This simple farm cheese can come together quickly. It tastes mild and sweet, and doesn't require rennet, making an excellent cheese for beginners.
Cook time: PT80M
Total time: PT140M
Rating
4.93 stars (13 reviews)
Ingredients
1 gallon whole milk (not ultrapasteurized)
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
Steps
Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth or a single layer of butter muslin.
Pour the milk into a large, heavy-bottomed kettle, and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stir it frequently to keep the milk from scorching. When it comes to a boil, immediately reduce the heat to low, and stir in the vinegar. The milk should immediately separate into curds and whey. If it does not separate, add a bit more vinegar one tablespoon at a time until you see the milk solids coagulate into curds swimming within the thin greenish blue whey.
Pour the curds and whey into the lined colander. Rinse them gently with cool water, and sprinkle the curds with salt. Tie up the cheesecloth, and press it a bit with your hands to remove excess whey. Let the cheesecloth hang for 1 to 2 hours, then open it up and chop it coarsely. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
Reviews
Carl Cox on 2025-05-04 (4 stars): Thanx for the help. Made my own cottage cheese.
Tegan Reed on 2024-11-29 (5 stars): yummy & easy - great way to use up a gallon of raw milk that went bad before we could get to it. Used the cheese to make Farmers Cheesecake! yummy!
StaroftheCountyDown on 2024-10-20 (5 stars): Amazing and simple recipe. Followed directions exactly except for using apple cider vinegar. Still turned out amazing. Can't wait to try mixing in some herbs and spices. Thank you for sharing!!
Beryl on 2024-09-17 (5 stars): It came out tasting wonderful and the texture was just as good. I only used a half gallon, which was just right for 1 person. I will make it again.
Jeff Hughes on 2024-08-31 (5 stars): I am new to raw milk, which doesn’t seem to trigger my milk allergy (go figure) so I really wanted to try making cheese. This worked like a champ, no issues and it tastes great. Thanks so much!
—JH
Randi on 2024-07-02 (5 stars): I used this recipe and the instructions, but made it on a traeger smoker grill. It turned out fabulous, and very easy to make.
Celsa on 2024-03-13 (5 stars): I made my first batch today, it's delicious!
I put some salt and greek oregano.
Angie on 2024-02-19 (5 stars): Fantastic and super easy! I halved the recipe and used ACV. Paired it with my favorite sour dough bread and balsamic vinegar. It’s delicious!
Joyce Holwerda on 2023-12-27 (5 stars): Very helpful.
I put the salt in before adding the vinegar and the curds have not separated from the whey too well. Could that be the reason?
I just got the temperature to just over 160. Maybe that was the reason. Any ideas?
Thanks
Adam on 2023-05-04 (5 stars): If using raw milk all you need to do is: cool it down overnight then collect cream and leave the milk on the kitchen counter for about two days. Milk is going to curdle by itself. Heat it up to about 45 C. Now you can pour it through cheese cloth folded couple of times. Let it strain to consistency you like. Note, if you heat, the curds to higher temperatures cheese is going to be harder and dry. I prefer 45C. because cheese comes like ricotta, moist and soft. It's really easy.
Maree on 2022-10-10 (5 stars): Thank you for this recipe. I have elways wanted to try and make this.
Andy on 2021-07-20 (5 stars): Just made this today with my daughter. We had an extra gallon of raw cow's milk we had. It worked great! Thank you.
