Farmer's Cheese

Farmer’s Cheese

This simple, yet tasty cheese is easy and quick to make, and is a key ingredient in many Russian dishes.

1 Gallon Milk

1 Tsp Salt

½ Cup White Vinegar

In a soup pot, heat the gallon of milk and salt to 180-190^oF.  If you’re busy, heat slowly with periodic stirring so as to not scorch the milk.  But if you’re in a hurry, I’ve found that it’s possible to heat the milk on a high flame as long as you stir constantly.  Once the milk’s been brought up to temperature, turn off the heat and add the vinegar.

Stir for two minutes, then let stand for about 15 minutes.  The white curds will separate from the yellowish whey.  

Drain the curds and whey through cheesecloth. 

Squeeze out as much whey as possible (thick gloves suitable for cooking, such as those made from silicone or neoprene, make the squeezing much easier).  In lieu of a good squeezing, you could tie-off and hang the cheese ball for a half hour to drain.

Allow the cheese to sit in a plate to cool for at least an hour, and then remove the cheesecloth before moving to the refrigerator.  The cheese should be broken up into chunks, and should appear as dryer cottage or ricotta cheese.

You might consider retaining some of the whey and mix back into the cooled curds to make simple, homemade cottage cheese.