Thursday, June 23, 2011

Panir or "Ricotta" Cheese

Similar to a ricotta or cottage cheese, this soft cheese melts well and is excellent in pasta dishes. Homemade panir cheese is significantly cheaper than store bought ricotta and can be made without salt or salted to taste, which is great for someone on a sodium restricted diet.

To make panir cheese, slowly heat milk in a saucepan to at least 160°F stirring intermittently to avoid burning it. Once it reaches an even temperature of 160°F, add vinegar (approximately 2 tablespoons per quart of milk) and stir. If the milk was hot enough the heat will cause a reaction with the acid in the vinegar, and it will separate. Like little Miss Muffet, you should now have curds and whey. If the whey still looks very opaque, you can continue to add vinegar by the tablespoon until the whey is clearer and all of curds have separated out. Line the inside of a clean colander with a layer of cheese cloth or a clean flour sack dish towel and pour in the desired amount of yogurt. Place the colander on top of a small bowl turned upside down inside a large bowl so that the whey can drain freely into the large bowl. Pour curds and whey mixture into the colander, and allow the whey to drain. Salt can be added at this point to taste, and the cheese can be either used immediately or stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container. Whey may be saved and used in baking.

1 comment:

  1. Hello...found your comment on Money Saving Mom about making your own ricotta. Thanks so much for posting this...I can't wait to try it myself :)

    ReplyDelete

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