Anna's Adventures in Cheese-Making: Paneer

Slow Food member Anna has been busy discovering the art of cheese-making. Here in her new column she shares the first leg of her adventure, starting with the Indian cheese, Paneer!
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As an ardent cheese lover and part-time vegetarian, I often wish I had an unlimited amount of cheese. It makes delicious meals, great snacks and even, in the case of paneer, a decent replacement for tofu. Recently an Indian friend of mine told me just how easy it is to make paneer and so began my cheese revolution. I now eat, breathe, and sleep cheese, and find it very hard not to completely bore everyone I know by going on and on about my cheesy exploits. It’s just so much fun!

The simplest most basic cheese to make is paneer, also known as queso fresco or curd cheese. It is lovely in curries, stir fries, or made into spicy kebabs. Here’s a link to my favourite paneer curry, mutter paneer http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/matar-paneer/. It really is easy-peasy (groan at the awful pun)! The only annoying thing is the time it takes, as it’s not ready to use until it’s been squished overnight. The whey can be reserved for use in making bread (which I tried, really adds a lot of flavour) or in meat stocks.

Now, on to the cheese!

Equipment:

Medium/Large non reactive saucepan

Colander

Cheesecloth/muslin

Large bowl

Cooking thermometer (optional)

Oven dish

Ingredients:

2 litres full fat milk,

1 lemon, squeezed

Salt, around ½ tsp

Method

• Heat the milk in the saucepan until it just comes to the boil (should be around 90 C if you are using the thermometer), stirring occasionally.
  
• Remove from the heat and immediately begin adding lemon juice, teaspoon at a time. When the curds begin to separate from the whey, stop. This means you can see little white lumps clumping together.
  
• Leave the pan for 15 minutes to fully separate. This should look like a slightly yellowy/green-ish clear liquid, with white solids floating in it. If it hasn’t separated, try heating it back up and adding a tablespoon of yoghurt, the natural acidity of which can help sometimes.
  
• Place the muslin cheesecloth over the colander, and place this over a large bowl. Use two sheets if you have them. Strain the contents of the saucepan into the muslin-lined colander, add salt, then bring all the corners of the muslin together and tie the top, to form a “bag” for the cheese. Hang this either from the tap in your sink, or from a wooden spoon over the large bowl.
  
• Allow to drain for 20 minutes. Then place the muslin bag in the oven dish, and place a weight on top. I use the pan I used earlier filled with water, or the colander with another bowl of water inside. Leave in the fridge overnight.

And that's it! Let me know if you give it a go and how it turns out!