Uncooked Curd, or French Cottage Cheese.
The French make cheese from sour milk without heating it. They pour the milk into earthen molds which have holes in the bottom. A very fine sieve may be used instead of the molds. The whey drips out and the curd assumes a custard-like consistency and takes the shape of the mold. When sufficiently stiff, the cheese is chilled, and is eaten with sweet cream and sugar. It is a staple dessert in many French families, especially in hot weather, and is delicious served with acid fruit, such as currants, or with strawberries.
Junket.
If cottage cheese is made from sweet milk and rennet and served without breaking and separating the curd and whey, the dish is called junket. It is customary to season it a little, as with grated nutmeg or with cinnamon and sugar.
Buttermilk Cheese.
At the Wisconsin Experiment Station[16] a method has been devised for making a soft moist cheese out of buttermilk. When made on a large scale, as it might be in creameries, there are various precautions to be taken which are pointed out in the publication cited. In making it in small quantities, these precautions are unnecessary, and the method is even simpler than that of making cottage cheese, because the quality does not depend so much on the temperature.
To make the buttermilk cheese, heat buttermilk gradually to about 130° or 140° F. Allow it to cool and strain it. As the curd will settle to the bottom, most of the whey may be poured off before the draining is begun.
This cheese is, of course, almost wholly without fat and yet, probably because the particles of curd are very finely divided, it has a smooth consistency, which suggests the presence of fat. It may be served seasoned with salt only or it may be mixed with butter or cream and seasonings. It is suitable for combining with olives and pimientos, as recommended on page [34], or for any use to which the ordinary cream cheeses are put.
Buttermilk Cream.
This product also was devised by the Wisconsin Experiment Station.[17] By controlling the temperature in heating the buttermilk and not allowing it to go above 100° F., a compound is made which after draining has the consistency of a very thick cream. It is claimed by the station investigators that this “cream” is suitable for eating on bread in place of butter.