Making Your Own Soy Cream Cheese

[Guest guest]

I found this recipe for making cream cheese at home. It apparently doesn't come

out stable enough to be used in recipes but is good for making spread for a

bagel (GF of course) or crackers. Has anyone done anything like this before?

What can be used to replace the rennet? And what kind of milks/creams would you

use?

 

To make cream cheese you will need:

 

 

4 cups dairy free milk and cream

1 ounce mesophillic starter or 1/8 packet Instant Starter

1 drop rennet

Butter muslin

 

 

Put the milk and cream in a plastic, stainless, or crockery bowl. Add

the starter and stir well. Add the drop of rennet and stir about 30

seconds then cover with lid or plastic wrap. Set the bowl where it

will stay at about 70 degrees overnight. If your house is cool, put

it in the oven with the light on and this should do the trick.

 

 

The next day, the mixture should be " set " and jiggle like milk jello.

Carefully pour into a butter-muslin lined colander and allow to drain

in the sink. As the whey drains off, you may want to turn the cheese

onto fresh muslin so that the top drains faster. I usually flip the

mass over onto a new section of muslin and reposition it in the

colander. You will know when it is time to flip the cheese because

the muslin will easily pull away from the firming curd mass.

 

 

Allow the cheese to drain until it is fairly firm and no longer

dripping, this will take a few hours, be patient. Turn it into a bowl

and add salt to taste. It is now ready to eat or mix with other tasty

ingredients.

 

 

One thing to remember when working with cheese is that it is alive.

You want to be scrupulous about cleanliness, but careful not to kill

the kindly bacteria that are doing their magic with the milk. NEVER

get bleach near your cultures or milk, but you can use bleach to

clean surfaces and utensils. Just be very careful about rinsing it

all off with fresh water. Don't use wooden spoons, they harbor wild

bacteria. Stainless steel or plastic for stirring is best and

stainless steel or crockery bowls. Never use aluminum or anything

with cracks. Making cheese is fun and people have been making cheese

for thousands of years. Maintain reasonable cleanliness and your

cheese will come out fine.

 

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* " All of us could take a lesson from the weather... *

* It pays no attention to criticism. " Anon *

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