Monday, September 21, 2009

Quick and Easy Cottage Cheese

This week's FNCCC chef is Alton Brown. Everyone seems to love him, and I think he's a bit of an oddball. That's okay though, being an oddball doesn't have to be a bad thing!

Although there are about 90 gazillion recipes of his on the Food Network site, I was able to choose just one- Quick Cottage Cheese.

Homemade Cottage Cheese

The cook time listed on the site says 5 minutes, but I think that's a LIIIIE! It took at least 15 minutes to get my milk up to temperature. I halved it since Martijn doesn't like cottage cheese and wouldn't be helping me eat it. Plus, I had other things I needed space in my bike bags for besides four 1 litre cartons of milk (no gallon jugs here folks!). I followed the instructions pretty much exactly other than that and just salting to taste.

Quick Cottage Cheese
Courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients
1 gallon pasteurized skim milk
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt*
1/2 cup half-and half-or heavy cream

Directions

Cottage Cheese Making Process

Pour the skim milk into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat to 120 degrees F (1). Remove from the heat and gently pour in the vinegar (2). Stir slowly for 1 to 2 minutes. The curd will separate from the whey (3). Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Pour the mixture into a colander lined with a tea towel and allow to sit and drain for 5 minutes. Gather up the edges of the cloth and rinse under cold water for 3 to 5 minutes or until the curd is completely cooled, squeezing and moving the mixture the whole time (4). Once cooled, squeeze as dry as possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the salt and stir to combine, breaking up the curd into bite-size pieces as you go. If ready to serve immediately, stir in the half-and-half or heavy cream. If not, transfer to a sealable container and place in the refrigerator. Add the half and half or heavy cream just prior to serving.

*Keep in mind that kosher salt has much bigger grains that regular table salt, so it measures differently. I didn't add any while I was making it and just salted to taste when I ate it.

The Verdict: If you are expecting this to have the same texture as store bought cottage cheese, I think you will be disappointed. I thought it was a little bit dry, but that could've been solved with the addition of some more liquid at the end (I'm wondering if buttermilk would work instead of the half and half or cream). Not bad though, I may even make it again sometime!


In addition, be sure to check out Tasty Tuesday @ Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and Tempt my Tummy Tuesday @ Blessed with Grace for more yummy recipes!

19 comments:

Let it Shine said...

Hi!
Wow, I had no idea you could make this.
I agree, I think Alton is a but quirky.
I see you are in the Netherlands, one of my best friends lives in Denmark.

Alyshia

Noodle said...

holy crap you are super woman you can make anything from scrath... I just fork out my hubbys hard earned cash... I bet he would like me to be more of a house wife but to bad I'm not...."little sister is saying Hi KIMMIE!!!

MadeInCanarias said...

That looks delicious!

I'm having my first giveaway, come and have a look :)

brainella said...

Interesting. This is not something I would have picked to try. I wonder what would happen if you used whole milk...

Unknown said...

WOW!!! I have never thought of making cottage cheese before. THANKS!!! for the recipe. Geri

SnoWhite said...

wow! I just watched the episode where he makes this cheese (from yogurt though).... so cool that you tried it :)

Donna said...

Neato!
I have a book here that calls for dry curd cottage cheese...wonder if it means something like this. Looks great Mub!

4 Lettre Words said...

I really had NO idea...and Neil loves the stuff! I just might give it a-go when I feel adventurous. :o)

Brenda said...

Thats interesting, I really never thought of making my own cottage cheese.

Unknown said...

Interesting. Do you think it was worth the trouble? Come join me for Crock Pot Wednesday at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com.

Karen M. Peterson said...

Stopping by from SITS to say hello!

So funny because I was just eating some cottage cheese the other day and wondering how to make it and if it would be easy to do at home. Now I know!

Alea Milham said...

I had no idea how to make cottage cheese. I might just make it so I can say I did! :-)

Sarah said...

This is what I like about Alton Brown - cooking the basics. I bet the episode where he makes this is pretty interesting. I make my own yogurt so may have to try cottage cheese. I would be nice to be able to adjust the amount of salt, as there can be a lot in store bought. It's an adventure, right?

Thanks for participating in FNCCC!

Queen B. said...

i love, love , love cottage cheese !
Oh my gosh, now I know how to make it.
THANK YOU.

Susie said...

Huh...I never thought to make my own cottage cheese. How cool!

Anonymous said...

I've always wanted to try making cottage cheese, looks pretty simple. I will have to try it.

Tanya said...

I am so glad someone tried this one. Maybe I will try it now. Good picture.

Lisa@BlessedwithGrace said...

Wow and that looks really easy! Very cool. Thanks for linking up to TMTT.

Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship said...

Just found you through Tasty Tuesday. I tried a recipe like this once, but it was for a cheese spread - maybe mix in some herbs in what you ended up with and eat with crackers. That worked pretty well with the texture.

BtW, I’m hosting an October Fest Carnival of Super Foods starting Thursday. If you have any recipes with beans/legumes on your site (new or old ones), come on over to link up this week. More details at my site and the themes for the other weeks.
Thanks, Katie

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