How To Make Cottage Cheese From Raw Milk

A beautiful thing about having a milk cow is learning how to make cottage cheese. In the last year, as I’ve tried to up my protein levels, cottage cheese has been a staple in our home.Unfortunately I’ve had to buy it until now.Mondays are turning into my ‘use up excess milk’ days.So on Monday I started making cottage cheese. I used a clabber culture for my recipe, but you can use regular sour cream instead.I had started my clabber a few days before, and the cream that had risen to the top was the perfect culture for this cottage cheese.Using naturally fermented foods in the kitchen makes me so happy. From making a sourdough starter, kefir, and fermenting vegetables, to learning about clabber cultures seems like a natural progression. Why Make Homemade Cottage CheeseNumber one recipe is ingredient control. Because this recipe calls for raw milk, you and your farmer should know the quality of the milk used.With more and more medications introduced in cows diets, it is even more important today to know where your food comes from.Clabber is another reason to make your own cottage cheese. Clabbering is a naturally fermented milk product that is rich in probiotics and has many other benefits.Making cottage cheese with clabber carries those benefits over to your cottage cheese (and other cheese made with clabber).Ingredients You NeedThis cottage cheese recipe does not use an acid to curdle the milk.I’ve made recipes in previous years that did, and I prefer this one as the curds don’t get as small. We prefer a bigger, more firm curd in our cottage cheese and this turned out great.To make cottage cheese you need:3 gallons (12 Litres) of raw milk1/2 cup clabbered sour cream, or sour cream from the storeSimple ingredients. This recipe takes some time to make, as the natural clabbering process takes about 24 hours. So prepare a bit ahead of time.How To Make Cottage Cheese From Raw MilkRemove as much cream as you can with a ladle. Cream and milk will start separating quickly after milking, and its usually easy to see the cream line. I remove as much as possible, but don’t worry about some cream left behind.Start by pouring 3 gallons of raw milk into a large pot. Add in clabber culture, or sour cream, and mix well.Slowly heat it to 80°F. Use the lowest heat possible on your burner.Once it reaches 80°F, remove from heat, cover and set aside. Let sit for approximately 24 hours.The next day, the milk should be nice and thick.Put back on heat, and start heating on medium heat, until it reaches a temperature of 176°F. Stir occasionally to precent scorching on bottom of pot.Stir gently as to not break up the curds too much.This will take about 30 minutes. Once the curds reach 176°F, remove from heat and cool down.Once its cooled enough to handle, strain off the whey and remove the curds. Let cool completely, and your cottage cheese is ready!I made some cottage cheese cookies right away for lunch. They were delicious.Then we also had cottage cheese perogies for supper, because why not! 10/10 recommend making your own cottage cheese.Having our own family cow has been amazing and frustrating and overwhelming and so so cool all at the same time.We had to learn how to milk a cow unexpectantly, along with some extra challenges along the way, but it has been so good for us.My two oldest kids and I do the milking in the mornings and it has added a nice routine to our day.Tips For Making Cottage Cheese From ClabberOne way to remember the temperatures, is to think 80°F for the first heating, 80°C for the second heating.The longer your let the curds sit, the more ‘sour’ your cottage cheese will taste.If your milk hasn’t gotten thick after 24 hours, there is no purpose to heating it for the second time. This is why you need to use raw milk, not pasteurized milk.How To Use Cottage Cheese in Your KitchenCottage cheese is a versatile and healthy cheese to have in your fridge. Several ways to use cottage cheese in your kitchen include:Adding it to lasagnas and casserolesMixing it with yogurt and granola for a snackMaking cottage cheese pancakesAdd it into your shakes. I don’t love protein powders, and cottage cheese makes an excellent substitute.Cottage Cheese Perogies are a favorite here as well. I’ll try to share that recipe one of these days.You can always blend it really well and adding it to any savory dish.High in protein, homemade cottage cheese is a nutritional powerhouse. It has become a star in the high protein world, and for good reason.With only 123 calories in a cup of dry curd cottage cheese, it contains 25 grams of protein.That’s as much as a scoop of protein powder, and much tastier.Have you made homemade cottage cheese before? If you use this recipe, please share!Ingredients 3 gallons (12 Litres) of Raw Milk 1/2 cup clabbered sour cream (or sour cream from the store)InstructionsRemove as much cream as you can with a ladle. Cream and milk will start separating quickly after milking, and its usually easy to see the cream line. I remove as much as possible, but don’t worry about some cream left behind.Start by pouring 3 gallons of raw milk into a large pot. Add in clabber culture, or sour cream, and mix well.Slowly heat it to 80°F. Use the lowest heat possible on your burner.Once it reaches 80°F, remove from heat, cover and set aside. Let sit for approximately 24 hours.The next day, the milk should be nice and thick.Put back on heat, and start heating on medium heat, until it reaches a temperature of 176°F. Stir occasionally to precent scorching on bottom of pot.Stir gently as to not break up the curds too much.This will take about 30 minutes. Once the curds reach 176°F, remove from heat and cool down.Once its cooled enough to handle, strain off the whey and remove the curds. Let cool completely, and your cottage cheese is ready! 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