Experimenting with Dairy: Queso Blanco

CHEESE

I used the recipe provided for Queso Blanco to make cheese for the first time! 

The first step was to heat the whole milk to a frothy simmer. 

I made sure the temperature remained between 160 and 185 degrees Fahrenheit by using Thelma the thermometer, who I bought to replace the dearly departed Dave, as he had met his end in the caramel experiment. 

The second step was to add white vinegar into the milk to separate the curds from the whey.

As I added the acidic vinegar, it caused the proteins (which form the curds) to denature; causing them to unfold and coagulate as the structure changed and separated. It was fascinating to watch, but not what I would call pretty. Or pleasantly aromatic.

The third step was to remove the curds from the whey.

The curd was wet and crumbly. I placed it into a cheesecloth lined colander and allowed the whey to drain out; drying out the curds and allowing them to stick together.

The fourth step was to form the cheese.

 I squeezed all of the excess whey out of the curd and added some salt before I squished them into a vaguely square shape.

 Finally, I pressed (under a bottle of water, currently sporting a robot as it was recently used for target practice) and refrigerated the cheese. The finished product was a bit crumbly, and not particularly remarkable, but the process was successful, and in the future, I would like to make it again, and experiment with adding some different flavors to the cheese.