Cheese!

In an even more exciting development, Emily, friend, adventuress and erstwhile travelling companion, took my yoghurt experiment one step further and made CHEESE! Yes, paneer, which I like greatly in curries, and I had a crack at it this evening:

Heat some milk to almost boiling for a good ten minutes. I used whole milk, and it was slightly on the turn, so began after this time naturally to separate into curds and whey. Apparently, this isn’t usual, so you should add some white vinegar (or lemon juice, I suppose). I didn’t have any so I put in a few drops of balsamic. This causes the curds to separate (they look like white fluffy grains floating in the liquid whey).

Pour the mixture through a cheesecloth or muslin and collect the whey (to use in other recipes) underneath. Tie the bag and leave it to drain for a couple of hours. If you’ve enough mix, the weight of it should naturally press it into a solidish cheese- I only used a pint so it’s slightly bitty.

That’s it! Cheese! Tomorrow I shall make a curry.

I also made whey biscuits with some of the whey- they have a pleasant, cheesy flavour. I’ve saved the rest to make macaroni or some such tomorrow.

YUM!