Among fermented milk products, the most delicious and most nutritious is cottage cheese.
And if there are children in your house, then cottage cheese should always be in your refrigerator. This product is also useful for dietary purposes and for people with health problems.
It contains proteins and fats, as well as mineral elements such as:
- Iron
- Calcium
- Phosphorus
- Magnesium
And since the above substances that the body receives from food have a beneficial effect on all vital functions as a whole, such a product should be included in the diet regularly.
This homemade cottage cheese can, without a doubt, be added to children’s meals. Every mother makes sure that her child receives the best, his food is natural and nutritious, so homemade fermented milk product the choice of the best mothers.
Even an inexperienced housewife can prepare cottage cheese at home. There are many cooking options. The choice will depend on what product you want to get, whether you want a thicker curd or, conversely, a more dietary one. You can also independently adjust the consistency of the finished dish, making it, for example, more crumbly or soft.
Homemade milk with good fat content- the main component of delicious cottage cheese. After cooking, waste remains in the form of whey, which, if desired, can also be used in cooking. This whey is natural and healthy; it can be added to dough or used in okroshka.
How to choose the right main ingredient and what are the conditions for making yogurt? We will talk about this in detail in this article.
Preparing cottage cheese is a long process, but in fact, at each stage you will need to do a few manipulations, which will take little time. The rest of the cooking process will be done for you by lactic acid bacteria.
You can use any milk to make homemade cottage cheese. It can be homemade or store-bought pasteurized. The main condition for the ingredient used:
- Increased fat content. If this is store-bought milk, then the fat content should be at least 3.2%.
- Milk cannot contain preservatives or antibiotics, so purchased milk should have the shortest shelf life;
- Milk must be of high quality and fresh.
Cottage cheese can be made from absolutely any milk. You can curd an excellent product from pasteurized milk and even from lactose-free milk. And if this is village milk that was used by the separator, then cottage cheese can also be made from the so-called waste. The main condition is that the product is fresh and of high quality.
From 1 liter of milk you can get a maximum of 300 grams of finished cottage cheese.
How milk sours
The process of making curdled milk is quite simple. At the very beginning, the milk should sour well. The result should be curdled milk. There are many ways, for example you can:
If you decide to use the standard method - keep it warm, then you can do it in the following way: put a can of milk in a warm place, for example, near a radiator and leave it there for about a day. To make the process happen faster, you can put a crust of black bread in the jar.
Important! The milk must not be stirred during the entire fermentation period. When thick lumps and bubbles appear in the jar, the mixture is ready. At the end of ripening, the yogurt will look like jelly. To check the yogurt for readiness, stick a spoon into it; if the ingredient is ready, it will be a thick mass.
If the milk was bought in a store, the curdled milk will rise closer to the surface, and the whey will be at the bottom.
Make sure that the yogurt does not sit for too long, otherwise it will ferment and the finished curd product will turn out sour.
How to make homemade cottage cheese for a child
It’s easy to make cottage cheese from milk for a child; you don’t even need to ferment the milk.
Take milk and kefir. You can take any quantity, depending on the desired amount of cottage cheese. The main thing is that there is two times less kefir than milk.
The milk must be poured into a saucepan and brought to a boil. Pour kefir into the heated liquid and boil over low heat for 10 minutes. As soon as the milk has curdled, the resulting mass should be poured into cheesecloth and allowed to drain well. What happened inside the gauze is ready-made cottage cheese for the baby.
If desired, you can add fruits or berries and beat it with a blender. You can also add yogurt or sugar. Using this cottage cheese, you can bake cottage cheese or casserole. All these dishes will be incredibly tasty and will only benefit your child.
Classic homemade cottage cheese recipe
We will need 3 liters of milk. Approximately 1–3 days will be spent on souring.
After you have decided on the choice of milk, taking into account all the recommendations and brought it home, you need to pour it into a clean jar or directly into a saucepan for further ripening. The dishes can be enameled or stainless steel.
Afterwards, the curdled milk is heated, as a result of which the fermented milk breaks down into two components, one of which is cottage cheese.
So, put the pan on the stove, but do not wait for it to boil. When the white flakes separate from the whey, remove the pan from the heat.
Next, take a colander and put clean gauze in it, folded several times and drain the entire mass. When all the whey has drained, the finished curd mass will remain in the gauze. Such cottage cheese will be tender, with a layer.
If you want crumbly cottage cheese, then you need to leave the mixture in gauze to drain for a longer time, for example, overnight.
Three liters of milk will ultimately yield about 600-800 grams of fermented milk product.
Recipe for cottage cheese in a water bath
We have already discussed how to make curdled milk from milk. Therefore, for this recipe you need take ready-made yogurt, made in any way you like and put in a pan.
Next, you need to take a pan that will fit the container with yogurt, and pour water into it. But this must be done so that the water does not come into contact with the bottom of the smaller pan. We put the finished structure of two pans on the fire and bring the water to a boil. After a few minutes, the whey will begin to separate.
You can turn up the heat a little, but watch so that the curdled milk does not boil. It is necessary to wait until curd clumps appear and sink to the bottom of the pan.
The thermal exposure process is complete and you can remove the pan from the heat and let the resulting liquid cool.
Making cottage cheese with kefir
If there is no milk in your refrigerator, and you don’t want to go far to the store, but you have a pack of kefir, then you can also make a delicious curd product from it.
Kefir should be:
- Fresh.
- Thick as yogurt.
So, after pouring 1 liter of kefir into the desired container, place it in a water bath. On medium heat, or even less, keep the liquid for about 30 minutes. Next, cover and let cool.
The cottage cheese is ready. The pumping procedure is the same, through gauze or a sieve.
Method for preparing low-fat homemade cottage cheese
This recipe is suitable for dietary nutrition, breakfast with low-fat homemade cottage cheese will be healthy and will not harm your figure.
For such cottage cheese, the milk must also be low-fat. Milk with 1% fat content can be bought in the store. You can buy homemade or store-bought milk with a fat content of 3.2% and skim off the cream several times during the settling process.
To ferment such milk, you need to put 2 tablespoons of low-fat kefir into a liter of raw materials used. This will speed up the fermentation process significantly.
From 1 liter of curdled milk you will get approximately 250 grams of cottage cheese.
The finished low-fat cottage cheese will not be as loose as regular cottage cheese, but it retains all the beneficial properties of this fermented milk product.
Making cottage cheese from milk at home is not difficult and anyone can do it. The main thing is desire, free time and a recipe that will be followed exactly. Without a doubt, it is easier and faster to purchase a finished product, but it is difficult to predict in advance whether it will be beneficial and whether it will be tasty. You prepare homemade cottage cheese from obviously fresh and high-quality ingredients, and, therefore, the result will please you in any case. Homemade cottage cheese – healthy and nutritious. This product is suitable for feeding the most demanding consumers: for children, the elderly, and for those who watch their figure.
It is useful for health-conscious people to know how to make cottage cheese from milk at home. By making a homemade product, you can be sure that there are no harmful additives. There are so many recipes for making cottage cheese from milk with step-by-step descriptions of preparation.
Homemade cottage cheese can be made from cow's or goat's milk. Store-bought milk is also suitable for these purposes.
Features of pasteurized milk product:
- During pasteurization, 60-80 percent of vitamins are lost.
- From 1 liter of pasteurized product no more than 200 g of cottage cheese is obtained.
- The final product is non-greasy and has a soft consistency (no grains). Suitable for baking and dietary nutrition.
- The main store-bought ingredient is much more expensive.
It is not allowed to use milk with a long shelf life due to the addition of antibiotics to it.
Pros and cons of cottage cheese from a homemade product:
- Contains a large amount of calcium and vitamins.
- From 1 liter you get 250-300 g of cottage cheese and cream. The whey is suitable for okroshka.
- The resulting cottage cheese is greasy, with a yellowish tint. Grainy.
- Low costs.
In order to make cottage cheese from milk, you should prepare the main ingredient:
- Boil - bring to a boil.
- Make curdled milk from milk by adding breadcrumbs, citric acid, sour cream or calcium chloride. At this stage, it is important to remember that the desired effect cannot be achieved in the heat or in the refrigerator. Milk should be kept warm and not in the open sun.
- For pasteurized, you need a liquid starter: kefir, sour cream, fermented baked milk. Simply add the indicated products to the heated milk.
Crockery and equipment
It is advisable to use glass jars or clay jugs as utensils for creating homemade cottage cheese. They are not covered with a lid. Air circulation is important for the fermentation process. It is recommended to cover the top of the jar with a cloth.
The use of metal utensils is not allowed. During fermentation, an oxidative reaction will occur and the taste of the final product will deteriorate.
When boiling milk, choose an enamel container that exceeds the volume of the liquid being poured - for 3 liters. milk 5 liter pan. This is due to the rise of the boiling product. It is recommended to choose a wooden spoon for stirring to avoid a chemical reaction.
Cooking technique
The techniques for making cottage cheese from fresh milk differ from each other in the way the product is heated and cooked.
In a slow cooker
- The multicooker is set to the “frying” mode, in which the milk is heated. Bring to a boil, but do not boil.
- Lemon juice is added in portions. The liquid coagulates.
- Use gauze to remove excess whey. What remains is cottage cheese.
In the microwave
- The main ingredient is poured into the baking container.
- The microwave is turned on at 400 W.
- The timer is set for 10 minutes.
- Cool the resulting mass and filter through cheesecloth.
Do not squeeze due to possible dryness of the final product.
In the oven
- The oven is heated to 150 degrees.
- Place the milk in an enamel pan, add a spoonful of sour cream, and put it in the oven for 45 minutes.
- Cool, drain the whey.
On the stove
- The minimum fire on which the dishes are placed is set.
- The liquid coagulates with regular stirring.
- Turn off the heat, allow to cool, drain the whey, filter and squeeze out the finished product.
Lemon milk recipe
Lemon milk curd can be prepared using the following ingredients:
- 1 l. milk,
- juice of 0.5 lemon.
Cooking method:
- Bring the milk to a boil, reduce the gas to a minimum.
- Add lemon juice, constantly stirring the curdled mass.
- When the curd is separated, drain the excess whey through a sieve and squeeze out.
Recipe with calcium chloride
You can also make cottage cheese from milk with calcium chloride.
For this we need:
- 1 l. milk,
- 2 tbsp. spoons of liquid calcium chloride.
Preparation:
- Heat the milk.
- Add calcium chloride and stir constantly.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, drain the whey through cheesecloth.
- Cool the product and squeeze out excess liquid.
You can use calcium lactate tablets, which can be purchased at the pharmacy. Ratio: 10 tablets per 1 liter. milk.
Experienced housewives try several cooking methods and choose the most suitable one for them, based on the taste of the final product. Homemade cottage cheese is suitable for baby and diet food.
But this is often achieved through the use of preservatives, thickeners, vegetable fats and flavorings. Ancient recipes for homemade cottage cheese are in demand among adherents of proper nutrition. And not by chance! The fermented milk product contains vitamins B, PP, E and A, as well as minerals and trace elements. You can prepare it yourself using different methods.
The five most commonly used ingredients in recipes are:
It is important to remember the rules: you cannot boil milk, do not use enamel dishes for fermentation, do not keep the fermented product in gauze for a long time, otherwise it will become dry, heat the fermentation liquid only over low heat, use natural milk. Fresh cottage cheese goes well with berries. Strawberries, blueberries, currants or cranberries with delicate curd cream and yogurt sauce are an excellent breakfast for the whole family. For gourmets, professional chefs prepare savory dishes. For example, a casserole with vegetables will be appreciated not only by girls on a diet, but also by men who are actively building muscles.
Cottage cheese is a universal food product, rich in vitamins and microelements. It is eaten as an independent dish, and is also used as an ingredient for delicate casseroles, pies and cookies. You can buy it ready-made or make it yourself. Cottage cheese made from milk at home is no less tasty, and preparing it is not at all difficult. All you need to do is choose the recipe you like and follow it strictly.
To prepare this product you will need 3 liters of fresh cow's milk and the juice of one lemon. Many housewives will be interested in how much cottage cheese is made from 1 liter of milk. Not a lot at all, no more than 150 grams, so the amount of raw materials should be selected taking into account the desired volume of the final product.
How to cook:
- Milk is poured into a tall saucepan and placed over high heat so that the liquid heats up quickly. While heating, it is important to stir the milk with a spoon or slotted spoon so that it does not burn.
- After the first signs of boiling appear, turn the heat to minimum and add lemon juice. Almost immediately you can see the milk begin to curdle.
- The gas is turned off and the resulting composition is sent to a colander, previously covered with gauze.
- The whey is squeezed out, and the resulting curd mass remaining in gauze is placed under a weight.
- After a few hours, when all the whey has drained, the cottage cheese will be ready for use.
Homemade cottage cheese made from milk should be stored in a cool place for no more than 3 days; it can be used as a filling for dumplings or made into casseroles.
Cooking with the addition of kefir
This recipe is based on pasteurized milk and kefir. This cooking method will appeal to busy women who don’t have time to look for real farm products.
The following ingredients will be required:
- 60 ml milk;
- 450 ml kefir;
- 5 g salt.
The preparation is as follows:
- Pour milk into a saucepan, add salt and let it boil over low heat.
- After this, pour in kefir and, as soon as the whey appears, turn off the heat.
- Mix the resulting mass and put it back on the fire. You should wait until large curdled lumps begin to form.
- When this happens, the resulting mass is placed in gauze, squeezed out and placed under a press.
Kefir-based cottage cheese is immediately ready for use.
Goat milk recipe
Goat milk is a healthy and nutritious product that is superior in properties to cow milk.
However, it is more capricious to work with, so it may be difficult for beginners to make cottage cheese from it.
You will need the following ingredients:
- 1 liter of goat milk;
- 10 ml calcium chloride.
The goat milk recipe looks like this:
- Milk is poured into a saucepan, placed over medium heat, allowed to boil and removed from the stove.
- Allow to cool for about 50 minutes, then heat again to a temperature of 85 degrees. Add calcium chloride.
- As soon as the mixture begins to curdle, turn off the heat and let it sit for no more than 15 minutes.
- The mass is folded onto cheesecloth and the serum is allowed to drain.
A tasty and healthy product is ready.
How to make cottage cheese from sour milk
Making cottage cheese from sour milk is a classic option that housewives use most often.
To prepare it you will need:
- 3 liters of sour milk with a fat content of at least 2.5%;
- three glasses of kefir (it should be full-fat).
We prepare homemade cottage cheese from sour milk as follows:
- Pour milk and kefir into a saucepan and place over medium heat, heat to 40 degrees.
- As soon as the whey begins to separate, the curd mass is placed on cheesecloth and the liquid is allowed to drain.
- The finished product is not placed under a press, but suspended in such a way that all the whey is drained in a few hours.
Store this product in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days.
The fastest cooking method
This cottage cheese can be eaten immediately. There is no need to cook the milk mixture for a long time and then keep the resulting mass under pressure. But to prepare it you need to use farm products, which will significantly improve the taste of the finished cottage cheese.
To prepare you will need:
- 200 ml milk (lean milk will not work);
- 50 g sour cream with 30% fat content.
How to cook:
- Milk is poured into a saucepan and brought to a boil over medium heat. Then pour in sour cream.
- The mixture is thoroughly mixed and allowed to boil a second time.
- The curdled mass is placed on cheesecloth or a fine sieve and the whey is allowed to drain.
After a few minutes, the dish can already be served.
Product for children
This cottage cheese can be introduced as complementary food to babies, and can also be given to older children for breakfast.
It is important to use the freshest possible ingredients for its preparation and not to prepare the product for future use.
For children's cottage cheese you only need one ingredient - children's kefir.
It is prepared as follows:
- The required amount of kefir is slowly heated in a water bath.
- As soon as the product begins to coagulate, place it in a colander or cheesecloth and allow the whey to drain.
After the resulting mass has cooled, it can be given to the child immediately.
Homemade cottage cheese made from milk and sour cream
A simple and delicious recipe. To prepare it, you should buy products from farmers in order to fully enjoy the creamy taste of cottage cheese.
In order for a self-prepared product to be not only tasty, but also healthy, you should follow some rules and know some little tricks:
The biggest secret is that cooking cottage cheese takes time. There is no need to make a product in a hurry. You can end up with either an undercooked mass or an inedible rubber-like substance.
- Quality of raw materials. Milk, sour cream, kefir must be of excellent quality; it is best to buy these products from farmers. Then the end result will be a truly tasty and healthy product.
- It is important not to overheat the raw materials during the cooking process. If the temperature is too high, the cottage cheese will take on an unappetizing, lumpy appearance, and the taste will also deteriorate.
- At the same time, the raw material cannot be heated enough. In this case, the whey will not be completely separated from the curd mass, and the product will have the appearance of a clot that you are unlikely to want to eat.
- To separate the curd mass from the whey and drain it further, it is best to use clean gauze. Thanks to its fine mesh structure, it will be possible to squeeze out all excess liquid, and the material itself is natural and does not contain dyes or flavors that could transfer to the final product.
Taking into account all the features described above, every housewife, even the least experienced, can make cottage cheese from milk. There is nothing complicated about preparing it yourself at home. It is only important to strictly adhere to the recipe and cook from high-quality ingredients. Then the homemade product will easily supplant the store-bought one in the daily diet.
Today I want to offer a recipe for making very tender and tasty cottage cheese from fresh milk at home. The yield of finished products depends on the quality of the milk itself, its fat content and density. The higher the density of the milk, the more curd you will get. I prepared cottage cheese from three liters of natural village milk, I got 700 grams. This kind of cottage cheese is not difficult to make, but it turns out healthy, soft and very tasty. By the way, many housewives who prepare cottage cheese for sale do it this way. I recommend!
Ingredients
To make cottage cheese from fresh milk at home you will need:
milk (it is better to take homemade) - 3 liters.
Cooking steps
Place the milk in a warm place, preferably near a stove or oven. Leave until completely sour, do not cover with a lid, you can cover with gauze. “Courtes” will form on the walls of the jar (as in the photo); there is no need to stir. Cover the bottom of a tall pan with gauze or a cloth folded several times so that the jar does not burst when heated. Pour cold water into a saucepan and place a jar of sour milk in it (the water in the saucepan should reach almost to the “shoulder” of the jar).
Line a colander with gauze folded in 2-3 layers, pour out the contents of the jar. Don't forget to place a small saucepan or bowl under the colander into which the whey will drain.
Cottage cheese prepared at home from fresh milk turns out very tasty, soft, and not overcooked. The remaining whey is very useful, especially for the female body, it can be drunk, used to make okroshka, added to dough for bread, pancakes, pies and buns.
