Making Cheese

I have another first to share: cheesemaking!  I saw this very easy recipe posted on Homestead Hearth for Queso Blanco. It’s simply a gallon of milk and 1/4 cup vinegar. The milk is heated until just before boiling when it starts to froth. The vinegar is then slowly drizzled in which causes the milk to start to curd. Continue stirring and very quickly the liquid whey that’s left turns clear to indicate you are done.

They curds are then ladled out (if you wish to save the whey) or poured into several layers of cheesecloth lining a colander. The cheesecloth is tied off and hung to allow the cheese to drip dry.

And then it’s crumbled for some very lightly flavored feta-like Queso Blanco cheese. I like the ideas posted on the forum to dehydrate the cheese for use as something similar to Parmesan. You can use the whey as liquid in your baking, or process it further into different whey cheeses. For now, I’m just happy with this gorgeous crumble.