Sun-dried Tomato Fromage (homemade cheese)

This recipe ratio comes from Portland Oregon author Claudia Lucero's book, One Hour Cheese. Fromage simply means "cheese" in French; not to be confused with "frommage" which is an Icelandic lemon dessert or bits of leftover cheese whirled together to make a cheese spread. Fromage made from scratch involves very simple ingredients. I made this because I had cartons of both whole milk and buttermilk just past the Sell By date.

Sun-dried tomatoes and fromage cheese

Like the book title suggests, this batch of cheese comes together rather quickly; depending on how long you let the curds drain. While I have fresh herbs in the garden, I used sun-dried tomatoes as my mix-in.

Materials

cheesecloth, enough to line a colander with two layers
a plastic or metal colander
a large bowl to catch the whey
candy thermometer or digital temperature gauge


Ingredients

1 qt whole milk
1 c cultured buttermilk (vs homemade buttermilk)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
pinch of sea salt
(optional) finely chopped fresh herbs
(optional) sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped

Directions

In a large 5-quart (or larger) heavy-bottomed pot, heat milk over low heat until the milk reaches 170 F. Turn off the heat and whisk in buttermilk and lemon juice.

Let this sit for at least 5 minutes to curdle.

While the dairy is curdling, line a colander with two layers of cheesecloth. Set the colander over a 5-quart mixing bowl.

Slowly pour curds (white stuff) and whey (liquid stuff) onto cheesecloth. Let drain for 1-3 hours.

If you want to speed up the draining process, as soon as most of the whey has drained out, gather up the edges of the cheesecloth and layer them like you are wrapping a package. Take a heavy object (a pot with bowls in it) and place that on top of the cheese to help press out the liquid.

Unwrap the cheese and place into a sealable container. Mix in the salt, herbs, and/or sun-dried tomatoes. If you are opting out of the herbs and tomatoes, at least add in the salt. Cheese spreads don't quite taste right without it.

Pack cheese into the container and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use. Serve with crackers or toasted baguette slices.