Monday, January 2, 2012

Milky Whey and Cheese

Today I made something I never made before
Paneer

We bought a lot of milk and of course the guys didn't drink it and the milk spoiled.
Usually I just throw it out but this time I thought I'd try to make something out of it.

So I boiled it and then added a cap full of lemon juice and a few cap fulls of white vinegar.
and stirred while turning the heat off.

It was fun to see curdles form.
I didn't have muslin to strain it in but I do have sieves with tiny holes just as good so I poured everything through there and let the whey drip away from the cheese.

Et Voila I had cheese.

You know.......it smells a little like baby breath which I loved to smell from my babies after they had their milk and went into dream land.
Its a special breath you never tire of smelling, from innocence.

I tasted it on some crackers and its great but if I let it sit over night, I will be able to cut it into squares and put it into a variety of Indian food specialties, especially curries and soups.

It is low in calories and you can add spices to it like onion, garlic and spinach.
Apparently it tastes better home made than what you buy in the stores and now I know why our Indian community fills up their carts with homogenized milk.

We buy milk with less calories and if I buy homogenized my son cackles like a spoiled rooster not getting his way. But Homogenized is the best milk for people who play hard all day.

I also have whey which is sorta clearing water left of the milk.
This is used for muscle building lol
But for our purposes here, whey can be used for soup and / or
making yeast dough for bread and pizza.

I really want to make mozzarella cheese which is so easy to do but have yet to find , where to buy rennet
It must be sold in natural food stores.
I love mozzarella cheese.
But then once I find the rennet , I'll be able to try making tons of things using it.

In Canada, everything is expensive because it passes through many hands before it gets to the store and trucking costs alone are a fortune.
So if you make things at home, you make more and cut spending costs.
If you have too much stuff, friends and relatives would appreciate a bit from your cache of stored goods. They make for good presents of food baskets.

Reading some blogs I found out that the farmer is not allowed to sell you fresh cow milk.
If he does, both you and he can get into a lot of federal trouble but if you own half or a quarter of the cow, you can use its' milk but you can't buy it.
What a horrible law. It's as if they think people are stupid and don't know milk needs to be boiled. So if you buy the cow hay, you don't pay for the milk and barter milk for hay.

My husband for example, loves soudjoux.
Its a spicy sausage filling you put into casings and allow to dry.
Used to be you could find the big cow casings to make gorgeous genoa salami but here in BC ,you only find the small intestine from pigs and goats etc..
Well I found out that once you make the sausage, you don't need to dry it.

You either form patties or sausages and then freeze them.
We usually like them fried with eggs so it really makes no difference if it's dry or frozen.
But the dry ones you can put into a bag like jerky and carry it on walk abouts and eat it at will.

It's very expensive to buy in the store so home made is highly recommended. :)
Well I began the new year with cheese.
Is it a good sign?

Well now the environmentalists will say we need less cows but we still have goats lol

Have a wonderful day !!!!
-------------------------
Three handsome male dogs are walking down the street when they see a beautiful, enticing, female Poodle. The three male dogs fall all over themselves in an effort to be the one to reach her first, but end up arriving in front of her at the same time. The males are speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a glance from her in return. Aware of her charms and her obvious effect on the three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them 'The first one who can use the words 'liver' and 'cheese' together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence can go out with me.' The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly
and says 'I love liver and cheese.' 'Oh, how childish,' said the Poodle. That shows no imagination or intelligence whatsoever. She turned to the tall, shiny Golden Retriever and said 'How well can you do? 'Um. I HATE liver and cheese,' blurts the Golden Retriever. 'My, my,' said the Poodle. 'I guess it's hopeless. That's just as dumb as the Lab's sentence.'
She then turns to the last of the three dogs and says, 'How about you, little guy?'
The last of the three, tiny in stature but big in fame and finesse, is the Taco Bell Chihuahua. He gives her a smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and says.
'Liver alone. Cheese mine.'
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11 comments:

Akelamalu said...

Oh clever you! :)

Lydia Kang said...

I haven't made homemade cheese in a long time. You've inspired me!

Maude Lynn said...

I had no idea that you could make cheese that way!

A Lady's Life said...

akelamalu- it is fun to be able to make a sandwich and use your own cheese inside.

A Lady's Life said...

lydia it is so simple to do and fun.It also inspires you to experiment with different foods

A Lady's Life said...

Mama Zen I watch our East Indian community and what they buy.They practically empty all the milk and egg shelves alone.
They make a lot of roti bread, cheese for their cooking as well as curry sauces with lentils and garbanzo beans .Curry is very healthy for you.So are the beans.
My son loves their tandoori and butter chicken and my crave is for their spiced lamb roast.It takes a few days of marinating to come up with a roast like that.They have big families to feed and so much of the food is made from scratch.

Anyway, for a change of favor, Indian food is marvelous.

SandyCarlson said...

I love cheese! What a great project.

A Lady's Life said...

I think so Sandy and something easy to teach at school too :)

Diana said...

I love that joke, sooo cute!!
Good for you making your own cheese. I used to work for an Indian family that did something similar using muslin but I think it was yogurt that they were making. Either way, you are a thrifty gal!! Happy New Year.
Love Di ♥

A Lady's Life said...

Diana yogurt is also easy to make You don't have to keep buying at the store cause you use the bacteria from from one container to make more in another container.
People are not used to it but these things you do not need to buy when they can be made so easily at home.
Anyway I like to experiment.:)

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