A General Overview of Farmer's Cheese

Add herbs, spices, fruits, veggies, to flavor the basic Farmer's cheese. You can also pair it up with fruit jams and sweet spreads.

Farmer's cheese is a strange combination - soft and moist to spread, but dry enough to be sliced. It's mostly prepared on the farms of Europe and Middle East. This white cheese can be made with pasteurized goat milk, cow milk & sheep milk.

It doesn't require more than a starter to make this at home; while commercially prepared cheese makes use of rennet and starters. Jewish dishes largely include Farmer's cheese in baked items.

Farmer's cheese has various versions, which can be moist or crumblier. It is a close cousin of creamy cottage cheese, in fact its unripened type. The cottage cheese is pressed, letting the whey drain off completely to form Farmer's cheese.

The most prominent thing about this cheese is that it is 'unaged', meaning―it can be eaten right after it's been prepared.

This cheese should be tried by newbie cheese-makers, as it is quickly made, and has a room for creativity. Let's get into making this 'healthy' cheese at home.

Ingredients

♦ Whole milk, 1 gallon
♦ Lemon, 1 (large) or white vinegar, ¼ cup
♦ Salt, 1 tsp.

♨ Preparation Time: 5 minutes

♨ Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Directions
1. On a medium low flame, boil milk in a large pot. Add salt and stir to prevent the milk from scorching.
2. Turn off the heat when you notice bubbles forming on the surface of the milk. This will probably take 10 minutes.

3. Squeeze lemon juice (or add white vinegar) and continue stirring. You'll notice curdles forming instantly. Set aside for 10 minutes.
4. Line a colander on a large pot to catch the whey. Place cheesecloth over the colander, and pour milk over it. The milk that curdles in the cloth is nothing but our Farmer's Cheese, draining all the whey in the pot below.

5. Carefully, lift the cloth. Squeeze as much as possible by twisting the cheesecloth to free the curdle from moisture, thereby solidifying it.
6. Wrap the solid curdle obtained in a cheesecloth (optional: You could refrigerate it for sometime). Place it on a plate after it has been molded. Garnish with fresh herbs and spices like thyme, chives, parsley, etc.

♦ Farmer's cheese is used as an alternative to ricotta cheese in foods like pasta.
♦ It is used as a stuffing for pierogi, momos, ravioli and blintz.
♦ It is also complimented with dried/smoked meats.
♦ Most commonly served with crackers or bread.
♦ Some salad recipes also call for Farmer's cheese as an essential ingredient.

Farmer's Cheese, Serving: 1 oz. (30 g)

Calories: 40 kcal
Fat Calories: 25 kcal
Total Fat: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
Trans Fat: 2.5 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Sodium: 120 mg
Protein: 4 g

♦ You can store it in a plastic or airtight container for about a week.
♦ Like all dairy products, this cheese should also be refrigerated until ready to serve. If you've bought it from store, check for its expiry, as it has a shorter shelf life.
♦ If you wanna add more flavor, you can add herbs like parsley, garlic cloves, etc., right after adding lemon juice.