Cream Cheese from Scratch

• Vegetarian
• Gluten free

• Condiments

  • 1/3 cup Lemon juice, Fresh Squeezed

• Baking & Spices

  • 2 tsp Salt

• Dairy

  • 1 qt Half and half
  • 2 qt Heavy cream
  • 1 qt Whole milk

Found on servedfromscratch.com

Description

Ingredients

• 1 quart of whole milk
• 1 quart of half and half
• 2 quarts of heavy cream
• 1/3 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons of salt

Directions

• Line a large colander with a layer of cheesecloth and place in the sink or over a bowl if you want to save the whey. Wet the cheesecloth to hold it firmly in place. Over medium-high heat, bring the milk and salt to a gentle simmer in a heavy large pot. Stir in the lemon juice and continue to simmer gently until curds begin to form and float to the top, 1 to 2 minutes. They will first look like spatters of white, then gather into soft, cloud-like clumps. When you see the liquid begin to clear of cloudiness and the curds are firming up but not hard, scoop them out with a slotted spoon or sieve.   My liquid didnt really clear and my curds didnt really firm up so I just poured all of the liquid into the cheese cloth lined colander and a sieve. This seemed to work just as well, but it required draining over night. I let the sieve sit out covered with a cloth napkin and I gathered the ends of the cheese cloth and suspended it on the kitchen sink faucet to drain. My house is kept pretty cool at 55-60 degrees though so I had no problem leaving it out- if your house is pretty warm, Id suggest suspending them in a cooler place if leaving overnight. Let the curds drain thoroughly in the lined colander. If very soft, press gently to extract a little moisture, but take care not to dry out the cheese. Turn into a bowl, cover and chill.