Well what in the heck in "fusion" cheese? Quite frankly, I'm not too sure, but it's what I'm branding my homemade cheese recipe. I came up with this name because the way this cheese turned out looks like mozzarella, but tastes like a combination of ricotta, cream cheese, and cottage cheese. So here we are with my homemade fusion cheese experiment. I will say...whatever you wanna call it - it was still delicious!
I personally could eat cheese with everything, but I'm specifically posting this recipe in February because Valentine's Day is around the corner and the work that goes into making this cheese is a true labor of love. So if you plan on making something special for your holiday, this is a great way to demonstrate your commitment and love through your food.
This recipe pairs with my Homemade Pasta Noodle recipe to craft your own Made From the Heart Lasagna. But of course, the cheese can be eaten alone and/or used as an ingredient in other recipes too.
Ingredients
The main ingredients for making cheese:
- Milk
- Distilled White Vinegar
- Salt (optional)
*See recipe card for quantities*
Instructions
Here's what the process will look like!
Combine milk and vinegar in large stove pot on medium heat. Remove from stove and let sit until milk starts curd-ding.
Transfer the curd chunks into your cheese cloth over a strainer and large mixing bowl.
Drain the cheese by gently squeezing the cheese cloth pouch in a circular shape.
Divide the cheese into 3 sections then rolling them into balls. Submerge in cold water for 5 minutes then remove and refrigerate.
Hint: let the cheese sit in the cheese cloth over strainer and large mixing bowl for 30 minutes after squeezing it yourself. This will let gravity do the work of draining any remaining liquid you didn't squeeze out.
Substitutions
- Low Fat Cheese - Making low-fat milk (1% or 2%) cheese follows a similar process to regular cheese, but the lower fat content may result in a slightly different texture and flavor. The recipe steps are still the same except for step 1, which will require you to heat the milk longer than standard whole milk. For the initial heating process of low-fat milk , you want to heat the milk to around 185-195°F (85-90°C).
Equipment
Equipment for this recipe is very important, especially since you want to make sure your cheese is getting proper drainage!
- 1 Large Stove Pot
- Food Thermometer
- 2 Large Mixing Bowls
- Cheese Cloth
- Hand Held Strainer
- Slotted Spoon
If you are looking for any of these items, you can find some of my favorites here!
Homemade Cheese Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Large Stove Top Pot
- 1 Food Thermometer
- 2 Large Mixing Bowl
- Cheese Cloth
- Hand Held Strainer
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 gallon whole milk
- 1 cup white distilled vinegar
Instructions
- Grab your large stove top pot and pour the gallon of milk into it. Place on stove and boil until your food thermometer measures 110℉.
- Then turn off stove heat and slowly pour in your cup of vinegar. You want to pour it in bit by bit while stirring into your heated milk. You should start to see the liquid curd-ing up.
- Cover your pot and let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, if it still looks milky, add a good splash of some more vinegar, cover, and let it sit another 5 minutes or so.
- At this point, you should see a separation of the curd and liquid (which will look kinda like dirty water).
- Grab your large mixing bowl, hand held strainer, and cheese cloth. You want to put the cheese cloth over your strainer to catch the cheese chunks, and the strainer over your large mixing bowl to catch the water.
- Using your slotted spoon, scoop the cheese chunks from your large stove pot and place in the cheese cloth.
- Once you've transferred all the cheese chunks your spoon can capture from the stove pot, engulf your cheese with the cheese cloth, lift, and give a little squeeze to get all remaining liquid out of the cheese. Remember - this should still be done over your strainer and large mixing bowl.
- Keep your cheese in the cheese cloth and place to rest in your strainer over the mixing bowl. Let sit and let gravity do additional draining for another 30 minutes.
- Next, remove the cheese cloth and divide the cheese blob into 3 equal parts. Take each part and roll into balls (I made three cheese balls for reference).
- In a new large mixing bowl, fill with ice water. Take each ball and submerge it in the cold water for 5 minutes.
- After they've formed their exterior, I sprinkled some salt to the surface for flavor.
- Place in fridge for a few minutes to harden some more. Then place in airtight container for storage.
- You now officially have homemade cheese!
Video
Storage
Remember that cheese is best stored in a cool, humid environment with good airflow, like a dedicated cheese drawer in your refrigerator. Avoid storing cheese near strong-smelling foods as it can absorb odors.
- Wrap in wax paper, plastic wrap, or parchment paper.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Use within 1-2 weeks for the best quality.
Suzann Alsager
Why did my cheese end up curly looking; taste is spot on?
lilyloutay
There are a couple reasons why: 1) You didn't strain enough 2) your milk was too hot
Were either of these possible issues for you?
debra Taylor
Made butter, your cheese, canned seven quarts carrots, seven quarts sweet potato, two dozen pumpkin walnut chocolate chip cookies and four pounds of beans a wate I for me tomorrow. Girl you inspire me. I want to look like you and just move on next door so we can do this together. Thank you for you spirit. You are real and I just love you attitude. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you share with us all. 💜