Glazed curds, vanilla, with raisins, fat-free, chocolate-flavored - many varieties of these dairy products can be found in a modern supermarket. But why spend the family budget on something that you can cook yourself at home, without making much effort?
How often do many of us buy curds or curds for ourselves and our children in stores. All this is eaten in an instant, but the most useful product - natural cottage cheese purchased from a neighbor's grandmother, homemade, without any additives and dyes, can lie in the refrigerator for a very long time, without arousing any interest in the family. Either it is lumpy, or too sour or dry, something is wrong all the time. Especially when it comes to children who are almost impossible to feed with a real fermented milk product, then having tried to cook cottage cheese from frozen kefir at least once, this recipe will be a win-win option to satisfy the little one.
Frozen kefir curd recipe
Cooking cottage cheese from frozen kefir does not require any special culinary skills from the hostess and does not take much time, which, in the modern rhythm of life, is not enough even to cook a healthy breakfast. You only need one product and some kitchen attributes:
- regular kefir, preferably with a higher percentage of fat, for example 3, 2%;
- a simple kitchen colander with not very small and sparse holes;
- a deep cup, the volume of which depends on how much product is planned to be obtained in the end - that is, if you need 1000 grams of cottage cheese, then you need to take at least 2 liters of kefir (the yield of the product is half a portion of cottage cheese from 1 portion of kefir, deviations depend on the fat content of kefir)
- wide piece of gauze;
- freezer.
By the way, it would be better to use homemade kefir, but you can also buy it in the nearest grocery store, the main thing is that the shelf life of the product does not exceed an average of one week, such kefir can be considered with "live" bacteria.
Step-by-step cooking:
- Put the purchased kefir in the freezer for a while. Kefir spent in the freezer for 10 - 12 hours is considered an ideal option, that is, you can send a fermented milk product to the freezer before going to bed, and continue cooking in the morning.
- After the specified time, first prepare a place <> of kefir in cottage cheese, placing a colander in a deep cup and covering it with gauze folded in 3 - 4 layers.
- Take out the frozen kefir, release from the packaging and put on cheesecloth. Leave on the kitchen counter for a few hours (not in the refrigerator!)
- When all the whey drains into the pan, then the long-awaited soft cottage cheese will remain in the colander, which must be transferred to a clean plate, and the rest of the cottage cheese squeezed through cheesecloth, collecting it into a knot with your hands and pressing from top to bottom.
The finished cottage cheese will look like in the photo - a light and delicate cream without a single lump.
Advice: if you are impatient to try the finished product, but you don’t want to wait at all, then it is not recommended to heat the frozen mass on fire, otherwise nothing will work, it’s better to just put it in a warmer place.
The benefits of cottage cheese
The resulting cottage cheese will not be too fatty, its calorie content is about 130 - 150 kcal, so such a product is indisputably suitable for people who follow a diet that excludes the consumption of high-calorie foods. In addition, cottage cheese from frozen kefir does not undergo any additional heat treatment, does not contain preservatives, dyes and flavors - only freezing, and according to scientists, after defrosting such products have the effect of melt water for some time, which is of particular value for our body. In addition, like any other cottage cheese, the resulting delicate cream - the cottage cheese has a high protein content, which all athletes chase so much, but in comparison with their equivalent colleagues in protein concentration - legumes, they do not cause heartburn. Also, the fermented milk product contains the necessary set of minerals and vitamins required by our body every day, coarse fibers that help improve digestion, as well as a very important element for nourishing the skeletal system - calcium, thanks to which teeth, nails and hair become stronger.
What can be prepared from the resulting products
So, from frozen kefir we got as many as two useful products - whey and cottage cheese. Whey can be used in pancakes or classic pancakes, and can also be used as a dressing for okroshka. Well, with cottage cheese there is no limit to creativity and imagination. You can simply add fruits whipped in a blender, sugar, honey, various syrups to the curd cream - whoever likes what is more. Even an avid gourmet will appreciate such desserts. But you can cook something more complicated, for example <> casserole. For her you will need:
- soft cottage cheese - 500 grams;
- sour cream - 2 tablespoons;
- semolina - 4 tablespoons;
- egg - 1 piece;
- sugar - 0.5 cups, you can replace it with honey or just add dried fruits to the casserole - they have enough sugar;
- baking powder - 1 sachet;
- dried fruits or pieces of fresh fruit or berries - it all depends on individual preferences, you can just put a little vanilla;
- cinnamon powder or chocolate.
Add sour cream, egg beaten with a pinch of salt and semolina to the curd. The mixture must be allowed to stand for a while so that the semolina swells well. During this time, prepare the rest of the ingredients: if these are fruits, then they must be finely chopped or pitted, if the berries, then simply wash and dry, well, and pour the dried fruits with boiling water and let it brew, then rinse well under running water. Mix the baking powder, sweetener and fruits with the present curd mass and send to the preheated oven. Leave the casserole for 40-50 minutes. When the dessert is ready, sprinkle the surface with cinnamon or grated chocolate. Sprinkle the chocolate on a hot casserole so that it can melt.
