In the Kitchen - 2 Gallons of milk =

I have been planning another pan of lasagna.  This time I found a wonderful recipe for spinach/broccoli lasagna.  It is in the oven now so I sure hope it is good!  It takes me a little while to go from "hungry for lasagna" to "eating lasagna".  With a commitment to making all my food from scratch, I have to plan ahead.  So I started a couple of days ago with 2 gallons of fresh whole Pickett Fence milk.  I can't say enough about the quality of their milk.  It is pasteurized, which is required by Iowa law but not hemogenized.  That means the cream rises to the top and it is absolutely delicious to drink but even better for making cheeses.

Out of the first gallon of milk, I made cottage cheese.  This is really easy to do by adding 3/4 cup white vinegar to heated milk and separating the curds from the whey.  Here is a link to how to do it.  http://www.thenewsuburbanpioneer.blogspot.com/2012/12/in-kitchen-cottage-cheese.html    The cottage cheese curds are fresh and good.  Store them in the refrigerator until ready to use and then mix some whole milk or cream with them right before eating!

Then I used the second gallon of milk to make homemade mozzarella cheese.  This was the second time I made it and it turned out perfect this time!  It doesn't take much, just some rennet, which can be purchased online or at Beer Crazy in Urbandale (they have cheese making supplies in addition to brew-your-own-beer supplies) and some citric acid (also available in the same places).  Here is the link to how to make your own mozzarella cheese.  http://www.thenewsuburbanpioneer.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-kitchen-homemade-mozzarella-cheese.html This cheese was so fresh tasting and perfectly delicious that I had to keep my family out of it so I had enough for the lasagna!  I had to promise to make them some more soon to eat fresh.

Once I had made the mozzarella and the cottage cheese, I had about a gallon and half of whey left over.  Whey is a yellow liquid and full of great nutrition from the milk.  It can be used in place of water in most recipes so I store it in the refrigerator in glass jars until I can use it up.  Never waste!! 

So out of that 1 1/2 gallons of whey, I made Ricotta cheese and BUTTER!!  The butter was a first for me but I was so happy with the results.  To make ricotta, you have to leave the pan of whey out on the counter for 12 - 24 hours to develop sufficient acidity.  While this seemed very foreign and scary to me at first but I am comfortable with it now...  (how do you think they make it when you buy it at the store?- probably some chemical additive instead of leaving it on the counter - yuckier in my opinion)

After leaving the big pan of whey on the counter overnight, I looked inside to discover this nice layer of butter fat floating on top.  With further research, I discovered that it would be great to make butter from.  So I carefully skimmed all the cream fat from the top into my magic bullet cup.  After quite a bit of blending, I noticed it getting solid and found butter when I opened the cup!  Scooping the butter out, a little salt was added for flavor and this is what I ended up with:

When mixing in the salt, I did some pressing and removed a bit more of the whey liquid, adding that to my pot for more ricotta!  This butter is still on my counter and we are enjoying the taste of fresh butter on our toast and muffins! 

So on to make the ricotta for the lasagna.  Ricotta cheese is a bit tricky and my first attempt failed but this time I figured out to strain it through an actual tea towel instead of a cheese cloth and managed to capture all of the ricotta cheese this way.  Here is a link to making your own ricotta cheese:  http://www.thenewsuburbanpioneer.blogspot.com/2012/12/in-kitchen-ricotta-cheese-worked.html

So out of 2 gallons of whole milk (cost $10), I got a 16 ounce container of cottage cheese, a large chunk of mozzarella cheese, a small container of ricotta cheese, and enough butter for a few meals.  I consider that a win-win for our health (as all ingredients are fresh and without additives, and our pocket book!) 

Now even after the ricotta was made, I ended up with about a gallon or more of whey.  It is pure whey now.. clear yellow liquid that I have in the refrigerator.  I used a few tablespoons instead of the water to make the homemade wheat lasagna noodles and today used a few cups instead of water in my homemade garlic bread!  And there is still plenty left!  Maybe a crockpot of soup is in order later this week.  The whey does not add any different flavor when used in place of water in recipes but it does add nutrition!

While this seems a daunting process, it is a little time consuming but most of this can be done with minimal effort while you are doing other things in the kitchen.  Much of the cheese making is resting time so I use that time to make a batch of cookies or another loaf of fresh bread. 

Just final note:  If you are in town and want to try to make some mozzarella of your own, I can give you a little citric acid or rennet from my supply to save you from buying a quantity until you know how easy and delicious it is!  Just send me a message!  Or if you want to come over sometime when I am making something, let me know... I would love to have you and show you how!