How to Make {Cheese}

In this case, the cheese in question is Paneer. This is an Indian cheese that's pretty simple and easy to make, and is suitable for a vegetarian (although not vegan, 'cause let's face it...it's cheese) diet. The cheese itself is fairly tasteless (so don't throw in your lasagna), but when added to curries and things like saag paneer or fried in butter with a little garlic, it sings!

The original website I used seems to not exist anymore, so if this doesn't work, it's only because my memory is bad! Also, I may add in some pictures later, but I don't have time just presently.

What you will need:
4 cups of whole cow's milk
3-4 Tablespoons lemon juice (you can also use lime juice or leftover whey from your last batch)
Cheesecloth
Thermometer
A sieve
A saucepan

Heat the milk to 80 Celsius, or just before the boiling point. Add in the acid, 1 teaspoon at a time, making sure to give it a good stir. Keep adding the acid until the curds separate from the greenish whey (and while you're stiring, be sure to note that Little Miss Muffit was dumb-tuffit, 'cause would you really eat that??? Even without the impeding visit of a spider??? No, you would not).

Pour the mixture through a sieve lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth (If you want to, you can let the mixture cool for 30 minutes before this step, but I found it easier just to rinse it with lukewarm water until it was cool enough to handle). Rinse with fresh water. Squeeze the water out of the cheese with your hands. Then, sit your cheese under something heavy and let it self-squeeze for a while. The more moisture you remove, the firmer your cheese will be.

Optional: soak your cheese in cold water for 1-3 hours (I threw mine, cheesecloth and all, into a ziplock with some cold water and left it in the car while I grocery shopped. So mine soaked for however long that took, maybe an hour and a half). This will improve the color and texture of your cheese.

Note: this recipe does not yield a whole lot of cheese, so maybe plan to make two or even three batches.