Having made bagels from scratch, I decided to look into cream cheese from scratch. I found a write-up from the prairie homestead, which boldly proclaimed:
LEARNING HOW TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE A HOMESTEADING ROCKSTAR…
And you know I had to try it after that. Bonus, I discovered the whole of prairie homestead, which is a delight. I'm pleased to report that I do, indeed, feel like a homesteading rockstar, especially when using local cream from the milkshare herd.Ingredients
1 quart cream (or half-and-half). Use the highest quality cream you can find. Fresh from a Jersey cow is best, but any will do.
1/8 teaspoon Mesophilic starter culture
Fine cheesecloth (improvised substitutes)
Sea salt (optional)
Directions
Make sure you are using a glass container to hold your cream. Gently stir in the starter culture.
Loosely cover (not airtight!) and set it on your counter top to culture for 8 to 12 hours. (It may take more or less time, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.)
You’ll know it’s done when it has set up and somewhat resembles yogurt. (It might not be a perfectly even consistency, but that’s ok.)
Dump the thickened cream into the cheesecloth and allow the whey to drip out for at least 12 hours (the longer it drips, the firmer your finished cheese will be).
(Instead of draining the cream at this stage, you could also turn it into cultured butter. Decisions… decisions…)
Once it has reached the desired consistency, scrape it out of the cheesecloth and lightly salt it to taste. The salt is optional, but it will help it keep slightly longer. Store in an airtight container in your fridge– it will get firmer as it chills.
1 quart cream (or half-and-half). Use the highest quality cream you can find. Fresh from a Jersey cow is best, but any will do.
1/8 teaspoon Mesophilic starter culture
Fine cheesecloth (improvised substitutes)
Sea salt (optional)
Directions
Make sure you are using a glass container to hold your cream. Gently stir in the starter culture.
Loosely cover (not airtight!) and set it on your counter top to culture for 8 to 12 hours. (It may take more or less time, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.)
You’ll know it’s done when it has set up and somewhat resembles yogurt. (It might not be a perfectly even consistency, but that’s ok.)
Dump the thickened cream into the cheesecloth and allow the whey to drip out for at least 12 hours (the longer it drips, the firmer your finished cheese will be).
(Instead of draining the cream at this stage, you could also turn it into cultured butter. Decisions… decisions…)
Once it has reached the desired consistency, scrape it out of the cheesecloth and lightly salt it to taste. The salt is optional, but it will help it keep slightly longer. Store in an airtight container in your fridge– it will get firmer as it chills.
Because it's fresh, it's easy to spread.
Feel free to blend with fresh fruit or cinnamon or other spices if that's your thing.
