I made a simple ricotta cheese using lemon juice to curdle the milk. It tastes delicious! I absolutely love the slight lemon flavor to the cheese, and we put in fresh organic herbs that really enhance the natural flavors. Even the baby likes it! We've been eating it on garlic crackers but I'll often eat it plain too... something I never like to do with ordinary cheese.
I feel very old fashioned, heating milk in a stainless steel pot on the stove, checking the temperature with a candy thermometer, straining out the curds with cheesecloth-lined colanders, chopping up fresh herbs to put into the cheese.
And, of course, hauling the whey off to the barn for the dog to eagerly snarf down. :) Whey is actually very nutritious, so I might try using it in bread making and other things. The cats aren't too keen on it (probably because of the lemon taste) but Halo (our Great Pyranese/German Shepherd mix) loves it.
I'm a big fan of sweet whey too!! Like yogurt, it helps increase the beneficial bacterial flora in one's intestines. I buy the powdered form and add it to smoothies (I'm drinking one as I type).
ReplyDeleteAs to cheese, my favorite is feta which is made from sheep's and goat milk.
It's good that you're learning these valuable skills now. I bet they will come in handy when our country finally collapses and most of us are left to our own devices. :P