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| I have this genius friend (actually, I have several) and her name is Carrie. If I want to know something about nature or herbs, I ask Carrie. She’s a wealth of information. She used to work with my dad and now she’s retired….which excites me because it means she has more time to answer all my questions. Carrie uses kefir and she sent me her recipe for homemade kefir cottage cheese. I was STOKED! (Do people still say stoked?) I love cottage cheese – but Barry and Annie are not fans. Tons of my recipes call for cottage cheese…..and both of them will eat it if it’s IN something. Pansies. I love knowing I can make things with my kefir instead of buying it at the store. So, come along with me and see how easy it is to make your own cottage cheese. Thanks Carrie! |
You’ll need one pint of dairy kefir, one quart of whole milk, and apple cider vinegar. That’s it. Carrie actually says you can use any kind of milk, but I’m an advocate of full fat dairy. I really have to get a cow…..and some chickens……and a new food processor. But anyway, on to the cottage cheese! |
You’ll need to let your kefir sit out of the fridge until it’s room temperature. That took a couple hours for me. I put it out after breakfast and then went about my morning chores – ironing, washing, cleaning up milk splatters on the window, etc. |
We’re using our thermometer again, just like with the homemade yogurt. Heat your milk slowly to 140 degrees. Okay, so I went a little faster than slowly…..I used the medium setting. Mainly, don’t let the milk boil. Just warm it up until it’s 140. |
When your temp reaches 140 degrees, slowly pour in the pint of kefir. DO NOT STIR IT. I know, I know. I have this stirring issue. I have to restrain myself. And for me, stirring usually = mess. |
After you’ve poured all the kefir in, also pour in two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Again, don’t stir it. What’s your rush? Magic is happening here y’all. |
Now, after the vinegar is in you will want to push it in and around the pot with a wooden spoon. Don’t stir it, just push it around. Be a bully. |
Your curds will start to form as you push the vinegar around in the milk mixture. If you don’t see the curds start to form, heat the milk back up to 130 degrees and then you should see the curds forming. |
You should see the whey start to form around the outside edges of the pot. It looks yellow…..like chicken broth, Carrie says. The whey and curds will all separate. How does it happen? Well, I don’t know…..and I don’t really care because I just made cottage cheese and I’m clucking around like a proud hen. When you see the whey separate, turn off the heat and let it set about 5 minutes. |
Just like we lined the colander with cheesecloth for Greek yogurt, we’re going to do the same here for the cottage cheese. Make sure you wet the cloth and then ring it out. Pour your liquid into the colander and let it start to strain. Don’t press it. Just let it do it’s thang….it might take 30 minutes or so…..or you might accidentally forget about it because you’re dancing to Ezekiel Saw The Wheel with your 2 year old and it might sit for about an hour. Uh, oops? |
It will look like this when all your liquid is gone. WOOHOO! Am I the only one excited around here? I mean, we just made COTTAGE CHEESE! That deserves a bit of excitement I think. |
Turn the cheese out into a storage bowl. Break the curds apart with a fork while they are still warm. You might want to add salt to taste. I don’t because I usually just use it in a recipe. Carrie says to store the whey in the bowl in the fridge….you can use it for bread or anything else that calls for liquid. I find that it makes bread really tender and flaky. |
Did you know this would be so stinking easy? I mean, really? I get excited every time I make it. Curds and whey. Just call me Little Miss Muffet. I’ll put the directions below exactly like Carrie worded them. |
Kefir Cottage Cheese
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My Russian mom uses Ryazenka (baked style milk) instead of Kefir, same proportions to milk as your recipe calls. In particular “Biolife” brand if you can find it. Our local stores carry it. The cheese curds come out slightly brown shade of white but they taste 10x better than if using plain kefir. I actually enjoy it while it is being cooled off the stove.
Why can’t this be made with just kefir?
I am so sorry – this message JUST posted today 2/16/21. You know what? I don’t actually know – I’ve just always seen it made this way.
Will give this cottage cheese a try. Yum
I hope you like it!
Thank you for this recipe!!!
I was looking for one that seems easy, quick and can doable.
Hope it works well for you – be sure to comment back and let us know!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
Thank you so much for this great recipe Stacy ! Love it, and as you say, couldn´t be easier.
Aaaaahhhhhh we love cottage cheese but won’t buy it. I just made some. Very very cool! I use my kefir whey for everything. I have a ton now. Now. Does it loose the probiotics when you combine? The heat? Make cheese every week.
Yes, heating things will usually kill most of the probiotics.
I love mine with egg noodles. Good meal for lent.
Hi,
This is awesome! I get just as excited as you do about these things!!!!
I’m wondering, are we killing the probiotics in the kefir when we heat it up?
Thanks for the great info!
Probably – but I still feel good about making it. 🙂 I think it’s around 110 degrees when things start to die.
Thank you again, that’s so good to know.
So I am wondering why we should use the kefir at all if we are killing the probiotics. You can make cottage cheese with must milk. What us the benefit of adding kefir if welose the probiotics?
Unfortunately, Stacy isn’t able to speak as an expert on this topic, but there are a lot of great articles online that might help guide you. I hope you find the answers you are looking for!
Julie, Humorous Homemaking Team
Keifer grains eat up the sugar ( lactose) in the milk so using it to make the cheese reduces the sugar and carb content. Double score if you’re using A2 milk. For type 2 Diabetics like me, it’s heaven!
I have a question about the cottage cheese. What should the texture be like? Mine is very rubbery. Also how much cottage cheese does your recipe make? Thanks!
Mine is not rubbery. It’s like the texture of ricotta. It yields about 3 cups, give or take. 🙂
wow ok i definenlty must have done something wrong because I only got maybe 1 cup! and it was very rubbery. I will have to try again! I want to master this!
The container pictured in the photos is a 4 cup container if that gives you a bit of an idea how much I get. 🙂
ok I made this recipe again! and it turned out much much better! I still only got 1 cup of cottage cheese maybe because I take the cream off of mine? But the texture was lovely! I added cream to it and some salt and it is delicious! I cant wait to make it again!!
Hmmmm. Not sure. I’ve been using my kefir really fast lately so I haven’t made it again to measure. But I need to!
So how does the taste compare to storebought cottage cheese or do you eat it plain like that? I haven’t made cottage cheese with kefir before but find this info very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
It’s got the kefir-twang to it. I don’t eat it plain, I almost always use it in something like lasagna.
Is ACV really needed? I’ve just started making it without the ACV and it seems to be coming out perfect. Thank you for posting your recipe! Seems like a 1:2 kefir:milk ratio is about right.
Maybe ACV just helps coagulate faster?
We love it with honey
I’m not sure – it was the recipe of a friend so I didn’t mess with it…I didn’t want to mess up the recipe. 🙂 I’m glad to know it works good without it!
I just made some using your recipe with raw goat milk. It turned out very nice, thank you. There really isn’t much of a “curd”, it is more creamy, but I imagine that is the nature of the goat milk. Anyway, we like it!
Good to know! Yes, must be the milk – mine was very “curdy.” 🙂
I am definitely going to try this recipe! I use cottage cheese to make dips for my family. Just blend the cottage cheese up until it is smooth and use instead of sour cream. I my children never know the difference.
What they don’t know, won’t hurt them. 😉
Thank you for sharing your tutorial with the Hearth and Soul Hop.
Does it matter if you use white vinegar instead? And, uh, I thought you didn’t clean windows?!
I’m not sure. Carrie said apple cider, so I don’t want to mess with that. lol And I don’t……in fact, Barry just cleaned mine. 🙂
It looks easy, and delicious, but my question would be – doesn’t the heat kill any good bacteria/probiotics in the kefir? If so, what is the point of using it in the cottage cheese? I have seen cottage cheese recipes that use vinegar in just milk, no kefir added. Does the kefir add better flavor, or do you think some good bugs survive the 140º temps? Just wondering! 🙂
Well, I’m not 100% sure. 🙂 I’m just always looking for ways to use my kefir – because it’s something that I have versus something that I have to buy at the store. So, even if it doesn’t keep all the good bacteria, I feel better making it because I know what’s in it.
From what I read, most bacteria doesn’t die until it reaches around 165 degrees F. I only heat this mixture to 140. Great question! 🙂
I agree with Erin! You make everything seem so easy. I’m pinning for later reference. 🙂 Plus, what a great way to use Kefir!
I <3 my kefir!
Stacy, your comments have me rolling on the floor laughing! LOL!! I wish I could try this now–dairy free for now but I love me some cottage cheese so I will be back on this page one day! You instructions make everything sound easy peasy!
Well, I hope so. If I can do it, ANYONE can do it.
Can you use yogurt instead of kefir?
Brandi, I’m not sure. Yogurt is a lot thicker than kefir. You MIGHT be able to try buttermilk instead? But I’ve not tried that though. If you do, please keep me posted!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try this now that I’m eating dairy again (woohoo!) And thanks for joining our Flu fighting blog hop:)
So, here’s the booboo I made. I was trying to link to Rachel’s Healthy2Day Wednesday……and I somehow entered the Flu hop instead. Sorry that cottage cheese isn’t really for breakfast. Uh, oops?
I’ve eaten cottage cheese for breakfast before, and I’m a very normal breakfast food person, (ahem), so no worries!
Well, I’m not sure about you – but I’m serving fudge and borscht for breakfast tomorrow.
This is sort of on topic…..I’m looking for grains to make goat milk kefir. I’m a breastfeeding mom and my son has a dairy allergy. The kefir grains I have contain skim milk in the ingredients. Do you have a good source to purchase goat milk kefir grains or is this even an option? I’m new to kefiring and would really like to start soon.
Areta, I’m not entirely sure……do you think if you rinsed them in filtered water that it would take care of most of the skim? I make mine with whole milk….and I don’t know anyone who makes it with goat milk.
BUT, I do know who will have answers for you. Try contacting Cultures for Health. They are a GREAT company with awesome customer service. If there are goat milk grains available, they’ll know it. 🙂
http://www.culturesforhealth.com/
we have lazy day lasagna here often. place a cup of cottage cheese in a microwave safe bowl. top w/a cup of spaghetti sauce. sprinkle w/shredded mozzarella and microwave about 2 min until heated through. yum!
My favorite way to eat cottage cheese (and one of my favorite breakfasts in general) is with raspberries on waffles. I just stir some raspberries (that have been frozen and then thawed so they are kind of mushy and juicy) in cottage cheese with a little sugar (or other kind of sweetener) then plop that all on top of a waffle. A few drops of lemon juice in the cottage cheese raspberry mixture is good too.
It makes for a really tasty, filling breakfast, and pretty darn good late night snack too.
That sounds great to me Jenny! You might have a little talking to do with Barry and Annie though. 😉
I love Carrie’s cottage cheese. I’ve used it in lasagna with great success. Can you share how you use leftover whey in a post? I don’t often have it from cottage cheese, but I do strain a lot of yogurt and it just goes down the drain.
Mostly I just use it in my bread recipes. If something calls for water, I just use the whey that I have in the fridge. I substitute it cup for cup. Don’t pour it out! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! 🙂 You can use it for anything you bake instead of water.
I used it in lasagna too. Delish! Carrie rocks.