Make Homemade Cheese

To make homemade cheese you will need:

1 gallon of milk (preferably organic)

1 quart of buttermilk (preferably organic)

Heat the milk and buttermilk in a pot on your stove over medium low heat. Keep an eye on the pot as you prepare the other items needed since the only thing you don't want to do here is allow the mixture to come to a boil. You'll know when it's ready because large curds form and separate from the whey in the pot. If you have a thermometer you can check the temperature. Ideally it should be about 180 degrees F.

Meanwhile, find a cheese cloth or cut the leg off of a brand new or very clean pair of tights or stockings.(a very homemade cheese cloth) This works better than cheese cloth because the leg can be fitted over the mouth of a large jar. When the milk mixture is ready simply pour it into the leg and the liquid will collect in the jar. You will have to remove the stocking and dump out the liquid a few times during the process unless you have a super large jar. Not exactly traditional but I have found this method to be easy and super for cleanup time.

Once the entire contents of the pot have been strained through your stocking contraption, allow it to hang there for about 30 min. This will allow more moisture to drip out while cooling it enough so you can handle it. After the 30 minutes passes, it's time to decide what you want to do with your homemade cheese base.

One option to transfer the cheese to a bowl, add salt, and form into a rectangle. Place it on a clean kitchen towel and lay it down on a cookie. Next fill a large pot with water (for weight) and use the pot as a press for the cheese. Simply put the entire setup, tray, cheese and pot, into the refrigerator and allow it to set 6 hours or overnight. The longer you allow the cheese to set the firmer it will become. With this simple homemade cheese you can do almost anything. From that add whatever you want to age it to tasted and texture. ENJOY!