Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Fresh Ricotta

Yield: 4 cups
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole pasteurized milk
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt (more if you want a saltier taste and if you are not going to use it for desserts)

Procedure:
Rinse the inside of the pot you intend to use with cold water (this helps prevent the milk from scorching). Place 1 gallon milk in large, heavy non-reactive pot on medium heat. Add salt and stir briefly. Allow milk to heat up slowly, stirring occasionally. Soon you will notice steam start to form above the surface and tiny bubbles appearing on the milk. You want it to reach 180-185 degrees, near scalding temperature, just before it comes to a boil. Check the temperature with your thermometer.
When it reaches the correct temperature, take the pot off the burner, add the vinegar and stir gently for only one minute. Add salt. You will notice curds forming immediately. Cover with a dry clean dish towel and allow the mixture to sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. You can also begin preparing your ricotta in the morning before going to work and let it sit until you come home.
When the ricotta has rested for 2 hours or more, take a piece of cheesecloth, dampen it and place it inside a colander. With a slotted spoon, ladle out the ricotta into the prepared colander. Place the colander with ricotta inside of a larger pan so it can drain freely. Let it drain for two hours or so depending on how creamy or dry you want your cheese to be.
Lift the cheesecloth up by the four corners and twist gently. If the liquid runs clear, squeeze a little more. If the liquid runs milky, there is no more need to squeeze. Place in a tight sealed container. Refrigerate. It will keep for up to 7 days. Ricotta does not freeze well.

Notes
I would advise against the use of low fat or part skim milk in making the ricotta. The flavor comes from the cream in the whole milk. For desserts, add 1 pint heavy whipping cream along with the milk. I use this variation when I am making ricotta for a dessert filling such as cannoli, cassata, or cream puffs. It is richer, creamier, and a bit more decadent.

Cottage Cheese

How To Make Cottage Cheese


Homemade Cottage Cheese Recipe

Things Required:
1 liter milk (either full cream or toned)
½ tsp lemon juice or citric acid
½ cup water
A clean muslin cloth
Directions:
Take a large pan and put milk in it. Place it on medium flame and bring to a boil.
Take a cup of warm water and dissolve the citric acid or lemon juice in it.
Pour this mixture onto the boiling milk and keep stirring.
Lower the flame and continue stirring till the milk gets thickened.
Once the curd chunks start floating in the yellowish whey/milk plasma and gets completely separated, remove the bowl from the heat.
Next, strain or filter the mixture through a clean muslin cloth.
Tie the cloth with the curdled pieces inside it so that it forms a pouch.
Place this tied pouch under tap water for two minutes.
Now, remove the excess water and hang the cloth for about 20 minutes, so that the whey is completely drained out.
Take a heavy object and place it on top of the pouch, to form a slab.
Finally, take out the slab and cut small cubes out of it or simply scrape it into thick pieces.
Refrigerate

Hard Cheese

Step 1.....Use 1 gallon fresh or morning milk or 1 gallon milk from evening before
Step 2.....Warm to 86 degree
Step 3.....Add color, using 1/8 tablet per gal. Dissolve in 2 tbs water
Step 4.....Add rennant solution to warm milk (never mix cheese color into rennant solution)
Step 5.....Let set for 30-40 min testing for firmness of surd (Keep away from draft)
Step 6.....Cut vertically with a long knife -- then cut at another angle
Step 7.....Stir with hands to break up curds
Step 8.....Warm to 102 degrees very slowly.Stir occasionally
Step 9.....Leave in the whey for about one hour. Stir occasionally
Step 10...Pour into cheese cloth and let whey run off
Step 11...Add salt -- 1 Tbs per gallon, put 1 tbs at a time while stirring
Step 12...Form into ball in cloth and hang for 1/2 to 3/4 hour

Mexican Cheese

2 gallons fresh milk
1/4 rennant cheese tablet dissolved in
1/4 cup cold water
2 tbs salt

Heat milk to luke warm (75-90). Remove from heat and add dissolved rennant. Stir and leave to curdle, about 1 hour.

Break up curds and let separate from whey - pour off whey. Press off more whey. Salt the curds and press again. Don't throw away the whey, it's good to cook with.

Cheese

I have never made cheese, but have gotten this information from my Granny and saved it, thinking that someday I might need it.


There are many varieties of cheese, depending up the type of milk used, the method of making curds, the methods of ripening and the seasonings used.

Whether a cheese is designated as soft or hard is determined to a large extent by the amount of water it contains. Soft cheese contains approximately 50 to 75 percent water. Hard cheese usually 25-30 percent.

Most cheese stores well. How long it will keep depends on the kind of cheese and how it is wrapped. All hard cheeses should be stored tightly wrapped. Cottage cheese or soft cheese should be used within two or three day. They will last approximately one to two weeks, in the refrigerator. Precessed cheeses will store from three to six months in the refrigerator. Properly wrapped hard cheese will keep for several years t refrigerator temperatures. They should be wrapped tightly to protect them fro the air and fro drying out.

Blocks or horns of hard cheese that are dipped in paraffin wax and stored in a cool (below 70 degrees) place will keep for several months. Five pound bricks of cheese may be stored by wrapping in vinegar cloths. They will not mold and will not need to be re wrapped for six to eight months. Any mold that forms on the surface of hard cheese can be trimmed off before using. If cheese has dried and become hard, it may be grated, stored in a tightly covered container, and used in cooking.

Cornbread Deluxe

I love this Cornbread recipe

Mix in order as listed then bake at 350 for about 25 min.

1 1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup of cornmeal
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
2 slightly beaten eggs
1/3 cup veg. oil
3 tbs softened butter

Place in a greased pan or I use a cast iron frying pan or a Dutch oven. Very good.

Corn Meal Mush

1 cup cornmeal (yellow or white)
1/2 cup cold water
1 tsp. salt
4 cups milk (dry milk that has been mixed for liquid)

Stir corn meal into 1/2 cold water. Heat milk to boiling, and add the salt and moistened meal. Mix well. When thickened, place in top of double boiler or over very low even hat and cook for about 30-45 min. Serve hot with butter or milk or pour into loaf pan to cool.

When cold and firm, slice, coat with cornmeal or wheat germ. Brown in small of fat and serve with honey.

Corn

Corn is another real good item to store. It is easily taken care of. After it is completely dried (on the cob) it can be rubbed off the cob very easily and stored in containers or hung in flour sacks. Corn can then be ground into corn meal or left in whole kernels to parch.

Minute Rice Medley

Saute until tender
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 tbs butter

Add:
1 1/2 cup minute rice (or already cooked regular rice)
1 1/2 cup water (if using already cooked rice omit the water)
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups left over chicken, cut up
1 9 oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup

Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer or bake in oven for 20 min. (Tuna may be substituted for chicken)

Spanish Rice

Season mix --

2 tbs dry onion
1 tbs salt
1 tbs chili powder
1 1/2 tbs crush red pepper
1 1/2 minced garlic
1 1/2 tbs cumin
3/4 tbs orgeno
1 1/2 sugar

Mix this together and store in a tight container for later use.

3 cups hot water
3 cup tomatoe juice
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups rice
salt and pepper
1 tbs season mix (above)

put all ingredients in a 9 x 13 pan. You may add ground beef, onions, green chili or whatever else that you would like. Bake covered (with tin foil will do). Bake at 350 for about 35 min.