Homemade Cream Cheese – For Beginners
The recipe is a full-fat version for making cream cheese that uses only goat milk cream. If you prefer a lighter version, you can substitute part of the cream with goat milk. Anyway, I do not recommend using less than half cream, though, in order to get the best flavor and texture for homemade cream cheese. The small amount of rennet used to make cream cheese is what gives it the additional firmness over other soft cheeses such as quark or cottage cheese. *Remember, always add liquid rennet to a few tablespoons of water first and never directly to the milk.
Ingredients
- 1 quart goat milk cream
- 2 Tbsp. cultured buttermilk
- 1 drop double strength liquid rennet dissolved in 2 Tbsp. Water
Direction:
- In a stainless steel pan, warm the cream to about 70° F, stirring to ensure even heating. Add the buttermilk, and mix thoroughly. Stir in the rennet and water mixture, and again mix thoroughly.
- Cover the pot and allow to sit for 24 hours at room temperature. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp. salt over the mixture, and then whisk lightly to mix.
- Pour the cream into a cheese cloth lined colander placed over a bowl to save the whey for future use. Let drain for about 12 hours.
- At that time, you can collect the cream cheese from the cheesecloth and place into a bowl for storage in the fridge.
*Optional – If you’d like a drier, molded cheese, you can place the cream cheese into a cheese mold or a small plastic container with holes in the bottom to further drain and increase the body of the cheese.
More Cheeses recipes for Beginners. Check them out!
