Farmer's Cheese

Our lovely neighbors brought over some homemade cheese, a simple white cheese they had spiced up with some peppers.  So of course we had to make some of our own.

Here's the recipe we found:

1 gallon milk
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt

Heat the milk stirring constantly (don't let it boil), slowly adding the apple cider vinegar until the milk separates (curdles).  Drain the results through a cheese cloth and either hang the cheese cloth wrapped curds or press it to remove excess moisture.  You can hang it for a couple of hours or press it and begin picking away at it within 45 mins. Patience is not a strong suit of mine.

Cooking over the open flame saved us from the heat of cooking inside and added a smoked flavor to the cheese.

Before pressing the cheese we added chopped CSA garlic greens for flavor.

 

 I found that 1/4 cup of vinegar did not do the trick.  I've made two batches now and both times used closer to half a cup. This, however, may be due more to my above mentioned lack of patience, when it didn't curdle fast enough I started pouring in more ACV.  Fortunately I enjoy the taste of ACV.