Cottage cheese

[Pointedstick]

I love cottage cheese but find it to be very expensive, especially in the quantities in which I want to eat it. Anyone have a line on a good source of bulk cottage cheese or an easy way to make it yourself in bulk?

[Mark Leavy]

Oh PS... you are in for a treat.

Given your disposition - you definitely need to make your own.
But forget cottage cheese.  Look up some recipes for young mozzarella or ricotta.  Easy, cheap.  Over the top delicious.  All of those uncured cheeses are to die for - and can be made in a couple of hours.  The homemade stuff is so delicious and simple you will wonder what the factories do to make it taste so bad.

I had a girlfriend that was seriously into making cheeses.  Boy, I miss that ricotta...

... and crème fraîche and mascarpone ...

[WiseOne]

Making ricotta cheese is ridiculously easy, and you might find it a good substitute for cottage cheese.  There are online recipes, but all you have to do is pour milk (don't use ultra-pasteurized) into a mason jar, warm it up (I use the microwave), and then slowly dribble in fresh lemon juice or distilled white vinegar until it starts to break up into curds.  Let it sit for a while, then strain it. Put the whey back in the fridge, it's a refreshing drink that tastes a bit like coconut water.  The cheese can be used right away.

I also like making kefir, which is equally easy:  warm up the milk in the mason jar, add starter (either purchased or some of your last kefir batch), mix well, and let it sit on the counter for several hours (usually all day).  When it's thick enough, put the jar in the fridge.  Technically you're supposed to heat to 180 degrees and hold it there for several minutes to pasteurize it, but I'm too lazy and have not found that to be really necessary.

Yogurt cheese is nice too.  If you use the above method to make yogurt, let it stand longer, at least overnight, then pour into a strainer and let it sit there for a while.  Some liquid drips out, and the yogurt becomes thick and spreadable.

[dualstow]

I'm going to have to try those recipes.

I've only made clabbered milk, which is just milk in an airtight container (and with no room left for air inside) left to ferment for a few days. I learned it from a book called 'The Art of Fermentation' which is a big overpriced hardcover. Came out good, though. I used raw goat milk.

[Pointedstick]

Nice, I gotta try some of these out.

[WiseOne]

I'm going to have to try those recipes.

I've only made clabbered milk, which is just milk in an airtight container (and with no room left for air inside) left to ferment for a few days. I learned it from a book called 'The Art of Fermentation' which is a big overpriced hardcover. Came out good, though. I used raw goat milk.

What's clabbered milk?  Sounds interesting!

[dualstow]

Just what you see described above. You have to use unpasteurized milk. No heating required.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clabber_(food)

I'd rather have cheese, though. Can't wait to try it.

[Pointedstick]

Do you have to use unpasteurized milk for all of these? Or is it just better?

[MilfordTony]

Thanks WiseOne! Will try your cheese recipes this weekend.

[MachineGhost]

I love cottage cheese but find it to be very expensive, especially in the quantities in which I want to eat it. Anyone have a line on a good source of bulk cottage cheese or an easy way to make it yourself in bulk?

How did you miss this the first time?  http://www.restaurantdepot.com/

[MachineGhost]

I also like making kefir, which is equally easy:  warm up the milk in the mason jar, add starter (either purchased or some of your last kefir batch), mix well, and let it sit on the counter for several hours (usually all day).  When it's thick enough, put the jar in the fridge.  Technically you're supposed to heat to 180 degrees and hold it there for several minutes to pasteurize it, but I'm too lazy and have not found that to be really necessary.

No, its 161F for 15 seconds.  You can also thermerize at 144-149F for 15 seconds but this just kills off most of the bugs that survive the cold down to 6F (so only really useful for raw milk).  But neither make any sense when applied to kefir because all of the bugs IS the benefit.

At 170F milk proteins become silky feeling which is why thats the target for lattes (you take it out at 165F and it continues to rise).  Milk becomes scorched past 170F.

[MachineGhost]

Do you have to use unpasteurized milk for all of these? Or is it just better?

There's no point in using unpasteurized milk for this stuff other than maybe the kefir if you want maximum benefit.  Or if you have sensitivity.  It may not even work because there'll be too much competition from the wrong bugs.