I had a couple of "Seniors" in my life who looked forward with great anticipation to my learning how to make the cottage cheese they remembered from their childhood. My father-in-law told me how his mother made cottage cheese on the back of the old wood cookstove, and then hung it on the clothesline to drip. His cousin, Dennis, also had similar memories of his mother making cottage cheese. It also didn't take me long to find out that those of German descent here on the east coast, referred to it as Schmierkase, which in German literally means "smear cheese". I began my journey by talking to as many people as I could who remembered cottage cheese being made "the old-fashioned way". I searched for instructions online and in books on how to make it, and I began experimenting. I am sure not everyone educates themselves the same way that I do, but I have to read the instructions and then follow through with my own experimentation. Sometimes it's a process that brings me full circle, but in the end, I have a better understanding of what I am doing. Such is the case with making cottage cheese.
I found a method recorded in the book Stillroom Cookery:
Note: If your clabber sets up and you don't have time to "cook" it to make cottage cheese right then, you can refrigerate it and make your cheese later.
Start with milk clabber. Pour off the excess whey and then pour into a pan of warm water, 120 degrees, which is hot to the touch but not unbearable. Break curds gently. Allow to set for ten minutes. Drain curds in cheesecloth set in a colander Pour a teakettle of warm water (120) over it. Do this twice. You may wash your cheese curds in cool water for a less acidic taste. Let drip for one hour. Refrigerate.
As life got busier for me, and as I started making larger batches of cheese to share with others, I started modifying the recipe. I found that the easiest way for me to make my cottage cheese was the method with the fewest steps (and the least amount of cleanup). I began clabbering my milk directly in the four-gallon, stainless steel pot that I use to make cheese. Once the milk was clabbered, I then took that pot and sat it on my stove top, and began to heat it. It does take a while to heat four gallons of clabber. I can do other things in the kitchen while I am waiting. (There are types of cheese that require constant attention, but cottage cheese is not one of them.) One doesn't have to always be checking the temperature of the whey with a thermometer. You can tell by touching it that it's about the temperature of a very warm bath. (You know, the kind you have to inch yourself into but once fully submerged, the heat soaks all the day's stress right out of you?) If you choose to use a thermometer, the temperature of the whey should be between 99 and 102 degrees.
The next step is to learn when to drain the curds. This may take some time and practice. Cottage cheese curds should not be hard and dry. Neither should they be slimy. You want them to be cooked, but on the soft side. Take into consideration that the heat from the hot curds will continue to cook them once they are drained. With this in mind, I always strain my curds on the soft side and allow the heat to continue firming them up until they look just right. Then, I rinse with cold water. The cold water rinse does two things. First, it stops the curds from cooking further and getting too dry. Second, it gives the cheese a milder flavor.
After rinsing your curds, you want to drain the cheese for at least 30 minutes to an hour. You can do this right in a strainer or by hanging it in a cheesecloth/flour sack and letting it drip.
The last step before refrigerating is to salt your cheese. Cottage cheese that has not been salted adequately is very bland. The salt brings out the delicious flavor.
Please note that what you have when finished is referred to as "dry curd" cottage cheese. If you want the cheese to resemble what you purchase in the store, you will need to add a little cream to the curds. I do not like to add cream to my curds but my husband does. It is best to add the cream right before you eat the curds as the dry curds without the cream will keep much longer before developing an off flavor.
These dry curds can be added to salads, scrambled eggs, lasagna, and casseroles. The possibilities are without limit. You can also make these cheese spreads using dry curd cottage cheese.
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| Clabber has reached the right stage when it springs when touched. |
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| Another way to see if the clabber has set is to use a spoon or knife to check for a clean break. |
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| Freshly stirred clabber before heating the curds. |
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| Partially cooked curds in whey |
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| Finished Curds, rinsed and drained |
Note: If your clabber sets up and you don't have time to "cook" it to make cottage cheese right then, you can refrigerate it and make your cheese later.