To me, cheese has been an ingredient ought to be bought at supermarkets than homemade. Because I believe good cheese should be made from locally produced fresh milk. But here in Hong Kong, the source is rare.
Only until recently, I was interested by a Chinese newspaper column (one inspired me to make these healing recipes) about a homemade cheese, cottage cheese to be specific, without rennet and had been itching to make one. Equally intriguing is, the cottage cheese (together with flax seed oil) is suggested for use in a natural remedy, called Budwig Diet, for curing many diseases.
Although this is the first time I make this cottage cheese, I have it completed, fairly tidily, in minutes.
What we need are two ingredients plus a pan and a strainer. To prepare, just heat the milk to the right temperature, then add vinegar, stir and wait. The magic moment will show up in seconds.
First thing I was curious about my homemade cottage cheese was whether or not it would taste sour. Verdict? Not all all! It tasted light and maybe the mildest cheese I have ever tried.
I sprinkled some salt and pepper to my cheese and served it with banana and bread, It is not the best, yet satisfying enough.
If you are interested in reading more about the natural remedy, which is said to be able to cure the malfunction of immune system and some cancer diseases (80-93% of the cases), these links might help:
– the Chinese blog of Yim Ho, author of the newspaper column
– the Budwig Diet in English
- Ingredients
- 500ml low fat milk
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- adapted from Apple Daily News (Chinese)
Method
Over low to medium flame, heat milk in a pan, stirring occasionally. As the milk starts to simmer (I waited until my thermometer read 80 degree C), remove from heat.
Add in vinegar, stir gently for about half a minute (in about 15 seconds, lumps start to form and the consistency of milk gradually turns thinner into a whey).
Let cool to room temperature.
Set a strainer over a bowl and pour the liquid with lumps through it. You may need to press down the lumps to get rid of an excess liquid. In case your strainer is not fine enough for holding the smaller lumps, simply line a cheese cloth over it and squeeze the liquid like making soy milk. I was making a pretty small amount, so a mini strainer and a measuring cup were used.
The lumps you’ve just collected are now made into cottage cheese. Mine yielded about 5 table spoons.
Note: I reserved the whey and added it into my tomato soup (link updated: 2012.6.2) with tofu, which tasted great too.
Enjoy!
- Category: Diary Product .
- 22 comments
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I found your site on FoodBlogs.com and thought I would stop by to check it out. I just subscribed to your blog feed and can’t wait to see what your next post will be!
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@CJ at Food Stories,
Thanks for advising me how you located my blog, and thanks for your subscription, I appreciate both.
@maddy,
Thanks for your nice reminder. I remember, you once talked to me
beforeabout your love for noodles, and it is good to know you are still with me here. I’m a fan of noodles too, probably I should make myself more efficient in order not to keep you waiting for too long.How lovely! Reminds me of my first batch of homemade cottage cheese. Yes, it tastes quite mild but nice & satisfying. :o)
Hope you’re having a wonderful day.
Kristy
wow! i have never tried homemade cottage cheese.. i love cheese.. yummy!
Very interesting! Love the way you combine healthy meals with traditional HK/chinese food, perhaps a recipe will come for the tomato soup and tofu? 🙂
BTW, I don’t know of the crabmeat XO sauce recipe as it’s my friend’s parents invention. If i ever happen to know, I’ll drop you a msg 😉
this sounds really like magic with just 1 tbsp of rice vinegar. Though i’ve yet to try cottage cheese nor use it in my cooking, i find it really helpful and informative. Thanks!
Oh! This is awesome…homemade cottage cheese…this looks simple enough that I am really tempted to try 🙂
Thanks for the recipe and hope you have a great week ahead!
woah, home-made cheese! and they definitely look superior to the store-bought mass brands.
It sounds easy to make! Milk is a staple in my family. Maybe I can try when I have “leftover” milk next time. Is it limited to only low-fat milk?
@Lucy L,
Sorry for my delayed reply. You read my mind, what I intend to do now is to proof-read a draft on a tomato soup (with whey) one more time and have it posted before I go to bed : ).
For the sauce, yes, only when you happen to know, thanks!
@tigerfish
Yes, making this is pretty straightforward. The recipe I referred to mentioned low-fat milk only.
Have fun and enjoy anyway.
This looks great. Cheese is on my to-make list, but I do agree with you. It is much better to have cheese from fresh milk made by an expert. I did take a cheese making course at a goat farm, but I don’t think I could ever make it at home as well as our local shops. This type of cheese I am definitely willing to try though.
thanks for sharing. this does look great!
Made this last night and it surprised me how much it tasted like mozzarella!
I will use it in my italian spaghetti dish next time and see how good it tastes.
(olive oil, garlic, onion, salami, sundried tomatoes, olives, tomato puree cooked and mixed with spaghetti & mozzarella on top!)
oh, and anchovies too 🙂
@Lucy L,
Thanks! Sounds lovely already.
it’s good cheese, but don’t use it for Budwig Diet to cure disease….no heat over 40 degrees celsius or else the amino acid in the cheese would have no effect !!!
@Henry C,
Right, for those who are interested in the Budwig Diet, they should refer to the link provided above or here. Thanks!
I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This type of clever work and coverage!
Keep up the fantastic works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to blogroll.
If I may ask, 500 ml of milk gave how many grams of cottage cheese ? Cheers.