A can of cream of mushroom soup can be a real dinner saver. It works great in casseroles and can turn into a sauce or gravy in a pinch.
Homemade Cream Cheese
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- #46968
Making cream cheese from scratch sounds like a complicated process but it's actually pretty simple. And best of all, it's homemade!
serves/makes:
ready in:
2-5 hrs
2-5 hrs
3 reviews
2 comments
ingredients
1 gallon whole milk
1 quart cultured buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
directions
Combine the milk and buttermilk in a large pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture measures 170 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
Adjust the heat so the temperature stays between 170-175 degrees F. Let the mixture cook for 30 minutes or until the solids and liquid starts to separate (curds and whey).
Line a strainer with several layers of cheesecloth and place the strainer over a large bowl. Spoon the curds from the pan into the lined strainer then pour the remaining liquid over the curds. Let the mixture drain for 2-4 hours at room temperature.
Transfer the drained curds to a blender or food processor. Add the salt and process until smooth and creamy.
Store the cream cheese in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
recipe tips
Don't throw away the whey!
Save the liquid to use in other recipes in place of water or milk. Use it to cook pasta, potatoes, or rice. Use it as a soaking liquid for dried beans. Use it as a substitute for buttermilk.
nutrition data
17 calories, 1 grams fat, 1 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams protein per ounce. This recipe is low in sodium.
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reviews & comments
September 1, 2014
Made this purely to see how it would turn out. I was impressed not only that it made a very usable cheese but it was quite simple. Not as simple as buying some at the grocery store of course but I liked that it was "fresh" and not some prepackaged goo. Hard to say if I'd make it again, maybe if I had a particular need I would. But not just for everyday cream cheese use. Thanks for the recipe though! It was a fun learning process.
Can I use this cheese in an cheesecake?
December 21, 2009
Easy recipe. We made it last night. It produces about the equivalent of 2 cream cheese packets you'd buy in the store, except you have control over the quality of milk used (rbst free, organic etc.). The cost for me was only a little over what i'd spend in the store ($4 for rbst free milk, $2 for the quart of rbst free buttermilk. $3/package of cream cheese homemade, store is about $2). I didn't hang the cheese for the time mentioned, but instead squeezed the liquid out. a tip: KEEP THE WHEY! I squeezed out too much liquid so the cream cheese seemed dry. After a couple of spins around the food processor it was still dry tasting, so I added a little whey and it creamed right up. Plus you can use the leftover whey to make Lacto-fermented coarse ground mustard! Great recipe! I'll be using it again.
You need rennet to make cheese. you can't make any kind of cheese without it!
The cultured buttermilk is all you need for this - for cream cheese you don't need rennet, only an acid. Acidification can come from bacterial fermentation such as in cultured milk.
December 22, 2007
Easy to do, can be flavored with garlic or chili, pesto or even sweetened with lemon. Add flavorings after squeezing dry. Doesn't take very long at all - squeeze and rinse the ball in cold water,then squeeze again. Don't hang it for hours.