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How To Make Cream Cheese

January 27, 2013 @ 22:35 By Gavin Webber 15 Comments

Who loves cream cheese?  I like it with served with a drizzle of sweet chilli sauce or spread on crackers with some sliced heirloom tomato and a basil leaf.

Well dear readers, you are going to love this version.  It is so tasty and is easy to make, with very few ingredients unlike processed cream cheese which has a list of ingredients as long as my arm.

Like any great cheese, it just takes a little bit of time.

This is a cheese that I have been meaning to make for a few months, but it has been just too hot here in South Eastern Australia.  Luckily, this weekend has been mild with temperatures in the low 20’s (C).

I managed to source a non-homogenised full cream milk at a supplier in Bacchus Marsh (Jonesy’s Milk), which was just a delight to use for cheese making.

So on to the recipe and method.

Cream Cheese

Ingredients;

  • 4 litres (1 gallon) full cream (whole) milk
  • 1/8th teaspoon, (heaped smidgen) Mesophilic direct set culture type MA or MO30
  • 4 drops liquid rennet in 60 ml (1/4 cup) of non-chlorinated water
  • 2 teaspoons cheese salt
  • If using homogenised milk, add 1 ml of calcium chloride in 30 ml of non-chlorinate water.

Method;

Sanitise all equipment by boiling in hot water or a weak bleach (20 ml of bleach to 4 litres of cold water)

In a large pot, pour in the milk and add calcium chloride solution if necessary and stir thoroughly top to bottom for 30 seconds.  Warm the milk to 30°C (86°F).

Add the culture, stir well for one minute top to bottom.

Add 3 teaspoons of the rennet solution (discard remainder), and stir for two minutes.

Cover and allow to rest at room temperature (about 21°C or 70°F) for 18 hours.  After resting, it will have the appearance of a block of soft curd with whey.

Line a colander with cheesecloth (I doubled it over twice to make it four layers thick), or butter muslin.

Ladle the curds into the cheesecloth.

Note the yoghurt like consistency.  It also tastes slightly sour, but not quite like a natural yoghurt.

Then form a bag and allow to drain for 12 hours.  Don’t forget to tie a double granny knot by gathering the opposite corners of the cloth, otherwise it may slip and fall.

 After 12 hours, untie the cheesecloth, and remove the cheese from the bag.

 Work in the cheese salt with a clean spoon, a little at a time until all used.

Refrigerate the cream cheese in an airtight container.  When chilled, you can make small logs, roll in finely chopped fresh herbs and slice, or just spread on bread or crackers.

Delicious.  Once you have tried fresh home made cream cheese, you will never eat the processed stuff again.  It is delightfully creamy with a slight tang.  Just perfect!

So, a show of hands please.  Who is going to give this cheese a go?

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Filed Under: Cheese

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About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Louise Glut says

    January 27, 2013 at 22:53

    Me, I am. I cant wait. But where do you get those ingredients?

    Reply
  2. Bruise Mouse says

    January 27, 2013 at 22:57

    Wow, Gav! That looks delicious. Now I just need to hold of the ingredients.

    Reply
  3. Gavin Webber says

    January 27, 2013 at 23:50

    You can get the cultures and rennet in Australia from Green Living Australia (Queensland), or Cheese Links (Victoria). In the USA I recommend the New England Cheesemaking Supply company.

    Essentially the culture is an acid producing Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris. Most cheese making supply shops have this culture. It is used to make cheddar.

    Reply
    • Anonymous says

      January 28, 2013 at 14:14

      And in Canada from Glengarry Cheesemaking http://glengarrycheesemaking.on.ca. They also have a branch in the USA and ship to the US from there. They have a very good range of everything you need.

      Reply
  4. Travelling Greek says

    January 28, 2013 at 01:11

    Looks awesome. I’ll be trying it!

    Reply
  5. bbarna says

    January 28, 2013 at 04:00

    Hi Gavin,
    That looks delicious!! I will have to give this a try. I use cream cheese and ricotta in cheesecake, or cream cheese on a bagel with my strawberry rhubarb jam-tastes just like dessert 🙂
    Barb from Canada

    Reply
  6. mumma ox says

    January 28, 2013 at 07:13

    Ohhh! Me! That looks awesome. Can’t wait to give it a crack.

    Reply
  7. Jeanette says

    January 28, 2013 at 09:24

    Me. That looks wonderful. Be a few days yet before i do a thing though as i’m not going out in this rain & flooding.

    Reply
  8. Tracey says

    January 28, 2013 at 09:58

    Me too! Just two questions. About how much cream cheese did you end up with? And do you think it would freeze well?

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      January 28, 2013 at 13:44

      It filled a 1 litre container (as shown). I am not sure that this would freeze? Can you freeze normal cream cheese?

      Gav

      Reply
  9. Rose says

    January 28, 2013 at 11:17

    I will, thank you. Roughly how long will this cheese keep please Gavin?

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      January 28, 2013 at 13:45

      Hi Rose, it will keep for about 2 weeks. x

      Reply
    • Rose says

      January 29, 2013 at 08:58

      That’s great, thanks.

      Reply
  10. Bek says

    January 28, 2013 at 16:42

    My hand is definitely up! Is it necessary to specifically use unchlorinated water? Is tap water adequate?

    Reply
    • Gavin Webber says

      January 28, 2013 at 16:50

      Hi Bek. Yes, the Chlorine in the water kills the starter culture. Just boil up some tap water and leave it overnight. The chlorine dissipates. Easy Peasy!

      Gav x

      Reply

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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