Ever Make Farmer Cheese?

Ever Make Farmer Cheese?

I recall Grandma used to make Farmer’s cheese. She didn’t call it that—she just did it.

She’d bring fresh whole milk to a boil (just until tiny bubbles formed at the edges of the pan). She was careful to stir it so it didn’t burn. Then she turned off the heat and added a little white vinegar and a dash of salt. After stirring the vinegar and salt in, the milk curdled after about five minutes.

She then lined a large sieve with a tea towel and poured the curdled milk in. After the fluid drained, she’d gather the tea towel at the top of the curds and tie it with a string. Then she hung the bag over the sink to continue cooling as it dripped. When it was dry, she’d roll the mass into a bowl. cover it, and put it in the refrigerator.

I understand some fancy folks put different herbs in the cheese before chilling it in the refrigerator. Grandma just served it on bread or crackers and made that her lunch.

Here’s a recipe I found online if you’d like to try it. This one contains lemon juice. I don’t think Grandma used lemon because Grandpa ate all the lemons every time she bought any.

2 quarts whole milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt

This cheese will be good for about a week. Let me know if you put herbs in yours.

I hear someone asking, “What do you do with the whey?” (That’s the left-over fluid.) I tried it in my fruit smoothie for breakfast. It was pretty good. Guess I’ll include my recipe for my fruit smoothie here too.

1 cup blueberries
1 cup ice
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup water or whey from the farmer’s cheese process
1 scoop protein powder (I use Aria-Women’s Wellness Protein Powder from Trader Joe’s).
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 banana

Throw all these ingredients in a blender till it’s creamy smooth. Yum!

 

My newest book, The Road Home, an account of my husband’s lung cancer and God’s faithfulness to widows, is now available in paperback and eReader on Amazon.com. All my books are available here.

2 thoughts on “Ever Make Farmer Cheese?

  1. Does pasteurized whole milk work with this? My Mom made it frequently when we still had dairy cows, but that was unpasteurized milk. She made it before the cream was taken off. I’ve never tried it since because I thought it couldn’t be made with milk from the store.

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