Homemade Cream Cheese

Mirj's Note:

My mother used to talk about making her own cheese back in the "Old Country". This makes a good creamy cheese, with no preservatives.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 quart fresh milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Directions:

1. Bring milk and salt very slowly to the boil.
2. Remove from heat and stir in white vinegar.
3. Leave to cool.
4. When cool pour mixture into a muslin bag and allow to drip.

Reviews

[Anu]

Mirjam, this was my first cheese-making experience, and I must thank you for making it absolutely wonderful! This is an excellent, creamy cheese, if not as tart as Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I halved your recipe and got approximately 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of cheese. I was worried it might be too salty, but most of the saltiness gets drained off so it comes out just right. I let the milk cool completely before straining, and I let it drip for about 8 hours. I also made Jacques Lorrain's Dill Buttermilk Bread (#636) yesterday, and gawsh, this tastes fantastic on it! Mirjam, this was one recipe I had oodles of fun making... thanks!

[Dee514]

Definately one of the easiest recipes for homemade cream cheese I've tried. A good texture and delicate, slightly sweet flavor. When I made it again today, I added an extra 1/2 Tb of vinegar and a 1/2 Tb of lemon juice, in an effort to duplicate the tang of "Philly" cream cheese. That did seem to help, but its still not "Philly" ;) (personally I think this is better than "Philly" even without the extra "tang").

[Spoongal]

Great recipe. So very easy and it's delicious. I don't imagine it's really any cheaper than buying cream cheese, but what fun it was and the tangy taste is wonderful. Would probably be a good way to use up milk if you found yourself overloaded. I did drain mine in paper towels rather than muslin--seemed to do a great job. Thanks for a great recipe.