Farmer's Cheese

This is the most simple cheese to make, and takes from just 20 minutes to a couple of hours. This recipe is based on a recipe by Sandor Katz, published in his book Wild Fermentation

Ingredients

• 2L Milk
• 1/4 cup lemon Juice
• Optional – Salt, Herbs and or Spices

Equipment

• Pot for heating milk
• Cheesecloth
• Colander, or bowl and strainer
• Rubber band, hook or (Optional) a couple of chopping boards and heavy weights (such as cans).

Method

1. Heat milk to a slow boil.  If heating quickly, stir frequently to avoid burning at the bottom of the pot
2. Remove from heat.
3. Add lemon a little at a time while stirring gently until the milk curdles.
4. Strain through a cheesecloth lined colander (see step 4a below if preferred).
5. Collect the curds by lifting the corners of the cheesecloth, twist to tighten the ball and force the whey/liquid out.
6. You can use the cheese as it as a cottage cheese. 
7. If you would like a more solid cheese, hang the ball from a hook and let it drip into a bowl for a while.   Alternatively, use a weight to force moisture out.  Place the ball on a sloped surface, and then place a second flat surface on top. Place a weight on top of this surface.  After a couple of hours, the cheese will hold its shape. 
8. Paneer – cube the solid cheese.  Optional coat with salt and spices.  Then fry the cheese and add to curries such as with spinach (saag paneer).

4a. To make the cheese even more solid, after step 3, sprinkle 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of salt onto the curds and mix thoroughly.  This will pull moisture additional form the cheese.  At this point you can add other herbs and spices.  Then continue with step 5 above.