The Whey To Make Cheeses, A Series, Cheese 2: Paneer

The Whey To Make Cheeses, A Series, Cheese 2: Paneer

In the past I wrote an article about making a simple farmer’s cheese using goat's milk and lemon juice.

Now we will try a more advanced cheese with a longer process: paneer.

Nomadic dairy tribes have lived in central Asia for millennia. It is thought they developed the first paneer.^1.

From my reading it’s about lining up the proteins in the milk correctly so it’s more cohesive and less crumbly. It just takes a bit more time. Evidently buffalo milk was traditionally used and curdled with buttermilk or yogurt. Buffalo milk has a fairly high butterfat content, around 6%. I

use goat milk which also has a high butterfat content. According to the farmer it’s up to 8% depending on the time of year. You may also use cow’s milk from the grocery store as long as it’s not ultra pasteurized. Cow’s milk has a butterfat content of 3 1/2 - 4 1/2%.

Begin by sanitizing all of the equipment you need and the stove top and counters.

To make this cheese you will need a non-reactive pot that will hold at least a gallon and a half of liquid.

You will also need measuring spoons (I use stainless steel ones.) and a 2 cup measuring cup, (I prefer glass.), a colander, a long spoon to stir, and a good thermometer. I simply sterilize by boiling everything (except my thermometer) in my cheese making pot: a thick bottomed stainless steel stockpot. You will also need 1 gallon of very fresh whole milk, 1 teaspoon of citric acid or 2-4 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, butter muslin, fine cheesecloth or a clean tea towel.

Evidently low fat milk will result in a rubbery, unpleasant cheese. While unpleasant cheese occasionally happens accidentally we don’t need to waste the milk to find out on purpose.

Boil what you wish to sterilize for 15 minutes. I usually do this step the night before in my covered stock pot and just leave it overnight to cool. Before it cools a dump some of the very hot water out into the sink so it helps clean the sink a bit.

If you sterilize your equipment the same day you’d like to make your cheese, remember to use thick, protective gloves to remove the very hot tools. Place them on a clean counter or on freshly washed towels laid on the cleaned counters.

On cheese making day slowly bring the gallon of milk to between 185 and 194°F (85 to 90°C). This can be done on the stove on medium low to medium heat, stirring occasionally, or by placing your pot in a sink full of hot water. I have not experimented with the latter but it was a recommendation from the company from whom I source my cultures and molds for more complicated cheeses I’d like to try in the future.

Here’s where the paneer recipe begins to deviate from the quick farmers cheese. Now we want to hold the cheese near that temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. I find that taking it off the stove and wrapping the covered pot with two thick towels works for me.

While the milk is resting prepare your acid. Add 1 teaspoon of citric acid or 2 to 4 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice to 2 cups of water.

After the milk has rested let it cool to 170°F. Warm up your acid diluted in 2 cups of water to 170°F as well and add it to the milk. Stir to gently incorporate the diluted acid with the milk. The pot can now be covered and wrapped in towels and let rest for another 20 minutes. This is a very “do something then wait again cheese“. Sorry, not sorry!

While waiting again line your colander with the butter muslin, cheese cloth, or clean towel.

Put a big pot or a bowl under your draining cheese if you’d like to save the whey. You may use it for baking, water it down to water your garden, compost it, or some people like to sip it. I tried a whole glass one day and ended up with an uncomfortably sour tummy so sip with caution or don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.

Now we can drain the curds!

Begin by ladling some of the liquid away from the curds. I use the 2 cup measuring cup I used for the acid dilution because I was smart and set that down on a sterile surface after pouring the acid into the milk, right!?

Other than boiling to sterilize things, like the counters and stove top, you may spray them with a mild bleach solution and gently wipe everything down.

The sterilization of all tools and surfaces before you make cheese is important because you need to control the bacteria in your cheese. As one of my goat farmer says, “Would you like to get listeria today?” The answer is always emphatically “NO!” So sterilize your tools and surfaces, please, listeriosis is not at all fun.

So curds, yes, we are ladling them with a sterile measuring cup into the clean butter muslin in a sterile colander. Once you have ladled some into the clean cloth you can gently pour the rest into the draining system when there is room to do so. You may save the whey or not bother to. If your colander is low like mine you’ll have to find the right size pot so its handles can hold it up to let all of the whey drain. Let it drain in the colander for 30 minutes, gently stirring at the 15 minute mark to help more of the whey drain. Now pull the cloth tightly around your cheese curds.

The cheese curds you have now are called chhena, chhana or sana. Now on to pressing it into paneer!

While my cheese was draining I washed the stock pot. Because next you want to fill a clean pot with 1 to 2 gallons of warm water. Then place the pot of warm water on top of the tightly bundled cheese. This is a precarious maneuver but essential. Once you succeed, congratulations, you have just made a primitive cheese press! The amount of time you let it press will determine how firm the final cheese is. I like to press for five minutes then mix in herbs and spices. I’ll publish my favorite combinations on my blog. It is http://scientistsscroll.blogspot.com/

Overall, the paneer recipe recommends pressing it for 10-15 minutes. I have made paneer about 4 times now and still have not made it firm enough that it stands up to cooking like it should but I’ll keep trying! Perhaps because the last two I made were a little rushed and were 2 gallon attempts. It still tasted wonderful, it just dissolved into the sauces. Try your hand at paneer and let me know how it goes. Happy cheese making!

References:

“Cheese Making.” New England Cheesemaking Supply Company, cheesemaking.com/.

Raghavan, Aditya. “Paneer and the Origin of Cheese in India.” The Hindu, The Hindu, 30 July 2016, www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/Paneer-and-the-origin-of-cheese-in-India/article14516958.ece.

Woodman, Wes. “Don't Get Lysteriosis.” Do you want lysteria? Do you want lysteria?, 2019. Standish, Feather and Scale Farm.