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.
