I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife likes
a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're thinking of
trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to make the palak
paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning, ourselves after that.

Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you take
the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make paneer
from the curds and ricotta from the whey?

Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
interesting summer project for us.

-S-

On 5/26/2011 10:55 AM, Steve Freides wrote:
> I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife likes
> a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're thinking of
> trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to make the palak
> paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning, ourselves after that.
>
> Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you take
> the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make paneer
> from the curds and ricotta from the whey?
>
> Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
> interesting summer project for us.
>
> -S-
>
>
Years ago we used to make all our own cheeses, of course we had a cow
and couple of milk goats so the raw produce was at hand. It is fairly
easy to do, particularly ricotta, never made paneer but plenty of hard
cheeses and soft cheeses. Go for it.

On Thu, 26 May 2011 11:55:49 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

>I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife likes
>a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're thinking of
>trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to make the palak
>paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning, ourselves after that.
>
>Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you take
>the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make paneer
>from the curds and ricotta from the whey?
>
>Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
>interesting summer project for us.
>
>-S-
>

Both Paneer and Ricotta are simple to make.

After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
doing it sooner.

Paneer:

Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL

Turn off heat.

Stir in the juice of one lemon per/gallon of milk.

Stir *gently* to move the forming curds around. They bind to each
other better with a tiny bit of movement.

After about 2 minutes, you'll notice that the curd has stopped
forming. Pour the curd through a cheese cloth lined colander and
reserve the liquid (whey).

Gently gather the cheese cloth and gently twist it until the ball of
curd is joined and feels solid. At that point, you can press the curd
ball into a glass dish of appropriate size to form it.

Then, let the whey sit at room temperature overnight or for 24 hours
if needed. (Trial will tell you how long you need to do this where you
live).

Then reheat the whey to just under boiling. You should notice a fine
curd forming in it as it heats. when no additional curd forms, let the
pot cool and when cool, pour through a quad-folded cheese cloth to
collect the curd. Gather and twist the curd ball as you did with the
Paneer and again, press it into an appropriately sized glass dish.

Refrigerate both the Paneer and the Ricotta.

Note: you can use a sushi press before putting it into the dish. Use
progressive weights to further refine the curd into a more dense mass.
This will press out more water from the cheese and make it firmer.
After doing this and cooling it in the fridge, it makes it able to be
sliced with a wire cheese cutter.

Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the
upcoming long weekend.

-S-

Landon wrote:
> On Thu, 26 May 2011 11:55:49 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
> wrote:
>
>> I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife
>> likes a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're
>> thinking of trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to
>> make the palak paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning,
>> ourselves after that.
>>
>> Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you
>> take the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make
>> paneer from the curds and ricotta from the whey?
>>
>> Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
>> interesting summer project for us.
>>
>> -S-
>>
>
> Both Paneer and Ricotta are simple to make.
>
> After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
> doing it sooner.
>
> Paneer:
>
> Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL
>
> Turn off heat.
>
> Stir in the juice of one lemon per/gallon of milk.
>
> Stir *gently* to move the forming curds around. They bind to each
> other better with a tiny bit of movement.
>
> After about 2 minutes, you'll notice that the curd has stopped
> forming. Pour the curd through a cheese cloth lined colander and
> reserve the liquid (whey).
>
> Gently gather the cheese cloth and gently twist it until the ball of
> curd is joined and feels solid. At that point, you can press the curd
> ball into a glass dish of appropriate size to form it.
>
> Then, let the whey sit at room temperature overnight or for 24 hours
> if needed. (Trial will tell you how long you need to do this where you
> live).
>
> Then reheat the whey to just under boiling. You should notice a fine
> curd forming in it as it heats. when no additional curd forms, let the
> pot cool and when cool, pour through a quad-folded cheese cloth to
> collect the curd. Gather and twist the curd ball as you did with the
> Paneer and again, press it into an appropriately sized glass dish.
>
> Refrigerate both the Paneer and the Ricotta.
>
> Note: you can use a sushi press before putting it into the dish. Use
> progressive weights to further refine the curd into a more dense mass.
> This will press out more water from the cheese and make it firmer.
> After doing this and cooling it in the fridge, it makes it able to be
> sliced with a wire cheese cutter.

If you live near an Indian market you may be able to buy paneer in bulk. I
do, and add that to make palak paneer and matter paneer. I've made paneer,
but after I found it in the market I haven't.

Kent



"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the upcoming
> long weekend.
>
> -S-
>
> Landon wrote:
>> On Thu, 26 May 2011 11:55:49 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I've been doing a bit of reading on paneer and ricotta. (My wife
>>> likes a frozen "palak paneer" we buy a Trader Joe's and we're
>>> thinking of trying to make the paneer ourselves and then trying to
>>> make the palak paneer, which is spinach, paneer, and seasoning,
>>> ourselves after that.
>>>
>>> Paneer is made from the curds, and ricotta from the whey - can you
>>> take the same pot of milk, heat it, add lemon juice, and then make
>>> paneer from the curds and ricotta from the whey?
>>>
>>> Clearly I have too much free time today, but it seems like an
>>> interesting summer project for us.
>>>
>>> -S-
>>>
>>
>> Both Paneer and Ricotta are simple to make.
>>
>> After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
>> doing it sooner.
>>
>> Paneer:
>>
>> Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL
>>
>> Turn off heat.
>>
>> Stir in the juice of one lemon per/gallon of milk.
>>
>> Stir *gently* to move the forming curds around. They bind to each
>> other better with a tiny bit of movement.
>>
>> After about 2 minutes, you'll notice that the curd has stopped
>> forming. Pour the curd through a cheese cloth lined colander and
>> reserve the liquid (whey).
>>
>> Gently gather the cheese cloth and gently twist it until the ball of
>> curd is joined and feels solid. At that point, you can press the curd
>> ball into a glass dish of appropriate size to form it.
>>
>> Then, let the whey sit at room temperature overnight or for 24 hours
>> if needed. (Trial will tell you how long you need to do this where you
>> live).
>>
>> Then reheat the whey to just under boiling. You should notice a fine
>> curd forming in it as it heats. when no additional curd forms, let the
>> pot cool and when cool, pour through a quad-folded cheese cloth to
>> collect the curd. Gather and twist the curd ball as you did with the
>> Paneer and again, press it into an appropriately sized glass dish.
>>
>> Refrigerate both the Paneer and the Ricotta.
>>
>> Note: you can use a sushi press before putting it into the dish. Use
>> progressive weights to further refine the curd into a more dense mass.
>> This will press out more water from the cheese and make it firmer.
>> After doing this and cooling it in the fridge, it makes it able to be
>> sliced with a wire cheese cutter.
>
>

On Thu, 26 May 2011 21:35:59 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

>Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the
>upcoming long weekend.
>
>-S-

You're welcome. You can also add various seasonings to the milk as you
heat it. This is something you can really alter the outcome with.

Soups? Stews? Oh yeah.

"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
> Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the upcoming
> long weekend.
>

Don't be surprised if you get no ricotta. When I have made cheese the whey
leftover is so thin that you cannot get anything more out of it. I suspect
it is because of the low butterfat content of store bought milk. You'll get
decent paneer or ricotta but not both. Raw milk makes all the difference
but can be hard to come by.

Paul

In article >, Paul M. Cook > wrote:
>
>"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
...
>> Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the upcoming
>> long weekend.
>>
>
>Don't be surprised if you get no ricotta. When I have made cheese the whey
>leftover is so thin that you cannot get anything more out of it. I suspect
>it is because of the low butterfat content of store bought milk. You'll get
>decent paneer or ricotta but not both. Raw milk makes all the difference
>but can be hard to come by.

Yes, even using whole organic milk from the store, the whey was pretty
thin after making a batch of ricotta (or maybe you could call it paneer).
I'd suggest supplementation if you want to do it that way.

The process, however, is about as easy as boiling milk.

Charlotte
--

Landon > wrote:
-snip-
>
>After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
>doing it sooner.
>
>Paneer:
>
>Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL

Just to clarify. By 'whole milk' do you mean regular milk-- not fat
reduced? Or, do you mean *un* homogenized or pasteurized milk- fresh
from the farm?

Thanks-
Jim

On Fri, 27 May 2011 07:48:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
wrote:

>Landon > wrote:
>-snip-
>>
>>After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
>>doing it sooner.
>>
>>Paneer:
>>
>>Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL
>
>Just to clarify. By 'whole milk' do you mean regular milk-- not fat
>reduced? Or, do you mean *un* homogenized or pasteurized milk- fresh
>from the farm?
>
>Thanks-
>Jim

"regular" milk. That which is not reduced fat or fat free. I can only
imagine that milk fresh from the cow would be very good also. I loved
it as a child, but haven't had any since then.

Landon wrote:
> On Fri, 27 May 2011 07:48:41 -0400, Jim Elbrecht >
> wrote:
>
>> Landon > wrote:
>> -snip-
>>>
>>> After your first attempt at both, you'll laugh at yourself for not
>>> doing it sooner.
>>>
>>> Paneer:
>>>
>>> Heat whole milk to just under boiling. DO NOT BOIL
>>
>> Just to clarify. By 'whole milk' do you mean regular milk-- not fat
>> reduced? Or, do you mean *un* homogenized or pasteurized milk-
>> fresh from the farm?
>>
>> Thanks-
>> Jim
>
> "regular" milk. That which is not reduced fat or fat free. I can only
> imagine that milk fresh from the cow would be very good also. I loved
> it as a child, but haven't had any since then.

Yes, I just assumed what we call "whole milk" is what I'd use for this.

Is it possible/desirable/terrible to use half+half, which is what I
believe is called light cream in other parts of the world? Or perhaps a
mixture of whole milk and half+half? I ask because, e.g., ice cream
recipes differ in this regard - some use only milk, some use a good
amount of heavy cream mixed with milk - they seem to span the gamut.

-S-

On Fri, 27 May 2011 12:08:12 -0400, "Steve Freides" >
wrote:

>Is it possible/desirable/terrible to use half+half, which is what I
>believe is called light cream in other parts of the world? Or perhaps a
>mixture of whole milk and half+half? I ask because, e.g., ice cream
>recipes differ in this regard - some use only milk, some use a good
>amount of heavy cream mixed with milk - they seem to span the gamut.
>
>-S-

It never occurred to me to use half and half. I'll try it as an
addition to the whole milk next time. It should allow it to yield more
Paneer.