The most wonderful and simple cheeses can be made at home, with fantastic results: This cheese is wonderful, and has a delicate lemon type flavor.

Indirectly (like in a double boiler) heat one quart of milk to 170 degrees. Use your cooking thermometer to give you accurate temperature indications. (If you want your cheese to have a yellow cheddar color, add Ground Tumeric to the milk at this stage, only a pinch is necessary.) Add the juice from two lemons (or equal amount of concentrate from bottle), to the heated milk. Stir well, but don't over stir. Remove from the heat source and let sit for anywhere from 15-20 minutes (the time here depends on the size of the curds you will want) covered. If the milk does not curd up, very slowly add more lemon, until you see some curding action. The milk will curd up. Pour this into a cheese cloth lined colander, allowing the whey to drain out into another pan placed under your colander(save the whey). Let drain for about 10-15 minutes. Then lift up the four corners of the cheese cloth and tie it into a knot, hang to drain, in a place where it can drip freely. Let drain for 1-2 hours. Then remove the cheese from the cheese cloth, putting it into a glass bowl. You may want to add some whey back in until your cheese has the consistency desired. Salt with CANNING SALT, (table salt will do though,) to taste, refrigerate until ready to serve.

This process can also be used with a gallon of milk and 1/4 cup of WHITE vinegar (rather than the lemon juice.

After you have completed your cheese, wash your utensils in COLD soapy water. Hot water bakes on the cheese, and causes you a lot of unnecessary work. You will then need to sterilize them before you make cheese again.

-- Suzy (suzy@nowhere.com), November 20, 1999

Answers

Suzy-- Have to thank you here--tried to email with no success. Made cheese this morning. Just great. Much better than yogurt cheese. Now, I can see drinking the whey or making a soup base with it but do you have any good ideas for how to use it? Thank you so much. Pam

-- Pamela (jpjgood@penn.com), November 26, 1999.