Homemade Large Curd Cottage Cheese Recipes

Steps:

• Pour the skim milk into a large saucepan and place over medium heat. Heat to 120 degrees F. Remove from the heat and gently pour in the vinegar. Stir slowly for 1 to 2 minutes. The curd will separate from the whey. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Pour the mixture into a colander lined with a tea towel and allow to sit and drain for 5 minutes. Gather up the edges of the cloth and rinse under cold water for 3 to 5 minutes or until the curd is completely cooled, squeezing and moving the mixture the whole time. Once cooled, squeeze as dry as possible and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the salt and stir to combine, breaking up the curd into bite-size pieces as you go. If ready to serve immediately, stir in the half-and-half or heavy cream. If not, transfer to a sealable container and place in the refrigerator. Add the half and half or heavy cream just prior to serving.

Steps:

• Pour the milk into a large, heavy-bottomed pot and heat over low heat to 95 degrees F. Check temperature with a thermometer. Dissolve the rennet in the water in a small cup. Stir the dissolved rennet into the milk for 30 seconds. Stir in the buttermilk. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 30 minutes to 1 hour or until solid curds form. Cut curds into 1 inch pieces. Heat the curds with the whey over low heat to 110 degrees F., stirring gently to bring the curds from the bottom to the top (stir for the first 5 minutes, then every 5 minutes). It will take about 30 minutes for the curds to reach 110 degrees F. Pour or ladle the curds into a colander lined with a double layer of butter muslin. Let the whey drain about 5 minutes, then gather together the edges of the muslin and rinse the cheese under cold water, squeezing while rinsing. Squeeze the cheese dry, then transfer to a medium bowl and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use or up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Cottage Cheese Filling: Combine the cottage cheese with the egg and season to taste with the salt.
• If the cheese is very dry, an additional egg (or egg yolk) or thick sour cream can be added.
• Mix the flour with the salt in a deep bowl.
• Add the egg, oil and water to make a medium soft dough.
• Knead on a floured board until the dough is smooth.
• Caution: Too much kneading will toughen the dough.
• Divide the dough into 2 parts.
• Cover and let stand for at least 10 minutes.
• Prepare the filling.
• The filling should be thick enough to hold its shape.
• Roll the dough quite thin on a floured board.
• Cut rounds with a large biscuit cutter, or as most old-world grandmothers did, with the open end of a glass.
• Put the round in the palm ofyour hand.
• Place a spoonful of filling in it, fold over to form a half circle and press the edges together with the fingers.
• The edges should be free of filling.
• Be sure the edges are sealed well to prevent the filling from running out.
• Place the pierogi on a floured board or tea towel and then cover with another tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
• COOKING: Drop a few pierogies into a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water.
• Do not attempt to cook too many at a time.
• Stir VERY gently with a wooden spoon to separate them and to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
• Continue boiling for 3-4 minutes.
• The cooling period will depend upon the size you made it, the thickness of the dough and the filling.
• Pierogies will be ready when they are puffed.
• Remove them with a perforated spoon or skimmer to a colander and drain thoroughly.
• Place in a deep dish, sprinkle generously with melted butter to prevent them from sticking.
• Cover and keep them hot until all are cooked.
• Serve in a large dish without piling or crowding them.
• Top with melted butter- chopped crisp bacon and/or chopped onions lightly browned in butter.
• REHEATING: One of the great things about pierogies, is that they can be made in large quantities, refrigerated, frozen and reheated without loss of quality.
• Many prefer reheated pierogies as compared to freshly boiled ones.
• To re-heat, you can 1) pan fry pierogies in butter or bacon fat until they are light in color or 2) heat the pierogies in the top of a double boiler or in the oven until they are hot and plump or 3) deep fry them.

Steps:

• Pour milk into a small pot; bring to a boil. Add vinegar and remove from heat. Stir mixture slowly until curds form, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Pour mixture into a colander lined with cheesecloth. Allow liquid whey to drain off as curds cool, about 15 minutes. Season curds with salt.

Steps:

• 1. Mix milk and buttermilk in a large oven-proof pot Cover and allow to sit for 24 hours.
• 2. Uncover and place in oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. When it's done it should get dry around the edges and have some cracks around the edges. The middle will still be soft. Let it cool completely.
• 3. Place a cheesecloth or a couple layers of paper towels in a strainer.
• 4. Pour the cooled farm cheese into the cheesecloth in the strainer. At this point the cloudy-clear liquid will drain out of the farm cheese.
• 5. Now, gather up the sides of the cheesecloth & tie it up somewhere with a bowl sitting underneath for the whey to drip out of it. Leave it hanging there for a few hours for the whey to drain out. The remaining cheese inside the cloth should be soft with a consistency somewhere in between sour cream and cream cheese. It should be covered and refrigerated.