How To Make Cream Cheese
This recipe is for 1 gallon of milk and 1 pint of heavy cream.
(ok if its ultra pasteurized cream).
- warm using a water bath (double boiler method) milk and cream to 75f - 85F, then remove from heat
- add 1/4 tsp liquid calcium chloride, stir gently and wait 2 mintutes
- add starter culture (per usage rate on culture packet; 1/8 tsp for this recipe)
Recommended culture options:
theMilkman™ Cream Cheese / Sour Cream Starter Culture or
- add rennet (1/4 tsp liquid rennet; microbial, veal or chymosin all ok)
- let milk ripen 12-14 hrs at room temp. (68-75F is good)
- transfer curds to a colander lined with either a nylon draining bag or cheese cloth. (set the colander inside a slightly larger bowl to capture whey)
- allow the curds to drain for 2 hours, then turn the curds over in the colander
- do this every 2 hours for a total of 8 hours of draining (always keep the curds contained in either the draining bag or cheese cloth)
- after 8 hours, check the consistency. If you still want it thicker, drain for another couple of hours and check again, up to 16 hours.
- after this period, remove cream cheese from the bag and massage in 1 tsp of Kosher Cheese Salt (don't over salt- it's easy to add a little more if needed)
- let the Cream Cheese drain another hour after salting, then store in refrigerator (good for about 1-2 weeks)
Enjoy!
-The CheeseMaker
