Homemade Cottage Cheese
Homemade Cottage Cheese is so easy to make using only two natural ingredients! This recipe takes a few days to coagulate milk for processing the milk into cheese, but the result is fantastic! You’ll get a good amount of cottage cheese that is fresh, delicious, healthy, and flavorful!
Ingredients
- 1 gallon or 4 liters milk, 1%, 2% and 3.2% will work
- 2 cups or 470 ml buttermilk
Instructions
- In a large pot (stainless steel or enameled cast iron) whisk together 1 gallon of milk and 2 cups of buttermilk.
- Cover and let it rest on the countertop to ferment the milk for about 20- 24 hours. The curd will be soft and thick like the texture of Greek yogurt.
- Optional: If you plan to make cottage cheese on a regular basis, you don’t need to buy buttermilk all the time. Instead, you can use this curd to make your next batch. Set aside 2 cups of the curd and store in an airtight glass container or jar in a refrigerator for up to 10 days. Next time you’re making cottage cheese, use this starter as an alternative to buttermilk. This method with curd starter is good for about 4-batches of cottage cheese. Then you need to use buttermilk again and repeat in the circle.
- Place the pot with the curd on the stove and heat on very low heat for 30-40 minutes, gently stirring with a wooden spoon one or two times. The cheese will separate from the whey. Continue to cook until it’s hot or the temperature reaches 150˚F – 170˚F (65˚C – 76˚C). Don’t boil it!
- Place a large colander or fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Line the colander with a few layers of cheesecloth. Using another small fine mesh strainer or large spoon, transfer all the cheese curds from the pot to the strainer. You can keep the whey (yellowish liquid) and use it instead of water for making bread or just drink it!
- Fold over the cheesecloth to cover the cheese, place a small plate on top, and put on a can or any weight to press the cheese down. Leave it to drain for about 60 minutes and up to 2 hours.
- Unwrap the cheese and enjoy! Store leftover cottage cheese in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
Notes
How Many Calories in Cottage Cheese?
| Calories (per 1 serve, 135g): 66 kcal | Calories (per 100g ): 98 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat: 5.8 g | Fat: 4.3 g |
| Carbohydrates: 4.6 g | Carbohydrates: 3.4 g |
| Protein: 14.9 g | Protein: 11.0 g |