Despite the abundance of dairy products in stores, homemade cottage cheese is not becoming less popular. Self-made food can taste incredibly delicate, and it certainly does not contain harmful additives. Fresh homemade cottage cheese is an essential protein for the body, a large amount of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals. A yogurt maker will help the hostess to make a valuable and tasty product.
How to ferment milk in a yogurt maker
To make homemade cottage cheese, you first need to ferment the milk. The best, thickest curdled milk is obtained from a whole country product. Purchase it from a farmer or in the marketplace from a reputable supplier. As a last resort, you can use pasteurized milk in bags. Pour it into a pan made of food-grade metal and heat to 35-40 ° C, but never let it boil.
After that, you need to put sourdough in warm milk. You can use pharmacy calcium chloride (at the rate of 5 ml per glass) or a special bacterial starter culture, for example VIVO (1 bottle for 1-3 liters). When using a commercially available product, please read the instructions for use carefully. Warmed fermented baked milk, sour cream or warm natural yogurt without fruit additives (0.5 cups per 1 liter) will also work as a homemade starter culture.
If you are not sure about the quality of the village milk, first boil it, then cool to 35-40 ° C. After that, it can be used to make curd.
Stir the milk well and pour it into the containers of the yogurt maker. Close all filled containers, place them in the appliance and close the lid. Turn on the yogurt maker for 4 hours, then let it stand with the containers inside the already turned off 4-5 hours. After this time, open the lid and tilt the appliance a little - this will help you make sure that the contents of the cups have thickened.
Cottage cheese in a yogurt maker: the final stage of cooking
After fermenting the milk, you must separate the curd flakes from the whey. To do this, pour the yogurt into a saucepan and heat it in a water bath to about 60-70 ° C (do not boil!). You can put the containers themselves in hot water, if that's convenient. In the process of heating the fermented milk product, stir it at least two to three times.
Place a saucepan (or containers) with warmed fermented milk in very cold water to cool quickly. If you've done everything right, the whey should separate quickly from the curd flakes. Place a strainer or colander in a large saucepan, spread two layers of clean cheesecloth and strain the curdled milk. When the main liquid drains, you will have a delicate curd.
If you wish, you can add berries, fruit slices, jam, puree or other flavorings to your homemade cottage cheese. However, this must be done immediately before using the product.
For a grainy product, form a gauze bag and hang it over the container to drain the whey completely. You can freeze the finished delicacy for future use, but nutritionists only allow it to be stored in the refrigerator compartment for two days.
