Adventures in Cheese-Making
What can you do with rich and creamy Strafford milk (besides pour a nice, tall glass?)
Strafford Organic Creamery milk at City Market, one of two Vermont dairies that bottles its own milk and sells it to our Co-op
Home cheese-making has been in the news a lot lately. In February, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture halted raw milk cheese-making classes sponsored by Rural Vermont. Turkey Hill Farm, which I visited during the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association open-house week-end, used to host just such classes, and had to take them off the calendar.
In this week’s issue of Seven Days, Corin Hirsch writes about her first foray into cheese-making, or more specifically making butter, yogurt, and mozzarella with 2 gallons of raw milk, in part to see what all the fuss is about. (The fuss is about food safety regulations, especially at a time when the FDA is closely looking at tightening restrictions on the sale of raw milk cheeses, as previously reported in Seven Days.)
There are a couple of things going on with raw milk, nutritionally speaking. One is that its enzymes, bacteria, and proteins are intact, having never been pasteurized, or heated to at least 165 degrees F for 15 seconds. The other is that its fats have been left whole, rather than homogenized (the process of forcing the fat particles, under high pressure, to be suspended throughout the milk rather than collect on the top).
I actually have come to believe that raw milk can be a healthy part of one’s diet, and it’s the type of milk we drink at home. However, as the Food Education Coordinator of the largest Food Co-op in a state that prohibits the sale of raw milk in stores and has recently halted raw milk classes – in other words, education – it wouldn’t be smart (or legal) for me to promote home raw milk cheese-making. And actually, I don’t feel it’s necessary to.
Take paneer, an Indian cheese, for example. Made with whole or reduced-fat milk, it is milk that is heated to the boiling point (just over 212 degrees F), then curdled with lemon juice. The buttery aroma of the steam wafts through the kitchen as the milk starts to foam on the stovetop. Later, when you press the curds through a muslin or cheesecloth, your hands take on the smell and become silky soft. The pat of cheese you end up with feels timeless, somehow, a practice connecting you back to many generations of people tied to their dairy animals.
I won’t be making paneer on a regular basis, but like so many products of the kitchen, it’s nice to feel that it IS possible to make it yourself, and you can start with a half-gallon of your favorite local pasteurized milk.
Here's a useful 6-minute video from Manjula's Kitchen that shows you how to make it. And here are pictures I took of the process:
Cheese curds starting to separate just after adding lemon juice mixed with water.
The curds are strained through a muslin cloth or cheesecloth, and rinsed with cold water to remove excess whey and lemon juice.
After squeezing the whey out with your hands, you have a ball of paneer. The next optional step is to weigh it down for 1-2 hours to make it even firmer.
Slice it and lightly fry it in ghee, butter, or oil (I used butter).
Paneer butter masala (with extra peas).
The following recipes are taken from Manjula's Kitchen:
Paneer
Paneer is a homemade Indian cheese. Paneer is used many different ways making desserts, appetizers and main course dishes.
8 cups (half gallon) milk
1/4 cup lemon Juice
1. Mix lemon juice in half cup of hot water and put aside.
2. Boil the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, making sure not to burn milk.
3. As the milk comes to a boil, add the lemon juice gradually and stir the milk gently. The curd will start separating from the whey, turn off the heat.
4. Once the milk fat has separated from the whey, drain the whey using a strainer line with cheesecloth, or muslin cloth.
5. Wrap the curds in a muslin cloth, rinse under cold water, and squeeze well. This process takes out the sourness from the lemon.
6. To take out the excess water, press the wrapped paneer under a heavy pan for about 1 hour.
Serves 2 to 4.
Butter Paneer Masala
Butter Paneer Masala is a rich main dish made with Indian cheese and a creamy sauce. This dish is served over white rice or with Naan or Tandoori Roti. (Caroline's note: this version turned out much spicier than versions I've had in local Indian restaurants)
1/2 lb. paneer (cubed)
2 medium tomatoes or 1 cup tomato puree
1 green chili
1/4 inch piece ginger
1/2 cup green peas (optional)
1/2 cup yogurt or heavy cream
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1. Deep-fry the paneer on low-medium heat until the paneer has a little golden- brown color. Set aside.
2. Blend tomatoes, green chilly and ginger to make a puree.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
4. Add hing and cumin seeds.
5. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chili powder and bay leaves. Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
6. Tomato mixture will start to leave the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.
7. Add the whipped yogurt into the gravy. Stir occasionally for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
8. To thicken the gravy, dissolve the cornstarch in 3 tablespoons of water and add to the gravy.
9. Add the green peas and paneer. Let it cook for a few minutes until the peas are tender.
10. Add the garam masala and cilantro. Add a little sugar if the gravy is sour.
Serves 2 to 4.