Brynza is a cheese that is used in cuisines of different countries of the world, adding it to both the filling for pies and to, as well as an independent dish for tea or as an appetizer.

Brynza cheese has been made since ancient times, but to this day it is a sought-after and valuable product. Brynza is made from milk, introducing a special rennet, the so-called pepsin, into it. But this is in production.

At home, the manufacturing method is much different, but the result is excellent. My kids really like feta cheese and I always buy it on the market, but this time I decided to make feta cheese at home from cow's milk. And I was not at all disappointed, on the contrary, the cheese of my production was liked by the household more than the cheese bought on the market. Now we do not buy cheese, but do it ourselves and are always happy with the result.

For the preparation of feta cheese we need following products:

• homemade milk 4 liters
• vinegar 4 tbsp
• salt 1 tbsp
• water 0.5 l

Brynza at home from cow's milk:

How to cook feta cheese from cow's milk at home, a recipe. I share with you a recipe for feta cheese, which we often prepared with my mother, a proven and simple recipe, I just don’t know anything else.

3 liters of milk

3 tablespoons of vinegar 9%

1 tablespoon of salt

We will prepare feta cheese from boiled milk. Therefore, I pour three liters of milk into a saucepan and set it on fire, waiting for it to boil.

Milk needs only natural homemade. It is clear that milk from packs, boxes and bags will not suit us. Homemade milk is also better than thick so that it is, we bought morning homemade from friends in the market, then there will be more feta cheese. Therefore, from "rare" milk - less. Meanwhile, while the milk boils, I pour three tablespoons of vinegar into a glass.

Is it possible to replace vinegar with lemon juice, to be honest, I do not know, since they have never replaced, and then there will probably be proportions different. When the milk boils, I add vinegar and a tablespoon of salt. I stir the milk with a tablespoon,it boils for just a couple of minutes, so that the milk coagulates well.

This is milk. It turns out whey and curd. We poured the whey, we and my mother always poured it, as it is boiled, with vinegar. But, you can not then pour the whey salt well and dip a piece of cheese into it. So it will be better stored. Of course, it may seem to someone that this is cottage cheese, but this is not so, cottage cheese is made with sour milk, and we make with boiled milk, and it doesn’t taste cottage cheese. In the meantime, I quickly prepared a colander, we will express this mass. The colander should be covered with clean gauze. Now you need to take a towel so as not to get burned, take a saucepan and strain the cheese, like this.

By the way, you can change the proportions you can cook the feta cheese at least from a liter of milk, the problem will be different, how much it will turn out. Next time, I plan to cook cheese with 6 liters of milk. For 6 liters of milk, you need 6 tablespoons of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of salt. Brynza stays in gauze, and the whey drains into the pan. As you can see, everything is simple. We also need to put our piece under “oppression” to remove excess fluid. This is the kind of “oppression” we came up with. They put a bottle of water on the feta cheese, and the excess liquid drained into the saucepan. I left for 2 hours, but this is a lot, in my opinion 1 hour is enough. So that our cheese is still not very dry.

With one three-liter can of milk, we got 350 grams of feta cheese. It turned out such a piece. Moreover, it could be given any form. Immediately cut the feta cheese and began to try. You can cut feta cheese with any slices, the ones that you like best.

I can say that it turned out very tasty cheese. Not salty, not sour, because it might seem to someone that if we add vinegar, it will be sour, but this is not at all. Here is this piece of feta cheese, if you want to make it salty, then either drop it into boiled salt water or don’t throw the whey out, add salt and lower the piece. The milk turned out to be fat, the feta cheese was yellowish. We bought cheese on the market on vacation, of course we sold white cheese and there was more water in it. We cooked the feta cheese and ate it right away, there was a small piece left. In general, I want to note that cheese is best stored in brine, if you do a lot or plan to store it, it is best in salted boiled water. Last year, a friend of mine treated me to home-made sheep’s cheese from sheep’s milk, but for me it’s very greasy, and we don’t find sheep’s milk either.

Brynza is a soft and tender pickled cheese, which is excellent both in vegetable salads, as a filling for juicy pies, and as an independent spicy and appetizing-burning appetizer. How to make feta cheese at home and is it difficult?

Two Ways to Get Home Delicacy

In the preparation of feta cheese from goat milk, there is absolutely nothing complicated. Do you have to go to the pharmacy and get pepsin - rennet, necessary in the cheese making business. And, of course, you have to get fat and high-quality goat milk. To make about 3 kg of cheese, you will need:

• 9-10 liters of milk;
• 1 g pepsin.

How to make feta cheese at home from goat milk - a step-by-step recipe:

1. Milk should be heated to 40-45ºС and add pepsin diluted in 1 cup of whey or ordinary water into it.
2. The resulting mixture must be left alone for 20-30 minutes.

Then they cover with a gauze a colander and put a dense curd clot on gauze. Allow the liquid to drain (usually it takes 4-5 hours). After all the glass serum, the gauze is tied, and the future delicacy is put in the refrigerator under the press for the night.

The delicacy is ready. It is stored in the refrigerator or in a bowl with salted whey.

However, you can make soft goat cheese without pepsin. To do this, you will need:

• 3 liters of milk;
• 1/4 table. l ordinary food vinegar;
• 1/4 table. l salt.

The actions are taken exactly the same, except that the warmed milk is not mixed with pepsin, but with salt and a bite. True, due to the lack of rennet in this recipe, the ripening can be delayed (up to 12-24 hours).

No less tasty alternative

Goat cheese is quite sharp and has a specific taste and smell, which not everyone will like. How to make cheese - a recipe for adherents of more traditional smells and tastes:

• 2 liters of cow's milk;
• 6 eggs;
• 0.5 l sour cream;
• 3 table. l salt.

Milk is heated to the same 40-45ºС. Beat eggs with sour cream and salt separately and pour into it. Further events unfold in the usual way: colander, gauze, flowing liquid, press.

Homemade cheese can simply be eaten with appetite, or you can bake it like they do in Bulgaria. The delicacy should be cut into large bars, roll them in herbs, sprinkled with black pepper, tightly wrap parchment paper greased with oil and baked in the oven. Prepare the dish for 40-50 minutes. at 220ºС.

Slow cooker as a cheese factory

A slow cooker is quite simple to turn into a real cheese factory. To get a delicious fresh homemade cheese in an amount of about 300 g, you will need:

• 2 l of sour or fresh milk;
• 3 eggs;
• 3 tea l salt.

How to make cheese from milk in a slow cooker:

1. If it is sour, you don’t need to do anything with it. And fresh before cooking, you need to allow 1 day to stand in a jar on the windowsill to sour. If it stubbornly does not turn sour, it is poured into a slow cooker and for 10 minutes. turn on the "Extinguishing" mode.
2. Beat eggs with salt and pour into this man-made yogurt, then for 20 minutes. turn on the “Baking” mode.
3. Then, in a standard way, wrap the cheese "workpiece" in cheesecloth, allow the liquid to drain, place the treat under the press.

Brynza is a piquant delicacy that can be easily cooked at home to pamper your loved ones.

Dec 5-2016

What is feta cheese?

What is this cheese, how is cheese prepared in the home, how is it healthy, all of this is of great interest to those who lead a healthy lifestyle, monitor their health and are interested in how to cook these or those dishes and food with their own hands . So we will try to answer these questions in the following article.

Brynza is a variety of brine cheese obtained from pasteurized cow, buffalo, sheep and goat milk, or a mixture thereof.

The cheese dough is white or light yellow in color, similar in texture to cottage cheese, moderately dense. Brynza has a salty taste and the smell of sour milk. Usually cheese dough is homogeneous, but in some cases there are rare irregularly shaped eyes. There is no crust, the surface of the cheese is flat.

Currently, feta cheese is usually produced from cow's milk. The ripening period of this cheese is 20 days. In some cases, feta cheese is made from unpasteurized milk on pastures.

To obtain cheese, calcium chloride, rennet and bacterial starter culture, which consists of aromatizing and lactic acid streptococcus strains, are added to milk.

The finished clot is cut into cubes, left for 10-15 minutes, then gently mixed for 20-30 minutes and laid out on a table laid with a sickle in 2 layers. Then there is a process of self-pressing, which ends after the serum ceases to stand out.

The pressed layer of cheese is cut into squares with a side of 15 cm and laid out in a 20–22% brine, where it is kept for five days at a temperature of 8–12 ° C.

The benefits of cheese:

Since this type of cheese is not exposed to high temperatures, all useful substances in its composition are preserved. Brynza is rich in the following vitamins and minerals:

B vitamins necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system;

Vitamin C, which strengthens the immune system;

Vitamin E, providing the brain with oxygen;

Calcium, which affects the strengthening of the skeletal system;

Thyroid-stimulating fluoride.

Cheese contains a large amount of calcium and phosphorus, and in aggregate this is the best option for the prevention of bone fractures, dislocation of joints. It is these two substances that give Brynza reinforcing properties - the use of Brynza will be useful in osteoporosis, rickets and fractures, as well as for pregnant women.

In Brynza, there is a complex of amino acids, B vitamins and lactic acid bacteria - this helps to cope with the consequences of liver diseases, accelerates recovery after undergoing medical treatment, and stabilizes the nervous system.

It is impossible to underestimate the benefits of feta cheese for bones, teeth of every person, in this matter it is feta cheese that leaves milk and cottage cheese far behind. Moreover, calcium, which is part of feta cheese, is completely absorbed by the human body, unlike calcium, which is found in other dairy foods. Only 100 grams of feta cheese allow a person to provide the necessary supply of calcium for the whole day.

The inclusion of feta cheese in the daily diet helps to significantly improve the body's digestion process, accelerate metabolism, and suppress the development of putrefactive bacteria in the intestine. It is believed that women who regularly use feta cheese look much younger, their skin is more elastic, velvety. The ingredients that are part of feta cheese - milk sugar, proteins, fats, minerals, can easily complement the missing necessary nutritional balance of the human body.

The benefits of feta cheese are undeniable for people of any age, it is especially important to include feta cheese in the diet of children, the elderly.

Brynza recipes:

To prepare this type of cheese at home is quite easy. Its taste is not inferior to purchased counterparts. We draw your attention to the fact that for the preparation of feta cheese it is best to use only natural products. This will make homemade cheese as useful as possible.

Cheese in a slow cooker:

Unpasteurized milk - 3 l, eggs - 3 pcs., Lemon juice - 1 tbsp. l., salt - 2 tbsp. l., boiled water - 2 glasses.

Pour milk into the multicooker bowl, add lemon juice, select the “Stew” mode and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Beat eggs with a blender, pour into curdled milk and cook the mass in the “Baking” mode for 20 minutes.

Tilt the contents of the bowl onto a colander lined with gauze, allow the serum to drain.

Place the cheese mass under oppression for 6–8 hours, then cut into plates, transfer to a container with brine prepared from boiled water and salt, and leave for at least 3 hours.

How to make feta cheese at home from goat milk?

Unpasteurized goat milk - 2 l, eggs - 6 pcs., Sour cream (20%) - 500 g, sugar - 1 tbsp. l., salt - 1 tbsp. l

Pour milk into an enamel pan, bring to a boil over low heat with constant stirring. Beat eggs with sugar and salt until foam, combine with sour cream.

Pour the cream in boiled milk, not ceasing to mix, and keep on low heat for another 5-7 minutes.

After the curd and whey form in the pan, discard the contents in a colander lined with gauze.

As soon as the serum drains, bind the free ends of the gauze and put the clot under the oppression, leaving it for 4–5 hours in a warm place. After that, place the feta cheese in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

How to make feta cheese at home from cow's milk?

Unpasteurized cow's milk - 3 l, table vinegar (9%) - 3 tbsp. l., salt - 1 tbsp. l

Pour milk into an enamel pan, bring to a boil, pour vinegar, add salt.

Boil milk for two minutes with constant stirring. After it coagulates, discard the mass on a colander lined with gauze and allow the serum to drain.

Place the cheese mass under oppression or press and leave for 2 hours.

How to make feta cheese at home from sheep’s milk?

Unpasteurized sheep’s milk - 5 l, rennet - 0.1 g, salt to taste.

Mix rennet with an equal amount of salt, pour into an enamel container, pour 20 ml of boiled water, the temperature of which is 30–35 ° C.

Pour the rennet solution into milk heated to 30 ° C, mix, cover the container with a lid and leave it in a warm room until a clot forms. Put the finished clot in a colander lined with gauze and let the serum drain. Dice the clot. Place the cheese mass under oppression for 10-15 minutes, then cut large cubes into small pieces and place again under oppression for the same period of time.

Form the feta cheese head, wrap it in gauze and keep it under oppression for another 20 minutes. Cool the feta cheese by pouring it with cold water, then put in a container with 20% saline brine. After the cheese’s head pops up, sprinkle salt on top of it.

Leave the cheese in brine for 12 hours, then remove, salt again and store at a temperature not exceeding 10 ° C.

Brynza with lemon juice:

Unpasteurized milk - 1 liter, sour cream - 3 tbsp. l., lemon juice - 2 tbsp. l., boiled water - 1/4 cup, salt - 1 tsp.

Pour milk into an enamel pan, put on a fire, add sour cream, mix. After the milk begins to curl, pour in the lemon juice and mix again.

Discard the curd mass in a colander lined with gauze, allow the whey to drain.

Tie the free ends of the gauze, place the cheese mass under oppression for 60 minutes. After that, cut the feta cheese into small pieces and place in a container with a brine made from boiled water and salt.

Brynza with eggs:

Unpasteurized milk - 1 liter, sour cream - 200 g, eggs - 3 pcs., Salt - 2 tbsp. l

Pour milk into an enamel pan, bring to a boil, pour salt.

Break the eggs into a bowl, beat with sour cream using a blender, introduce the mixture into boiling milk and cook with stirring for 5 minutes.

After the milk is curdled, discard the contents of the pan into a colander lined with gauze and allow the serum to drain.

Tie the free ends of the gauze and place the cheese under the oppression for 1 hour.

Sourdough for feta cheese:

Brynza is prepared in several ways. With natural fermentation of milk, for example with sour cream. Or using a ready starter enzyme. You can buy it in specialized stores or order online.

Sourdough is also a natural bacterial component that helps to quickly ferment the milk component of feta cheese or cheese. There are several varieties of starter cultures: with preliminary activation in milk, followed by adding it to the milk mixture for the preparation of cheese directly. And direct application: such a sourdough is added directly to the milk mixture in the preparation of feta cheese or cheese. The amount of sourdough needed to make cheese is small. Therefore, one bag or bottle is enough for a sufficiently long period. There is sourdough in dry form (granules, powder), and in liquid.

Preparing feta cheese according to this recipe is not difficult.

To make cow's milk cheese at home, take these foods.

Use homemade fatter milk. The fatter the milk, the greater the yield of the finished product. Pour milk into the pan. Put on fire. Bring to a boil.

Add vinegar and salt to boiling milk. Stir with a spoon until curd clots form and whey separates. Keep on fire for a couple more minutes.

Pre-prepare a colander, covering it with a double layer of gauze. Lay in a conveniently sized container. Strain the resulting curd mixture on cheesecloth. Leave on for 10-15 minutes.

Gently collect the cheesecloth on top to form a glaze of feta cheese. Lay the yoke on top. Leave for 1-1.5 hours.

An hour later, such an appetizing feta cheese weighing about 250 g was formed, ready to eat. If you like salted feta cheese, place a slice in a saline solution of cold boiled water or whey. For about 1 liter of liquid, take 2-3 tbsp. salt. Keep the feta cheese in saline in the refrigerator.