Homemade Cottage Cheese (Glomms)

Why make your own cottage cheese?   Our grandparents made it because they had a lot of cows and milk every day and no refrigeration.   All they had to do is put a bowl of unpasteurized milk in the basement in the morning, and they had delicious clabbered milk by evening.   After tasting it, you will know why it is much better than store bought.

My quest for easy methods of making really good food has me eager to make cheese.   So I started this week with a beginner cheese.   

There are a myriad of methods in cookbooks and on line, but most seem too complex for me.   I didn't want to use any special equipment or ingredients that the "awla" didn't have and I didn't want to stand around stirring for hours or making a big mess to clean up.  

So, I opted for a Ukrainian method that worked great, but not before some anxiety and a conference call with Rose Froese and others.   Man, is it hard to find somebody who can do these old time things these days.   Thanks to Joan for organizing the call.    

I used homogenized pasteurized milk from the store.   Whole milk tastes better and is healthier.   I used store sour cream for the culture.  Buttermilk works too as the culture, but then you have to use a whole litre up.

You have to use a stainless steel pot for this, not aluminum or anything else.  

For pictures of what it's supposed to look like after clabbering and separating, etc., check this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgjLbGgjBv0


Ingredients:
2 litres whole milk (from the store)
2 Tbsp. sour cream (from the store)

Instructions:
Sterilize a stainless steel pot with metal handles by putting a little water into it and boiling it with the lid on -- the steam will sterilize the pot.   Pour out the water.  Pour boiling water over a large whisk or spoon.
Pour 2-3 litres of whole milk into the pot.
Add 2 generous Tbsps. sour cream and whisk into the milk thoroughly.
Cover the pot with a clean tea towel.
Set the pot in a warm place for 2 days until the milk separates into curds and whey (watery liquid).  
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (170 if you have a convection oven).
Put the pot of curdled milk into the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes (1 hour for softer, 1 hour and 30 minutes for dryer).
Take the pot out and let cool on the counter (covered with tea towel) for about 2 hours.
Stir the cream from the top of the curdled mass gently into the mass, without stirring in the whey.
Lay two layers of cheesecloth in a large colander, overlapping the edges at least 6 inches.
Put the colander into the kitchen sink.
Pour the curdled milk carefully into the colander and let drain for 5 minutes.
Tie the 4 corners of the cheesecloth together and hang from the faucet or just let it drain in the colander for 1 hour.
Transfer the cheese into a glass container, making sure to get all the cheese off the cheesecloth.   Discard the cheesecloth.
Store in the frig.   It will keep about 5 days.

Serving suggestions:
Ciabatta, smeared with thick layer of cottage cheese, topped with oven dried tomatoes. (see Oven Dried Tomatoes, Ciabatta)
Varenki (perogies)
Lazy man's varenki
Cottage cheese pancakes
Crepes (see Crepes with Cottage Cheese)