Homemade cheese is very quick and easy to prepare, as long as the raw materials are natural. This delicious cheese will differ from the store one not only in that it will be free of preservatives, dyes and melting agents, but also in its low salt content. That is, its salinity will depend only on you.
Why am I focusing on this? It is believed that the benefits of hard cheese are high in calcium, which is necessary for the growth of children's bones and teeth. Adults need calcium to prevent osteoporosis (brittle bones). But the excess salt content is not so beneficial for the body due to the fact that it will retain water and provoke edema.
Another reason to cook cheese yourself at home is its fat content, which you yourself can adjust based on your preferences.

Homemade cheese

The recipe for homemade cheese can be improved all the time by adding various additives to it: fresh or dried herbs, oregano, Provencal herbs, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, slices of ham or raw smoked sausage, or even make sweet cheese by adding sugar and cocoa to it when cooking.

In this issue, a recipe for making cheese from our reader was presented.
There were several responses in the comments and in the feedback that it is impossible to cook cheese at home.
Therefore, I decided to try this recipe myself and I assure you that there is nothing easier than making cheese at home. My step by step photos in the recipe itself are an example for you.

for a recipe for homemade cheese from cottage cheese and milk, we need

Ingredients:

• Curd - 2 kg
• Cow's milk (you can also cook homemade cheese from goat's milk) - 2 liters
• Butter - 200 g
• Eggs - 2 pcs.
• Tea soda - 1 tablespoon
• Salt to taste

(it is better to take homemade cottage cheese, in the market from a familiar milkman)

Cooking process:

A very interesting recipe for making cheese at home from Valentina Gorbacheva, easy, quick and easy to prepare:

When I had a household, I often made homemade delicious cheese from milk and cottage cheese for myself. It is very easy to cook cheese at home, the main thing is that the products are of high quality. The recipe for making homemade cheese can be changed by adding caraway seeds, dried aromatic herbs (for example, Provencal or Italian), sun-dried tomatoes, sun-dried bell peppers (paprika) or just chopped dill, parsley and cilantro when cooking cheese.

To get a harder cheese with a low fat content, you can reduce the amount of butter, put it 100-150 g. But you can't spoil the porridge with butter, so my homemade cheese also turned out delicious, here it is in the photo.

Of course, it may not be the same as the store one, but it is environmentally friendly and you know that in your homemade cheese everything is natural, from a cow, fresh and there is no palm oil, no dyes and preservatives. Initially, in the preparation of my homemade cheese, I used 3 liters of milk per 1 kg of cottage cheese, then I tried to reduce the amount of milk. I did not notice the difference in the quality of the homemade cheese, so I began to add milk so much that it only covered the curd.

COOKING HOMEMADE CHEESE FROM MILK AND Cottage cheese

I put 2 kg of cottage cheese in a saucepan, poured 2 liters of milk. She put it on fire. Stir slightly (mostly only along the bottom, the cottage cheese can stick) so that the mass warms up evenly, bring the milk with cottage cheese to a hot state. Once you see whey forming, then you're done. Curd becomes like soft plasticine. It is not necessary to break this curd bun too much. In time it takes 7-10 minutes, no more.

Then you need to separate the whey from the resulting cheese mass, I usually put it on cheesecloth, you need to try so that, if possible, all the liquid escapes and the curd mass is almost dry, without whey. Then in the cauldron where you will cook homemade cheese, put the resulting mass, there 200 g of softened butter, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp. l. soda and salt. Salt, of course, to your taste, someone loves salted cheese, someone slightly salted.

Combine all the ingredients for homemade cheese in a cauldron or other thick-bottomed dish (not enameled) and put on fire.

Making cheese at home requires constant monitoring, so you cannot leave it, as the cheese may burn during cooking. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat, the curd mass will begin to melt and stretch, it takes about 5-7 minutes to boil homemade cheese. I have a wooden spoon with which I constantly stir the cheese mass. You will be able to determine when the cheese is ready. It will be sticky, sticky. You can determine the readiness of the cheese by a tooth: try it, if it sticks to your teeth, then everything is ready! Another sign of cheese readiness - it begins to lag behind the walls of the dishes in which it is cooked.

Then pour the hot homemade cheese into any container (cup or container) to shape it. It is necessary to handle the cauldron carefully, as the cheese mass is very capricious. Cover the warm homemade cheese on top with cling film so that the crust does not wind up.

I got homemade cream cheese, it is not quite hard, because it is high in fat, but it keeps its shape and can be cut with a knife.

Notebook Tips:

• The remaining whey from making homemade cheese from milk and cottage cheese can be used for baking or put yeast dough on it for bread, or in the summer you can cook okroshka with whey.
• I would like to highlight separately: the store often sells not cottage cheese, but a CURD PRODUCT, which in its composition is not cottage cheese at all, cheese will not work from such an unreal cottage cheese, it is better to buy real farm cottage cheese with milk and get a good result and taste of homemade cheese! It is best not to use ultra pasteurized and sterilized milk from cartons.

And on our website there is a recipe for a more dietary cheese with kefir, try it too:

Bon appetit and delicious cheese recipe notebook wishes you!

Apple jelly with ginger

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of green apples (8-10 pieces)
• 2 cm piece of fresh ginger (peel and grate)
• 6 glasses of water
• 1 glass of sugar for each glass of juice

Cooking method

1. Wash the apples and chop coarsely. Place in a cooking bowl with ginger and cover with water. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes until tender. Remove and set to cool.
2. Put the apples in a gauze bag and hang over a bowl - strain this way all night.
3. Pour the juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the required amount of sugar, stir until completely dissolved. Boil for 5-10 minutes until thickened, remove the foam.
4. Turn off the heat and let it brew for 10 minutes. Pour the jelly into sterile jars, seal.

This jelly can make a great sauce. to pork .

Orange-onion confiture

Ingredients:

• 500 g oranges + zest of 1 orange
• 250 g sweet onions (shallots)
• 100 g brown sugar
• 90 ml white wine vinegar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs thyme
• ¼ h. L. black pepper

Cooking method

1. Peel the oranges and films, cut into slices. Slice the zest thinly.
2. Boil 250 ml of water and add the zest to it. Boil for a minute, remove the zest and cover with cold water. Then put it in boiling water again, boil it and again in cold water.
3. Chop the onion thinly. Place oranges and onions in a bowl and put on fire. After boiling, reduce heat and cook for 35-40 minutes. Then add vinegar, salt, bay leaf, thyme, zest and sugar. Simmer over low heat for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. At the end of cooking, remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Spread the jam in sterile jars, seal it tightly. Store in the refrigerator.

This jam goes well with blue cheese and meat.

"Live" gooseberry with oranges

Ingredients:

• 1 kg gooseberry
• 1 kg sugar
• 1 orange

Cooking method

1. Wash the gooseberries, peel the stalks and perianths. Pass through a meat grinder along with the orange.
2. Add sugar to the fruit mixture. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Place in sterile jars, cover and store in the refrigerator.

An unexpected combination - gooseberry and orange. Worth a try!

Rhubarb jam

Ingredients:

• 1 kg rhubarb
• 1.3 kg sugar
• 7 cherry leaves

Cooking method

1. Peel off the outer wrap at the base of the stems, cut the rhubarb into slices, add sugar and let sit for an hour.
2. Bring the rhubarb to a boil, place the cherry leaves in a cooking bowl, simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside and repeat the cooking the next day. Then pour into sterile jars and seal.

Rhubarb often grows in our summer cottages - don't miss the season! This is a vitamin jam with a unique taste.

Honeysuckle jam

Ingredients:

• 1 kg honeysuckle
• 1 kg sugar
• 1 glass of water
• 2 g citric acid

Cooking method

1. Sort out the honeysuckle berries, take good and unripe ones. Boil the syrup and pour over the honeysuckle. Leave it on for 4 hours.
2. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Then set aside for 6-8 hours and cook the jam until tender. Add citric acid at the end of cooking and pour into sterile jars.

Honeysuckle is a very tasty and healthy berry, although quite exotic for our region.

Blackberry jam with apples

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chokeberry
• 400 g apples
• 1.5 kg sugar
• 2 glasses of water
• 5 g citric acid
• cinnamon

Cooking method

1. Rinse the rowan and blanch for 3-5 minutes, cool in cold water.
2. In a bowl for cooking jam, boil the syrup from 2 glasses of water and 500 g of sugar, add the chokeberry, bring to a boil and boil for 3-4 minutes. Leave the berries in the syrup for 8 hours.
3. Peel the apples, remove the core, cut into small wedges and put them in boiling water for 8-10 minutes without boiling them.
4. . Bring the blackberry in the syrup to a boil and add the remaining sugar. Simmer to dissolve the sugar, then add the apples and cook everything together for about 15-20 minutes until thickened. Add cinnamon and citric acid at the end.

Compote recipes and blackberry preserves are rare today. It is always helpful to remember the secrets of our mothers and grandmothers.

A cheese platter is an integral part of the festive table.

The most popular sauce for a cheese platter is cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Cheese Sauce Recipes

Classic sauce:

• 350 g (12 oz) cranberries
• 1 cup * sugar
• 1 cup of water

* 1 cup = 240 ml

Cranberry sauce with orange juice:

• 350 g (12 oz) cranberries
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp grated ginger (optional)

Additionally add:

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp hot pepper flakes
• a pinch of allspice

Cranberry sauce with orange peel:

• 350 g (12 oz) cranberries (lingonberries)
• ½ cup sugar
• juice and zest of one orange
• 1-2 tbsp cognac, brandy or vodka (optional)
• a pinch of cayenne pepper

Cranberry sauce with apple:

• 350 g (12 oz) cranberries
• 1 apple, cut into cubes
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup orange juice

Cooking cranberry sauce for cheese:

1. In a saucepan, combine cranberries, sugar and water.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring slightly, for about 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries burst.

When the sauce has cooled, it will thicken.

To get a smooth consistency, you can use a blender (stationary or submersible) or a food processor.

For a "silk" homogeneous consistency, after grinding the sauce in a blender, it can be rubbed through a sieve.

Onion marmalade for cheese

Onion marmalade, or caramel onions, is a great addition to a pate, cheese plate, steak.

Red onion marmalade:

Cut 2 kg of red onion not very finely, fry in heated olive oil (about 100 ml) for 5 minutes over medium heat, then simmer for 15 minutes under a lid over low heat.

If you like, first toss a sprig of thyme and a teaspoon of coriander seeds into the hot oil.

When the onion becomes transparent and soft, pour 1 cup of dry red wine, 100 g of liquid honey, 120 ml of wine vinegar into the pan, add 150 g of sugar.

White onion marmalade recipe:

• 0.5 kg of sweet juicy white onions
• 0.5 cups sugar (125 g)
• 1 glass of white nutmeg wine (250 ml)
• garni bouquet (rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, leek)
• 1.5 tsp coarse sea salt
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• ground black pepper - to taste

Bouquet garni (garni bouquet) is very common in the south of France and is a bunch of fragrant herbs tied with a thread.

Cooking method:

1. Cut the onion lengthwise into half rings.

2. Prepare a bouquet of garni. The basic components are thyme and bay leaf, the rest are added to taste and desire, it can be parsley, celery, rosemary, chervil, etc. Put a sprig of thyme, rosemary, bay leaf in a strip of leek, wrap and tie with a string.

3. Pour olive oil into a container, heat, add chopped onions and simmer until soft and transparent, never frying or burning.

4. Add salt, sugar, pepper, cover with nutmeg, add a bouquet of garni and simmer for 2-3 hours over low heat with the lid open until the onion is “marmalade”.

It will become so transparent and beautiful honey color, the wine should evaporate. In no case, during the cooking process, do not allow it to burn.

Onion marmalade can be stored in glass jars with tight lids in the refrigerator.

How to eat cheese platter with sauce

It is important to arrange varieties as the intensity of their taste increases - first there are soft and pickled cheeses, and at the end the most seasoned, hard or aromatic ones.

The most suitable varieties include:

• pasty goat or cow cheeses
• blue cheeses
• soft cheeses with a white crust
• smoked and aged varieties
• hard cheeses
• semi-soft cow cheese varieties

They should be laid clockwise so that the lightest and brightest varieties meet.

Alternatively, the cheeses can be arranged in ascending order of taste from the center to the edges of the round plateau, and on a narrow long plate - from left to right in the form of a wave or zigzag.

They eat this assortment like this: they start with the lightest cheese, and the first small piece is eaten solo, then a fragment of the same variety is dipped in the sauce.

Such manipulation makes it possible to understand how it is more pleasant for your receptors to consume this cheese, alone or with accompaniment.

There are several options for serving jam with cheese.

The simplest solution is to have small portions of jam next to diced or sliced ​​cheese so your guests can create delicious new combinations on their own.

If you're ready to surprise you with the new formula you've found, create your signature snack: place a small amount of jam next to a portion of your chosen cheese, garnish with herbs and a slice of country bread.

Your truly exquisite gastronomic masterpiece will definitely not go unnoticed. Bon Appetit!

I was able to attend an event that simply could not be missed - a tasting of cheeses from the Queseria La Antigua de Fuentesauco cheese dairy. You can't ... because I'm a big fan of cheeses. And different. Young and mature, soft and hard, curd and creamy, from cow, goat and sheep milk.

For me, there is nothing more beautiful than a slice of baguette with olive oil, a piece of aromatic cheese and a glass of wine - this is the formula for my good mood. And not even chocolate at all. Despite the fact that I have a sweet tooth, and without a small chocolate bar I don't have a day, bread, cheese and good wine are better. Well, it's also nice to serve some unusual jam for cheese.

I somehow managed to lose the photos from the tasting itself (I don't even know how this could happen), but zveruska there was a great report, so if you're curious, you can check it out. We not only tasted different types of cheese and learned to distinguish good from bad, we tried several interesting dishes from it.

So, God sent the crow a piece of cheese ... at this tasting I met a wonderful girl, the creator of the Foodybox project. And on New Year's Eve I received a gift - a gourmet box - foodbox! And with it the very rich, aromatic and tart mature cheese from La Antigua.

She opened the box and gasped - all the most beloved! Candied orange fruits in chocolate, grapefruit and strawberry jam, aromatic tea with spices ...

But it's a great idea to collect in boxes all the best, interesting and new in the world of gastronomy. Often we come to the store shelf, study new products, but we do not dare to take everything. This is especially true for expensive products. You never know if the price is worth it? Is it such a good quality. Foodbox is just designed to introduce us to the new. Tea completely captivated me, but not about it today;)

Jam goes well with cheeses. Especially soft. An interesting combination, now I want to try to cook it myself.

I must say, there was a period when I was indifferent to preserves, jams and confiture. Because everything that was done around was monotonous and boring: from year to year, the same thing. But when I started experimenting with tastes and combinations, adding unusual ingredients, my attitude towards this type of product changed.

And now I want to offer you lime and ginger jam. The combination is a classic. But in this form, I got it by accident. I was going to cook confiture with lime crusts, but it so happened that the limes were already lying and the skins began to dry out in places. When I began to cook a mixture of limes and sugar, there were a lot of crusts and they seemed too hard to me, I was not sure that they would soften and would be good in such a quantity in jam. Therefore, I decided to pass the hot jam through a sieve and continue to cook it until it thickens. It turned out to be a wonderful cheese jam!

Recipe

• 8 limes (zest off half)


• 500 g sugar


• 600 g water


• 2 cm ginger, grate (about 1 tsp)

Cut the limes into slices, cover with sugar and leave to stand overnight. The next day, pour water over and place on the stove. Bring to a boil, boil a little, then cool and rub through a sieve, pour again into a saucepan or ladle and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Turn off and cool again. And so a couple more times. It is necessary for the mixture to thicken. Add finely grated ginger to the last cooking. Pour into jars and enjoy.

And about knives ... you probably already paid attention to them) They are unusually photogenic. I have long dreamed of a suitable stand for my knives. While we live with a temporary kitchen, an eternal problem: all cutlery and knives are in a heap, and go find what you need. And then I saw this set. Now there is order with him in the kitchen and you don't have to look for anything! You know, I was afraid that, like many beautiful things, it would turn out to be not very good in terms of quality. And more likely it will be convenient as a guest option. When guests come and we cook together, the first question they ask is what knife to cut and where to get it. Everything is in plain sight, and even signed what it is used for. Fortunately, the quality of the knives turned out to be quite good, so I actively use them myself. Of course, chefs and cheesy are the most popular. It's a shame that this set doesn't have a bread knife. Homemade bread with a thick crispy crust can only be cut with it. Another undoubted advantage of the set is the cutting board, which is attached behind the knives.

PS Since we are talking about delicious jams ... Do you remember I told you about the one I first met in Finland when I bought it in a store? This year I tried lemon and lime jam with zest, of the same brand, according to your recommendations. How delicious he is! Ideal with natural yoghurt or cracker. But I bought the cream for a lemon tart to quickly cook not my birthday, and after homemade it seemed too sweet and with a less pronounced citrus taste. True, this time it was lime, this time it was lemon. In any case, homemade is always tastier, of course!

The photography was attended by:
- Rondell knives
- gourmet box "Foodibox"
- sheep cheese La Antigua de Fuentesauсo
- jam from Mackays
and ... my hands)

Ricotta is an Italian specialty, a traditional Italian cream cheese. Almost no Italian dish can be imagined without it - ravioli, lasagna, vegetables and desserts. There are several types of ricotta: Ricotta fresca - fresh soft white cheese, used for fillings, salads, desserts, pizza, pasta dishes; Ricotta salata - mature salted cheese, used grated instead of parmesan; Ricotta affumicata - smoked mature cheese, used alone or grated. In the assortment of cheeses offered by the shops of our city, I meet only fresh ricotta (fresca). This is what I propose to cook at home. No lemon juice !!! (as in just two recipes on the site), with the addition of cream, by natural fermentation, I got, I'm not afraid of the word, GREAT, natural, tasty, tender creamy ricotta, a hundred times tastier than store-bought (even Italian, which costs a lot of money) ! Aside from the obvious savings, my ricotta has a much creamier texture and mellow flavor! I suggest you, dear cooks, to enjoy it !!!