5 Ingredients or Fewer

Cream Cheese

March 11, 2016
3
4 Ratings
Photo by Imen McDonnell
  • Makes about 13 ounces (375 grams)
Author Notes

Nothing beats a New York bagel with a shmear of cream cheese. I can't tell you how many times I have longed for a little bagel shop to open just around the corner from the farm. It's never going to happen, but at least I can make spectacular cream cheese on my own.

The whole process takes 2 days, but you will be rewarded handsomely. This cream cheese is particularly good in fresh cheesecake recipes. You can use the leftover whey for protein smoothies.

From The Farmette Cookbook, © 2016 by Imen McDonnell. Reprinted by arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications Inc., Boulder, CO. www.roostbooks.com —Imen McDonnell

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Ingredients
  • 2 cups (500 milliliters) whole milk
  • 2 cups (500 milliliters) heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons buttermilk
  • 1 drop liquid vegetable rennet
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
  1. Warm the milk and the cream in a large, nonreactive pot until the temperature reaches about 70° F (21° C) on a candy thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil. Remove from heat. Stir in the buttermilk, then add the rennet.
  2. Cover the pot and keep at room temperature overnight. The mixture will be set the next day.
  3. Sprinkle the salt over the surface of the congealed mass, and whisk into small curds. Line a large colander with cheesecloth and place over a bowl large enough to hold the whey. Gently pour the contents of the pot into the colander and let drain for about 30 minutes. Set the whey aside for another use.
  4. Gather the corners of the cheesecloth and tie them together to form a bag. Place the colander, with the cheese bag in it, back on the bowl. Put the whole thing in the fridge and the cream cheese will be ready to use the next day.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

6 Reviews

Suhani S. November 15, 2017
Can we omit salt as my kids do not light salty taste and gallop it at its own.
Zmira March 24, 2016
Where do I get the rennet? Can it be replaced with lemon juice?
Sandra November 25, 2018
Amazon, gotta say I love amazon
Shelley M. March 22, 2016
Is the whey the same as the buttermilk remained after making butter?
Vicki B. March 11, 2016
How much rennet do you add?
Sarah J. March 13, 2016
1 drop! Sorry about that omission.