home using a microwave using a similar technology. This method is great for those who do not want to spend a lot of time cooking. We perform the following actions:

• Put the curdled milk into a jar (1 liter).
• Set the power of the appliance to 360-400 W.
• Set the timer for 10 minutes. The jar should not be covered.
• The curd 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.

You need to strain the curd when it cools down. The mass should not be pressed. That way it will be dry. If the maximum power is set, the process will not accelerate. The mass from elevated temperatures dries up 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 fatty cottage cheese is required, then sour milk is mixed with sour cream: for 3 liters of the first component, you need 1-1.5 liters of the second.

Products are poured into an enamel pan, covered. The oven is heated to 145-150 degrees, the curdled milk is simmered for 45 minutes. Then the oven is turned off, the product is left inside until it cools. The curd is separated from the whey. After insisting, it can be consumed.

Slow cooker

This appliance can also cook cottage cheese. To do this, you need to do the following:

• Sour milk is poured into a bowl.
• Using Keep Warm mode.
• The timer is set for 30 minutes. If crumbly cottage cheese is required, then for 45 minutes.
• The mass is thrown into a colander. After cooling, the product is ready for use.

No more than 2-3 liters are poured into a 5 liter bowlsour milk. If there is a lot of curdled milk, then during cooking it flows out and fills the slow cooker.

Straining

You will need a clean pot or a large container, dense material or gauze, which folds 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 gradually, pushing large pieces with a spatula. When the mass is in a colander, it is rammed and knocked into a ball. Gauze is tied and hung on a hook or rope. A bowl is placed under the cottage cheese, where the liquid will drain.

Gauze may not be suspended, but then a press is placed on top:

• A bottle of liquid - 1.5 liters.
• Whetstone.
• Dumbbell - up to 2 kg.

Cottage cheese is covered with foil or a plate. If you want a soft product, you need to wait 20-40 minutes.

How is cottage cheese made? The cooking procedure is the same, but the press must be kept for 2-3 hours. Store cottage cheese in the refrigerator. The product should be consumed 3-4 days in advance as it spoils quickly.

High Calcium

The method works with different milk: whole, sterilized, pasteurized. Raw materials should not be defended, they must be heated to 40 degrees, add 10% calcium chloride powder.

For 500 ml of base you need 1 tbsp. l. pharmaceutical agent. The milk is stirred until the calcium dissolves, waiting for the boil. The mass curls up, lumps float to the surface. The workpiece is cooled and filtered. Do not consume per daymore 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

The curdled milk is poured into a plastic container. It is sent to the freezer. You should wait for the mass to freeze. Yogurt is placed in a colander lined with gauze. When the mass melts, gauze with it is hung over the container and waiting for the whey to drain. The result is fluffy curd.

Curd mass

Pour 3 liters of milk into a saucepan, bring to a boil. After that, you need:

• Add kefir - 1.5 liters.
• Turn on a small fire.
• Heat the product for 10 minutes.
• When the mass curls up, you need to cool it and put it on gauze.
• Cottage cheese is mixed with bananas, apples or other fruits, and then ground in a blender.

Homemade cottage cheese is delicious and nutritious. You can eat it daily. It strengthens teeth, bones, immunity, improves mood. Getting curd mass from milk takes 40-50 minutes.