Water kefir
Milk kefir
Kombucha
Ginger beer
Kefir duo
Kefir and kombucha
Starter kit
RennetWarm 2 litres of fresh whole milk to 32 to 35°C. Dilute 4 to 8 drops of liquid calf rennet (0.2 to 0.4 ml) in a tablespoon of boiled and cooled water, stir it through the milk for a minute and leave the pot covered and still for 30 to 45 minutes. Cut the curd into cubes of about 2 cm, rest them 10 minutes, ladle them into a cheese mould and let the whey run off. Salt, chill and eat over the next few days. You get about 300 to 400 g of fresh cheese. UHT milk does not work.
What you need
- 2 litres of whole milk (the blue top), fresh from the fridge or raw from a farm. Not UHT.
- 4 to 8 drops of liquid calf rennet, which is 0.2 to 0.4 ml.
- A level teaspoon of fine salt.
- A stainless steel pot with a lid, a kitchen thermometer, a long knife and a slotted spoon.
- A cheese mould with holes for about 400 g, or a colander lined with a clean muslin or cheese cloth.
Just before you start, scald the pot, the mould, the cloth and your utensils with boiling water from the kettle. That is all the precaution you need, and it takes two minutes.
Which milk?
The milk decides whether it works. UHT milk, the long-life carton that keeps for months in the cupboard, does not: the intense heat treatment changes the proteins so that rennet can no longer pull them together into a firm curd. At best you get a thin, grainy slop.
| Milk | Suitable? |
|---|---|
| Fresh pasteurised whole milk | Very good, the easiest choice |
| Raw milk from a farm | Very good, the fullest flavour |
| Extended shelf-life milk from the chiller | Often works, but not always as well |
| Semi-skimmed milk | Possible, the cheese is drier and less creamy |
| UHT milk | Not suitable |
| Goat's milk | Good, the cheese is whiter with a gentle tang |
If you use raw milk, use it as fresh as possible. For a fresh cheese you will eat within a few days, many home cheesemakers prefer to pasteurise raw milk gently themselves first: hold it at 63°C for 30 minutes, then stand the pot in a sink of cold water until it drops back to 35°C. Goat's milk works the same way, and the recipe is in Fresh goat's cheese. More about milk is on the cheese making page.
Step by step
1. Warm the milk
Heat the milk over a low flame, stirring now and then, and keep an eye on the thermometer: you want 32 to 35°C, which feels barely warm on your wrist. If you overshoot, take the pot off the heat and stir until it comes down.
2. Add the rennet
Dilute the drops of rennet in a tablespoon of boiled and cooled water. Chlorine straight from the tap weakens rennet. Pour it into the milk and stir gently for a minute with slow up-and-down strokes. Then hold the spoon still in the middle to stop the swirl.
3. Let it set
Put the lid on and leave the pot somewhere quiet for 30 to 45 minutes. The less you move it, the better the curd.
4. The clean break
Slide a clean knife into the curd at an angle and lift it slowly. If the curd splits with clean edges and the gap fills with clear, yellowish-green whey, it is ready. If it is still soft or the whey looks milky, give it another ten minutes.
5. Cut
Cut the curd into strips about 2 cm wide, turn the pot a quarter turn and repeat. Then cut down through the depth with the knife held at an angle, so you end up with cubes of roughly equal size. Leave them to rest for 10 minutes.
6. Drain
Ladle the cubes gently into the mould with the slotted spoon, without pressing. Sprinkle the salt between the layers or over the outside later. Let the cheese drain for an hour at room temperature, turn it in the mould and put it in the fridge for a few hours.
Firm or spreadable?
The method above gives a soft, sliceable fresh cheese, moist and mild, a bit like a farmhouse cheese that is less than a day old. If you would rather have something to spread, like cream cheese on a cracker, change two things:
- Cut the curd smaller, to about 1 cm, so more whey runs out.
- Drain the curd in a cloth overnight in the fridge, then beat it smooth with salt and a spoon of cream or milk.
That gives you a creamy cheese you can season with herbs, garlic or pepper.
Cottage cheese, paneer and their cousins
Fresh cheeses come in several families, and they are not all made the same way. Here is how they compare:
| Cheese | How it sets | How it is made |
|---|---|---|
| Farmhouse soft cheese | Rennet | The method above: 2 cm cubes, drained in a mould |
| Cottage cheese | Rennet | Curd cut to 1 cm, warmed slowly to about 40°C while stirring for half an hour, drained, rinsed in cold water, then salted and loosened with a spoon of cream |
| Paneer | Acid, no rennet | Milk brought to the boil, set with lemon juice or vinegar, then pressed into a firm block |
| Strained kefir cheese | Fermentation, no rennet | Milk kefir drained overnight in a cloth |
Rennet gives the smoothest, most delicate curd, which is why it is the base of almost every classic cheese. Paneer is the one to make when you want cubes that hold their shape in a curry. And if you already make milk kefir, you have a tangy fresh cheese with no rennet at all: see Strained kefir cheese.
Flavouring your cheese
| Variation | How |
|---|---|
| Chives and parsley | Finely chopped and stirred through just before serving |
| Garlic and black pepper | A grated clove and coarsely ground pepper |
| Caraway or cumin | A teaspoon of seeds between the layers of curd in the mould |
| Wild garlic | In spring, finely chopped |
| Sweet | Honey, walnuts and fresh berries, for breakfast or dessert |
Salt is best added after draining, so you can taste as you go. Seeds and spices, on the other hand, go in early so their flavour soaks into the cheese.
Do not pour away the whey
A yellowish-green liquid is left in the pot: the whey. Far too good for the sink. In half an hour it becomes ricotta, as explained in Ricotta from whey. Or use it instead of water in a batch of scones or a loaf of bread, or to cook potatoes and pasta.
The most common beginner mistakes
| Mistake | Result | How to get it right |
|---|---|---|
| UHT milk | The milk never sets | Fresh whole milk or raw milk |
| Milk too hot | An unpredictable, often crumbly curd | Use a thermometer, 32 to 35°C |
| Rennet dripped in undiluted | Uneven curd with hard patches | Dilute it first in a tablespoon of boiled and cooled water |
| Pot moved while setting | The curd tears and stays soft | Cover it and leave it alone |
| Cut too early | Much of the curd disappears with the whey | Wait for the clean break |
Keeping and eating it
Fresh cheese goes into a closed container in the fridge and is at its best within three to four days. It gets a little firmer and a little tangier every day. On warm wholemeal bread with a pinch of salt and pepper, on crackers with radishes, crumbled through a salad, or with honey for dessert: it never lasts long.
Once your fresh cheese works a few times in a row, you are ready for the next step. An aged cheese takes more patience but no professional kit: read How to make hard cheese.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use UHT milk?
How much cheese do I get from 2 litres of milk?
Can I make a bigger batch?
Why does my fresh cheese taste bitter?
Is rennet a culture?
Ready to start? Our liquid calf rennet comes in a 50 ml bottle for £13 and sets 250 to 500 litres of milk, which is a great many fresh cheeses. Everything about cheese making is on the cheese making page.