A Simple Way to Make Small Quantities for Home Use
One gallon of skim milk will make about 11⁄2 pounds of cheese. If the milk is sweet it should be placed in a pan and allowed to remain in a clean, warm place at a temperature of about 75° F. until it clabbers. The clabbered milk should have a clean, sour flavor. Ordinarily this will take about 30 hours, but when it is desirable to hasten the process a small quantity of clean-flavored sour milk may be mixed with the sweet milk.
As soon as the milk has thickened or firmly clabbered it should be cut into pieces 2 inches square, after which the curd should be stirred thoroughly with a spoon. Place the pan of broken curd in a vessel of hot water so as to raise the temperature to 100° F. Cook at that temperature for about 30 minutes, during which time stir gently with a spoon for 1 minute at 5-minute intervals.
At the conclusion of the heating, pour the curd and whey into a small cheesecloth bag (a clean salt bag will do nicely) and hang the bag on a fruit-strainer rack to drain, or the curd may be poured into a colander or a strainer over which a piece of cheesecloth has been laid. After 5 or 10 minutes, work the curd toward the center with a spoon. Raising and lowering the ends of the cloth helps to make the whey drain faster. To complete the draining tie the ends of the bag together and hang it up. Since there is some danger that the curd will become too dry, draining should stop when the whey ceases to flow in a steady stream.
The curd is then emptied from the bag and worked with a spoon or a butter paddle until it becomes fine in grain, smooth, and of the consistency of mashed potatoes. Sour or sweet cream may be added to increase the smoothness and palatability and improve the flavor. Then the cheese is salted according to taste, about one teaspoonful to a pound of curd.
Because of the ease with which the cheese can be made it is desirable to make it often so that it may be eaten fresh, although if it is kept cold it will not spoil for several days. If the cheese is not to be eaten promptly it should be stored in an earthenware or glass vessel rather than in one of tin or wood, and kept in a cold place.