What’s funny about this post is that it was actually an accident.
Only a few days ago, I had read Shaye Elliott’s post on Yogurt Cheese, and I thought Oh, that’s cool. I’ll have to make it sometime. But I didn’t expect to make it by accident a week or so later!
Frank and I have been switching between making yogurt in our yogurt maker and culturing it on the counter. The yogurt maker takes about 12 hours, whereas culturing yogurt on the counter takes 24+ hrs. Our chosen method really depends on how quickly we need it. However, I prefer the cultured counter yogurt because it’s not heated, it’s thicker, and I think it tastes better.
Anyway, this last time that we cultured yogurt on the counter, we wanted to make more immediately. I was poured out most of the yogurt from the jar into another container, leaving some in the bottom for a starter, and then poured more milk on top of that. I guess I should have cleaned the jar? I didn’t think it’d make much of a difference because I was just going to use that yogurt anyway, but what ended up happening was that instead of making more yogurt…our milk turned into cheese!
We’ve made cheese on the counter before, but it had a strong flavor that I wasn’t quite fond of. This accidental yogurt cheese though—oh my heaven! Its flavor is light and fresh. The cheese is kind of spongy but holds together well.
When I found it this afternoon, it was already separated into whey and cheese floating at the top. I got out another mason jar, screwed some muslin into the top, and dumped it all in there to let the whey drip out. A few hours later, I had my beautiful accidental yogurt cheese!
I don’t really eat cheese by itself, and I don’t eat crackers, so I can’t put it on crackers or bread. I ended up flattening it into a square dish. If I do it again, I’ll have enough cheese to make palak paneer!
Cheese needs rennet.