Farmer's Cheese Recipe

4.89 from 9 votes

Homemade Farmer's Cheese – Whether you refer to it as farmer cheese or cottage cheese, making this recipe is both simple and cost-effective. Follow the steps, and you'll have delicious homemade cheese ready for your cherished recipes.

Cook Time10

Additional Time15

Total Time25

Course: How To's

Cuisine: Other Cuisines

Servings: servings

Calories: 380kcal

Author: Gabriela

Equipment

Instant Read Digital Cooking, Candy Thermometer
4-Quart Saucepan with Cover
White Vinegar
Organic Whole Milk
Cheesecloth
Fine Mesh Strainer

Ingredients

1 gallon whole milk
¼ cup white vinegar or lemon juice

Instructions

In a large pot, heat the milk to about 185-190F/85-87C. Use a thermometer if you have, otherwise, the milk should be heated close to the boiling point.
Remove it from the heat and add the vinegar or the lemon juice.
Stir the milk slowly in a circular motion.
If the milk has already started to cool and the curds still did not separate from the whey, return it back on the stove and reheat for another few minutes. That should do the trick.
Put a cheesecloth or a tea towel over a strainer and set it over a large mixing bowl. Scoop out the curds with a slotted spoon and transfer them to the cheesecloth.
Tie the cheesecloth up using the corners and weigh it down to drain.
Move it to the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight.
Remove the cheesecloth and add a little bit of salt to your taste.
The cheese is ready to be used for your favorite recipes.
Do not throw away the whey! You can use it to make a delicious whey bread with it. (see article)

Notes

I do not recommend using ultra-pasteurized milk for cheesemaking because the curd will not set. Ultra-pasteurized milk is not always labeled as such, but you can tell because the expiration date is very long. Regular pasteurized milk, however, works fine for cheesemaking.

You can use any kind of milk you like, 2%, 1% etc. However, when you use whole milk, you will get a bigger yield of cheese and the texture will be creamier. You will get a lot more farmer cheese from a gallon of whole milk than you will from a gallon of skim milk.

From 1 gallon whole milk, you should obtain about 2 cups of farmer cheese.

Nutrition