This one is a breakfast treat from Louisiana. It's a farmers cheese, served in cream, top milk or half & half, and covered with sugar or cane syrup and fruit. Other uses include cheesecake, fillings, ice cream, and eating out of hand with S&P. This is one of those foods that was produced locally, back in the day, but was supplanted by product as Sir Corporate Agriculture discovered the charms of Dame Government.
Due to current health regulations, making cultured products in a restaurant is problematic. (you try explaining to the inspector why a large bowl of milk is sitting around unattended outside the refrigerator) Therefore, do try this at home, off site or as an overnight project.
Put 1 gallon skim milk in a bowl and let it come up to between 70° and 80°. Add ½ cup of cultured buttermilk and ½ teaspoon liquid rennet diluted in a quarter cup of water. Mix the heck out of it, cover, and let it sit at room temperature (72°) for 12 to 15 hours. Spoon the curd out with a skimmer and drain. If you don't have a cheese draining implement (and honestly, few of us do) you can perforate some clean cottage cheese containers and set them on a rack in a roasting pan. Put in the fridge and wait until the whey stops dripping (4 to 5 hours) then repackage.
Notes: This differs from Junket because of the addition of the buttermilk's culture. Therefore you're dealing with microbes. Don't just wash your equipment, sterilize it. If you have a ceramic bowl, it helps stabilize the temperature. However, if you've used it for yeast dough, go with a stainless. Don't borrow your pastry people's equipment or space. They use yeast. Yeast and warm standing milk do not equal cream cheese. Keep the whey. It can be cooked for ricotta, used in soup, or given to the previously jilted pâtisserie. The bread and muffin crowd will thank you.
- Detailed instructions in Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll
- Rennet and equipment: New England Cheesemaking Supply
- Variations and Foodways
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