I’m Always up for a challenge! It's how I learned to make many of the things I make. We are conditioned to think that most of our food comes from a store, but is that entirely true? If you know how to make things from scratch, it doesn’t mean that you have to solely rely on making it all the time, it means you CAN if the need arises.
If you have a gallon of milk, you can make cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir, farm cheese and cream cheese... to name a few!
Not sure if you have noticed, but shelves are thinning and many products we take for granted to be there, are coming up missing. For this Christmas, one if these is cream cheese. Apparently, this is an important part of dinners and desserts, namely cheesecakes. So, what do you do if you HAVE to have the traditional cheesecake and you didn’t get groceries before now? I mean some things are just a staple in traditions. Here is how to rise to the challenge.... make it!
You will be pretty surprised how easy it is to make, and that cheesecake will taste better than ever!
You will need:
Ingredients
2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup whole milk
¼ cup white distilled vinegar or ¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp. salt (optional)
Ensure pot, thermometer, measuring spoons, bowl, strainer, and storage container are clean. Moisten cheesecloth lightly and drape over the strainer/colander, then place in the large bowl or in the sink if you are discarding the whey. The thick curds will be weighty, so be sure the you have enough cheesecloth to reach the bottom of the strainer/colander while still reaching over the sides.
Steps:
Over medium-high heat, slowly bring the milk and heavy cream to a gentle simmer (185-195°F).
Once the mixture looks like it is about to boil, turn off the heat and add vinegar, lemon juice or citric acid and stir gently.
Allow the mixture to separate for 10-15 minutes at room temperature, then spoon mixture into the waiting cheesecloth and bowl/strainer. Once you have removed a few Spoonfuls, slowly pour the remain mixture into the cheesecloth.
Let the mixture rest in the cheesecloth for 30-45 minutes to remove some of the heavier whey, then gather the ends of the cheesecloth together. Tie the bundle securely and suspend the bundle over a bowl by 1-2 inches using a cabinet handle, faucet or anything sturdy.
Allow the bundle to drain the remaining whey for 12-24 hours at room temperature or cooler.
Squeeze the bundle gently to remove any remaining liquid, then carefully transfer the cheese into your clean, airtight container.
Add salt or spices to taste. You just made cream cheese!
This will yield about 3 cups.
now Shhhhh
I have the BEST and EASIEST cheesecake recipe!
1 package of room temp cream cheese
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cp of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Cream together until creamy then put in graham cracker crust and chill. serve with your favorite topping or pie filling.
Tadaa! So simple, easy and quick to throw together AND DELICIOUS!
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