Never again will I buy a $6 tub of the sodium loaded cottage cheese from the super market. Not since I have learned how to make my own. And its so easy its a wonder I never did it before.
I eat cottage cheese like its going out of style, usually twice a day. It is probably the most expensive regular item on my grocery list. But for almost half the cost — About $4 for a 4L of 2% milk I am able to create anywhere between 1L-2L of fresh cottage cheese.
How does one do this? Just follow these super easy steps:
1) Turn the stove to medium heat
2) In a large pot, bring 2-4L of milk to a boil. It is very important you bring it to a boil slowly. I have found the slower I bring the milk up to temperature, the more curds I get.
3) Just as the milk begins to boil (before it froths up and explodes everywhere), add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of vinegar to it. I have not figured the exact amount yet, so I just keep adding milk until it begins curdling.
4) Stir slowly, watching the milk transform into a yellowish liquid (whey) and white clumps (curds aka: cottage cheese). It takes about 5-10 minutes until the curdling finishes.
5) Seperate your curds in whey with cheese cloth or a strainer. Rinse them with cold water and put them into containers for storage
This cottage cheese keeps for about 3-5 days. It has little in the way of taste, so I like adding a bit of salt to enhance the flavour. I hate wasting the liquid whey so on the advice of my friend I began freezing it for other uses including adding to my morning oatmeal and using it instead of milk for protien shakes.