Evaporated Milk

Evaporated Milk

1 ½ cups warm water

1 cup powdered milk

1 tablespoon butter

Mix powdered milk and warm water together. Add butter. In a small pan, heat mixture together. Beat well, cool and store in the refrigerator.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Sweetened Condensed milk

½ cup hot water

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup powdered milk

Blend ingredients together in a blender. Can be stored in refrigerator or frozen. This will make one can of sweetened condensed milk.

Basic Hard Cheese

BASIC HARD CHEESE

by Dr. David Fankhauser, for Redco Foods 10 June 2003

One gallon of milk yields about one pound of cheddar-style cheese. You may use skimmed or whole milk for this cheese, but whole milk makes a richer cheese. This cheese has no added color.

Ingredients to turn one gallon of milk into one pound of cheese

1 gallon fresh milk (the fresher the milk, the more predictable the cheese)

1/4 cup active cultured buttermilk (1/2 cup plain yogurt will also work yogurt must contain live and active culture)

1/2 tablet rennet (1/4 tablet will work, but takes a bit longer to coagulate, see step 5)

salt

Required Apparatus

thermometer, reading range 0 to 225F (-10 to 110C)

whisk or other effective stirring and mixing device

Sterilized2 stainless steel 4-6 quart pot1 with lid. (A thick metal bottom prevents burning.)

Long bladed knife (9-10 inches long)

8" strainer

large handkerchief, sterilized by boiling and drying

cheese pressing frame (4" diameter, 5" tall can, about 20 oz, ends removed, save one end for a follower)

1. INOCULATE THE MILK: The evening before you plan to make cheese, warm 1 gallon of fresh milk to 68F (20C) in the sterilized pot. Thoroughly blend in 1/4 cup buttermilk to inoculate. Cover inoculated milk with the sterilized lid.

2. INCUBATE OVER NIGHT: Let sit out at room temperature overnight.

3. WARM THE MILK: The next morning, gently warm the milk up to 86F (30C). Meanwhile, dissolve 1/2 tablet of Rennet in 1/4 cup cold water.

4. ADD THE RENNET: Stir the dissolved rennet into the 86F milk to mix thoroughly. Cover, let sit undisturbed for an hour or more in a warm place in the room. Be patient. Do not disturb the milk until it has coagulated.

5. ACHIEVE A CLEAN BREAK: Test for a "clean break" (completed action of rennet): Probe a clean finger into the milk and lift. If it has gelled enough to break cleanly as the finger is lifted, go to next step. If the milk is liquid or semi-gelatinous and softly flows across your finger, let sit until a clean break is obtained. It may take as long as 1-2 hours more. Be patient, do NOT disturb the milk.

6.CUT THE CURD: Once a clean break is achieved, cut the curd with a long knife: begin at one edge of the pot and cut straight to bottom. Cut repeatedly parallel to first cut, but increasing the angle of the knife until reaching 45 degrees at the other side of pot. Rotate the pot a quarter of a turn, cut as before. Repeat the rotating and cutting two more times, yielding 1/2 inch cubes of curd.

7. SET THE CURD: Place the pot over a low fire, stir curd with cleaned bare hand by reaching down to bottom, gently lifting and stirring. Cut larger curds as they appear. Do not mash or squeeze. Continue stirring for 15 min to prevent the curds from clumping together or overheating at the bottom. Warm the curds to 92F (34C) for softer curd cheese, or as high as 102F (39C) for very firm cheese.

8. SEPARATE CURDS AND WHEY: Stir and maintain 92F until curd has contracted to consistency of firm scrambled eggs. Remove from stove and let sit for 10 minutes. The curds should sink in whey. Pour off the whey through a strainer and save for ricotta if you wish. Place the curds in a large bowl.

9. ADD SALT: Sprinkle two teaspoons salt over curds, working with hands to mix in. Pour off any additional whey.

10. PRESS THE CHEESE: Line a smooth-sided 4" x 5" tin can from which both ends have been removed with a sterile large white handkerchief. Place the still-warm curds into the cloth, press into the can. Fold the corners of the cloth over top of the curds and cover with the cut-out end of the can. Place a heavy weight on top to press down the curds. Let sit at room temperature for 12 hours or so.

11. CURE THE CHEESE: The next morning, remove and unwrap the cheese from the press. Rub the outside with salt, re-wrap with a fresh handkerchief and place on a rack in the refrigerator. Replace "bandage" when it becomes wet (daily at first). When a dry yellowish rind forms (about one to two weeks in the refrigerator), dip in melted wax, store in refrigerator for about a month (if you can wait that long). The longer you wait, the sharper the cheese.

* Avoid aluminum pots because the acid will dissolve the aluminum.

Sterilize the pot just before use by pouring 1/2 inch of water in the bottom, covering, and bring to a rolling boil for at least five minutes. Pour out the water, replace sterile lid, keep sterilized pot covered until you are ready to add the milk.

Making Ricotta from Leftover Whey

RICOTTA

1. Place all the whey from making mozzarella back into your large stainless steel soup pot. Place a lid on it and let it sit overnight on the stovetop to develop sufficient acidity (12-24 hours at room temp.) May smell strange the next day--that is a good sign that you are acidic enough

2. Turn the heat on medium to medium high and bring it to nearly boiling (For me at my altitude this is 210 Degrees F) stirring constantly with your S Steel spoon to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Takes a while--like candy making. Do not let it boil over.

3. Turn off heat, put lid back on again and let it sit for a few hours to cool down.

4. Remove lid and DO NOT STIR. Pour slowly into cheesecloth lined bowl over another bowl to catch whey coming through. It drains rather slow and steady for 1-2 hours. Squeeze out any remaining whey then put in refrigerator in airtight container. Use fairly soon after making or freeze.

5. I use the leftover whey--greenish yellow looking liquid--instead of water in my wheat bread recipe. It adds protein and makes the bread softer and less crumbly. You will need to add a little more flour than your recipe calls for if you choose to do this. Store the liquid in a pitcher in the fridge--everybody learns right away that it is not juice!

Queso Blanco

Queso Blanco

4 c. warm water 3 c. dry milk powder
1/2 c. white vinegar

Blend all ingredients. Spray a heavy saucepan with a nonstick spray. Heat the pan to form a coating, and then add the milk mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring until curds form and remaining liquid is a clear yellow. If still milky looking, add more vinegar, 1 teaspoon at a time.
This sounds like you should stir all the time, but if you do, the curds will be crumbly and tiny. This is OK if you are making the cheeseburger and sausage and want the crumbled meat texture but if you want it not to be crumbly, don’t stir too much and let the curds sit undisturbed for a while to set up.

Cream Cheese (Imitation)

Cream Cheese (imitation)

Use the same process you used for sour cream but allow to drain longer (usually overnight). Squeezing the bag of cloth with your hands will help hasten the process.

When it has reached the consistency of cream cheese, put into a covered container and store in refrigerator. For longer storage you can wrap in recipe-size portions and store in freezer. The flavor will be milder if used immediately and will become stronger as product becomes older.

Virginia D. Nelson, "There's a Cow in the Kitchen"

Darlene Carlisle notes: Use double the amount of powdered milk for cream cheese as you do for yogurt, i.e. for 2 1/2 cups powdered milk for yogurt, use 5 cups powdered milk for cream cheese. Everything else is the same process.

Sour Cream (Imitation)

Sour Cream (imitation)

Pour homemade yogurt into a strainer lined with cheesecloth and allow to drain until it is the thickness of sour cream. This will take several hours. It will drain much faster at room temperature.

The whey (drained off liquid) can be saved to use as the liquid in homemade breads. Commercial yogurt which has been made with gelatin will not drain. Store in covered container in refrigerator. For longer storage, store in freezer.

Virginia D. Nelson, "There's a Cow in the Kitchen"

Darlene Carlisle notes: Make sour cream the same way as the yogurt but use 1 1/2 times the powdered milk, i.e. for 2 1/2 cups powdered milk for yogurt, use 3fl cups powdered milk for sour cream.

Making Fresh Yogurt

Yogurt

3-3/4 cup warm tap water

1-2/3 cups instant nonfat dry milk

2 to 4 tablespoon store-bought, plain yogurt with active yogurt cultures (read the label to be sure)

In a large saucepan combine the tap water and dry milk powder. Stir it very well, and let it sit a few minutes. Then stir it again. All of the dry milk should be dissolved. Heat the milk over medium low heat until it reaches 180°. This kills off any competing bacteria so that the yogurt will respond better to the acidophilus cultures. Remove from the stove and allow to cool to 115°. If the milk is any hotter than this then it will kill off the yogurt cultures. Add the store-bought plain yogurt to the warm milk. Stir well. Allow it sit for a few minutes and stir a final time. This should dissolve the store-bought yogurt completely.

Carefully pour the mixture into a very clean, quart-sized, wide-mouthed canning jar, or another clean, quart-sized container.

Incubate the yogurt in a warm spot for 6 to 8 hours, or until it is set almost as thick as store-bought yogurt. Chill and eat.

Each cook develops her own way of incubating homemade yogurt through trial and error. I am going to describe my method, followed by some other common methods and ideas. But first there are a few things you need to know. Yogurt is cultured from acidophilus bacteria, which you can sometimes buy in powdered form at the health food store. I have never actually seen it, but I’ve heard tell about it.

Yogurt can also be cultured from store-bought yogurt which contains “active yogurt cultures” or live bacteria. Read the label and it will tell you if the yogurt contains active cultures or not.

I always use prepared yogurt as my culture. I buy a large container of plain store brand yogurt from the store. I bring it home and scoop it into a couple of ice cube trays. Then I freeze it. When it is completely frozen, I take the frozen yogurt cubes and pack them in a plastic freezer bag. Each time I make yogurt, I use one cube as the starter. You can use your own fresh yogurt as a starter too, but eventually it loses it’s power due to the introduction of foreign bacteria, usually after using it about 3 or 4 times. I like to use a new frozen yogurt cube each time I prepare yogurt. I’ve had my best results this way.

When making yogurt with powdered milk, it is good to use more dry milk powder than you would to just make fluid milk. For instance, normally I would use 1 1/3 cups of dry milk powder to make a quart of milk. When I reconstitute milk for yogurt, I add an extra 1/3 cup of dry milk powder, using 1-2/3 cups of dry milk powder for a quart of yogurt. This makes the yogurt thicker and also higher in calcium. Even when preparing yogurt from fluid milk, the results are better if you add a little extra powdered milk for thickness.

There are lots of ways to incubate your yogurt. I prefer to do it in my electric oven. I set the stove dial half way between OFF and 200°, or at approximately 100°. The light which signifies the oven is on, pops on for a moment, and then pops off when the temperature is reached. I set my jar of yogurt in the oven and leave it for between 6 and 8 hours, usually overnight, or while I’m out for the day. I take out the yogurt when it is thick. This method works every time for me. My yogurt has a very mild flavor, which the kids like better than the sour stuff we used to get from the store.

There are many other ways to incubate your yogurt. Some people pour the warm milk combined with the starter, into a large preheated thermos and let it sit overnight. Other folks set the yogurt on top of a warm radiator, or close to a wood stove, or in a gas stove with the pilot operating, or on a heating pad set on low. Sometimes I have placed the jar in a pan filled with warm water, to keep the temperature even. This worked pretty well when I incubated the yogurt next to the wood stove. It kept the yogurt at a uniform temperature, even with occasional drafts from the front door opening and closing. The heating-pad method is supposed to be pretty reliable. You set it on low and then cover the heating pad with a towel, place the yogurt on top of it, and put a large bowl or stew pot upside down over the yogurt. This makes a little tent which keeps the heat in. I don’t have a heating pad, and have never actually used this method myself, but a good friend swears by it. Another friend uses a medium sized picnic cooler to incubate her yogurt. She places the jars inside the cooler and then add two jars filled with hot tap water, to keep the temperature warm enough. After 4 hours, check the yogurt to see if it is thick enough. If it isn’t then refill the water jars with more hot water, return them to the cooler, and let the yogurt sit another 4 hours. When I tried this method, it worked very well. It took a full 8 hours, but the yogurt was perfect, and I liked not having my oven tied up during the day. Also, there was little danger of getting the yogurt too hot while it incubated, and drafts weren’t a problem because of the closed nature of the cooler. You should try to disturb the yogurt as little as possible while it is incubating, in ensure you get good results.

After the yogurt is thick, place it in the fridge. It will stay sweet and fresh for about a week or two. You may prepare more than one jar at a time if you like. I included the method for a quart because this is the size canning jar I use. Narrow mouth canning jars would probably work too, but I prefer the wide mouth ones because it is easier to stick a measuring cup or ladle down inside of it, to scoop out the yogurt. I usually prepare two quart jars at a time. The prepared yogurt is good mixed with jam or jelly, fresh or canned fruit, served with granola for breakfast, or substituted for sour cream in many recipes like stroganoffs. It is also nice pureed in fruit smoothie blender drinks, or stirred into gelatin or popsicles before freezing them. It can also be stirred half and half with regular mayonnaise to make a very tasty low fat mayonnaise. This mixture can be used in just about any recipe which calls for mayonnaise.

Learning to make yogurt is a trial and error process. Most people don’t have perfect or consistent results the first few times they make it. With a little practice though, anyone can learn to make it. When you get a little skill at it, the entire process becomes second nature, and you will have sweet fresh yogurt available whenever you like.

Fromage Blanc (Basic White Cheese)

Fromage Blanc

Ingredients:
1 quart reconstituted powdered milk
1 cup active-culture buttermilk
2 Tblsp lemon juice or white vinegar, more if needed
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Bring milk to 175 degrees in a heavy sauce pan. Turn off heat and add buttermilk and vinegar. Slowly stir until curds and whey form. Ladle curds into a cloth lined strainer. Bring up edges and squeeze bundle of curds to remove the whey. Place in a small bowl and add the salt. Shape with hands or press into a mold. Chill. Unmold onto a platter. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cracked pepper. Serve with bread or crackers.

Variations: Add chopped chives, sun dried tomatoes, basil, ground pepper, dried fruits or nuts to taste to create your own gourmet cheese.

For a nice video on making this cheese click on: http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2008/06/you-dont-have-to-be-cheese-whiz-to-make.html#uds-search-results

Mozzerella Cheese from Powdered Milk

MOZZERELLA

1. Fill a large stainless steel pot with 1 gallon water and let it sit out overnight -(aluminum and Teflon ruined by acid--must have non chlorinated water easiest to achieve by letting it evaporate out overnight)

2. In the morning save out 1/4 cup water then reconstitute with powdered milk. (If using non-instant milk powder like the church's from cannery it will take 3 cups, instant milk takes 5 1/2 cups). Easier to do if pour out half of the water into a bowl and whisk vigorously or use hand blender in the pot then add water back in.

3. Let the milk sit on the stovetop at room temperature for at least 2 hours but less than 12.

4. Whisk or hand blender in 1/2 cup olive or canola oil and 2 tsp. citric acid powder ( Available at the Good Earth)

5. Dissolve 3/4 Rennet tablet in the 1/4 cup water you saved at the beginning (available at Maceys)

6. Heat the milk slowly stirring gently with a stainless steel metal spoon to 88 degrees F using a good thermometer-I use a meat thermometer with an extra-long probe

7. Add the dissolved rennet to the milk and heat to 105 degrees F. Turn off the heat and remove from burner if your stove is electric.

8. Curds will develop over the next half hour. Scoop out larger pieces and place in a large microwaveable bowl. Pour the rest through a cheesecloth lined strainer sitting over another larger bowl to catch the whey. Let the whey drain out -gather up cloth and squeeze gently to help remove whey. After you have separated out all the curds place into the microwaveable bowl and pour all the whey back into your pot to make ricotta.

9. Put on some rubber gloves (like yellow dishwashing ones) and press the curds against the bowl side to drain off the whey into your pot. Remove as much as you can then Microwave for 1 minute on high.

10. Press and drain the curds again until removed more of the whey. (They will be very hot) microwave for 35 seconds and work the cheese in your hands to remove rest of the whey (can repeat 35 seconds if need to do it again)

11. Add 1 tsp. NON-Iodized salt and knead it into the cheese. It should become very stretchy, smooth, and shiny. You can also knead in other ingredients here--jalapenos, onion etc.

12. Stop kneading the cheese before it cools off to the point where it doesn't stick to itself (if it does heat it up again 35 seconds). Press into a plastic bag or Ziploc container and allow cooling in the fridge. Makes about 1 lb.

13. For another stretching option please see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vymXC0Cnxw&feature=fvwrel

Cottage and Ricotta Cheese

Curds & Whey: In a large pot combine 6-cups of fresh water and 3-cups of dry milk powder. Stir to dissolve. Heat the milk over a medium flame until it is very warm, about 120°. This is hot to the touch, but not scalding. Stir in 1/2-cup of plain white vinegar. Allow to stand for 10 minutes. There should be a large mass of curds in an amber pool of whey. If the liquid is still milky, add another 1/4-cup of vinegar. Stir and stand again for 10 minutes. Line a strainer with a clean cloth and drain off the whey. It can be used as the liquid in bread or muffins or biscuits. Rinse the curds under cool water and store in the fridge. This recipe makes about 1-1/2 to 2-cups of curds.

Ricotta or Cottage Cheese: The dry cheese curds from the above recipe will work for ricotta cheese in most recipes. To turn it into cottage cheese add a little evaporated milk or yogurt to “cream” it and stir to combine. You can divide the mixture in half and make some of each if you want to give them both a try.