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A bowl of homemade raw milk cottage cheese.

Raw Milk Cottage Cheese Recipe

Did you know you can make homemade raw milk cottage cheese without rennet? This recipe uses minimal supplies and has just two ingredients.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Cheese
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 days
Hanging Time: 1 day
Total Time: 11 days
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 379kcal
Author: Carolyn Thomas

Equipment

  • Gallon Jar with lid
  • cheesecloth
  • Colander
  • String

Ingredients

  • 2 gallons milk divided... one gallon for the base culture, another gallon to make cottage cheese
  • salt to taste

Instructions

For the Base Culture:

  • Fill the jar with milk until almost full (ferments bubble and foam, so leave some room), put a fresh piece of cheesecloth over the top, and screw on the lid.
  • Set the jar of milk in a warm location (such as above the refrigerator, near your stove or in a room with a wood-burning fireplace) for as long as it takes to start getting thick. Your first batch will likely take between 2 to 10 days to start fermenting. Of course, this really depends on how hot your kitchen is and how many bacteria it has.
  • Occasionally smell the base culture. As long as it doesn’t smell putrid, you’re good to go. Because this culture will take so many days to turn into a clabber, it will definitely taste and smell strong. Don’t worry – you don’t have to consume this batch! This is just the starter. Your thickened milk may separate into curds and whey or look something like yogurt, maybe with little bubbles. Don’t be concerned when you see a lot of changes!
  • Once it’s thickened and/or separated, you’re ready to start culturing fresh milk to get delicious clabbers (like cottage cheese!) that you can consume.

For the Cottage Cheese:

  • Add ½ to 1 cup of the base culture to a fresh gallon of raw milk (adding 1 cup will help it ferment more quickly) and allow it to culture until it’s thoroughly separated into curds and yellow whey. You will lose volume during this process, so you’ll need a lot of culture to get a decent amount of cheese.
  • Once you have curds and whey, line a clean colander with clean cheesecloth and set it over a bowl to catch the whey. You'll need a spot to hang this up.
  • Line a clean colander with clean cheesecloth and set it over a bowl to catch the whey. You'll need a spot to hang this up.
  • Gently pour the culture into the cheesecloth in the strainer to strain the curds. Use string or a rubber band to tie the cheesecloth, then hang it over the bowl for about 12 hours until it breaks up nicely into little bits of curd.
  • After it’s done, take it out of the cheesecloth. You could use the cheese just like this, but we’re going to make it a little more like cottage cheese.
  • Add salt to taste and mix it in really well. This helps draw the moisture out even more. Put this cheese into a fresh bit of cheesecloth, making sure to get every last bit.
  • Give the cheese a squeeze, then hang again for another 12 to 24 hours. After this hanging time, break up the curds into little pieces.
  • If you want, you can salt again and keep hanging, but at this point, it’ll be the texture of a nice old-fashioned cottage cheese—crumbly but creamy in the middle. Feel free to add a little milk kefir to make it creamier.
  • Add whatever flavors you’d like to the cheese—fruit, herbs, or other stir-ins would be delicious.
  • Store cottage cheese in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

Ways to Use Cottage Cheese:
  • Salads - Add cottage cheese to your favorite salad recipe for a boost of protein and creaminess.
  • Ricotta Substitute - Use cottage cheese as a substitute for ricotta cheese in lasagna or cannelloni.
  • Smoothies - Blend cottage cheese into your favorite smoothie recipe to make it creamy and add protein.
  • Dips - Blend cottage cheese into your favorite dip to add a creamy and tangy flavor for vegetables or crackers.
  • Baked Goods - Blend cottage cheese smooth and use in place of milk, heavy cream, yogurt, or sour cream in sweetbreads, pancakes, biscuits, baked oatmeal, and more.
  • Eggs - To take scrambled eggs or frittatas to the next level, blend cottage cheese and whisk with your eggs before cooking.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 946mg | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 1022IU | Calcium: 776mg
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