Lesya 
Soft homemade cheese is a great appetizer! Also, we use it in salads, for stuffing vegetables, making omelets, or baking pies and pastries. The taste of this cheese is similar to Ricotta, Feta, or Brynza (Bryndza) – a very popular cheese in Ukraine. However, Brynza is made from sheep’s milk and may require some aging, while in our recipe we use cow’s milk and get fresh cheese in about 8-10 hours. Please watch this video before you get started:
You will be surprised at how simple and cost-effective this recipe is. For example, to make 750 g of cheese you will need 5 liters of milk, 5 lemons, and half a teaspoon of salt. If you add more salt, the cheese will be saltier and will resemble Brynza. Modify the amount of salt to achieve a different taste. If you try to cut on salt as we do, use less salt and the cheese will still taste great!
Another benefit of our homemade cheese is that we use only natural ingredients and substitute white vinegar with lemons or limes – natural and healthy products. Lemon juice works perfectly well in this recipe. We used 3.5% fresh pasteurized milk, as with other kinds of milk the recipe didn’t produce a good curd. This homemade cheese is low in cholesterol, and it doesn’t contain any preservatives.
As mentioned, homemade soft cheese is very versatile. At the bottom of this page, you will find a couple of ideas how you can use the homemade cheese. Please try these recipes and let us know how you like them!
How to Make Homemade Cheese
Equipment
- Pot
- Measuring Cup
- Sieve
- Cheesecloth or Muslin
- Wooden Spoon
- bowls
Ingredients
To make 750 G of cheese you will need:
- 5 liter 3.5% pasteurized fresh cow’s milk
- 5 lemons
- ½ tspn Kosher coarse salt
Instructions
- Make lemon juice. You can use a manual juice squeezer as we did, or an electric juice maker for this purpose.
- Pour milk into a large pot, and bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring slowly.
- Reduce the heat to low, let the milk boil for 2 minutes, then stir in lemon juice.
- Leave the milk to rest without stirring for about 5 minutes until it curdles.
- Meanwhile, place a sieve over a bowl or another pot and cover it with cheesecloth.
- Transfer the curds into the cheesecloth.
- Leave the curds to drain.
- Dissolve salt in a cup of lukewarm boiled water, pour it over the curds, and leave them to drain for 30 minutes.
- The cheese will still be a bit wet. Squeeze cheesecloth to remove the remaining whey.
- Wrap up the cheese with the cheesecloth and place it in a medium-sized bowl. Place a small plate and a jar or bottle with water on top to press the cheese.
- Refrigerate for 8-10 hours.
- Serve cold or in recipes as needed.
Do you need any special equipment to make homemade cheese?
You don’t need any special equipment to make this cheese. A big pot, cheesecloth (muslin cloth), a big wooden spoon, a sieve, and a measuring cup will do the work for you! The cheesecloth needs to be sterile and all the other equipment should be clean too.
How to use homemade soft cheese?
You can use homemade cheese as an appetizer, with Black Radish Salad, with a green salads, or in a salad. Also, you can use the homemade cheese in various recipes as a filling. For example, in stuffed sweet peppers – one of our favorite dishes. Homemade cheese goes really well with dark rye bread and smoked or salted salmon. Follow this link to find out How to Make Your Own Salted Salmon. You can also combine the cheese with garlic and fresh dill or parsley and use it as a spread on your toast or bagel – what a great snack!
Is homemade cheese similar to other cheeses?
Our homemade cheese is similar to Feta and Ricotta cheese. It is also similar to Brynza (Bryndza), which is made from sheep’s milk. Brynza is well-known in Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Another variation of white cheese is “Brine Sirene.” It is popular in Balkan countries, such as Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Albania, Greece, Israel, and Lebanon. Brine is a high-concentration solution of salt, so the brined cheese can also be described as pickled cheese that matures in brine.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, you can effectively prepare a soft home made cheese in just 10 hours using very simple ingredients, such as lemons and cow’s milk. This is a great cost saving if you compare prices on similar commercial soft cheeses. Hopefully, you will find this recipe simple to follow and our video helpful too. Please feel free to share your thoughts about it with us and other readers. We wish you all the best and invite you to visit our other recipes! Happy cooking!
