Tea Time with Jo | Homemade Cottage Cheese Recipe

Ingredients:

-1/2 gallon (64oz) of low temp/vat pasteurized, Non-homogenized whole milk (I like Kalona Super Natural)

-3 oz of white vinegar or lemon juice

-1/2 tsp of salt, or to taste

-low vat pasteurized whipping cream (optional)

Materials:

-Large heavy bottomed pot 

-Strainer

-Cheesecloth or flour sack towel

-Large bowl for straining the whey

-Small bowl for storing your cottage cheese

Steps:

-Scoop the cream out of the milk and set it aside along with 1/2 cup of milk. 

-Gently warm the milk on the stove until it is steaming and forming little bubbles around the edges. Super important to heat the milk slowly and to stir it frequently to avoid it sticking to the bottom. If you prefer to use a thermometer, heat the milk until it is at least 120ºF but less than 190ºF. 

-Once milk is steaming, turn off the heat, pour in the vinegar and stir it in quickly. You will start to see curdles form instantly. 

-After a couple of stirs to distribute the vinegar, place a lid on the pot and let it sit for 30min. 

-While the curds are forming, place cheesecloth over a strainer and place it over a bowl large enough to hold the liquid whey. You can also add the salt to your reserved milk and stir to dissolve.  

-After 30min, strain the curds and whey and allow to sit for 5-10min to continue to drain naturally. No need to squeeze all the liquid out as this will result in very dry curds. 

-After straining, gently transfer the curds to a small bowl. Stir in the reserved cream and salted milk. Enjoy!

Notes: You can easily double this recipe if you have a full gallon of milk that you would like to use. If your milk doesn’t have cream on top, you can simply stir in some whipping cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, at the end. Add as much as you’d like for your desired texture. You can also adjust the salt to your taste by not dissolving it in the milk and just adding it at the end. This homemade cottage cheese will stay fresh in your fridge for 5 days. The whey can be stored in the fridge for at least 6 months. Use it in place of water in your baking recipes. Use it to boil pasta or to  ferment/cook rice, oats, beans or quinoa. The whey still contains natural enzymes and protein (it's what whey protein powders are made from).

If you want to see pictures of the process, check out my IG post here. 

Cottage cheese has been making the rounds on social media as a healthy, protein packed snack. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find low temp/vat pasteurized cottage cheese in my area. If you don’t know why it is best to consume low temp pasteurized dairy products, you may want to check out this blog post. 

I did some research and decided to try to make it myself and it was surprisingly easy and so delicious! I hope you will give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. Enjoy!