It's fat levels are pretty high too... after all, it is Cheese we're talking about here!
One of life's greatest indulgences, to be enjoyed in moderation. (Although my definition of moderation depends on how good the cheese is, if you get my meaning)
Making Paneer at home is easy as pie.
You can do it while reading a good book.
Not a fascinatingly good book of course.
Definitely not the kind of book that would make you oblivious to your hair being on fire.
We are talking about boiling milk here, a task if entered into lightly and without enough attention will warrant lots of unpleasant mopping.
Not to forget all the crying... over spilled milk.
Alright, I'll stop... but hear me out on the science of Paneer cheese making before you get started.
The Brief Chemistry of Paneer
When you get down to brass-tacks, cheese is nothing but milk fats and milk protein.
The process of cheese-making involves coagulating (or curdling) milk to separate the curds from the whey, a process which requires the presence of an acid. The source and introduction of the acid is one of the many factors which determines which cheese we make. After all, milk is milk. Sure, it could come from different animals, and there would be a variation in their specific taste. But the milk of a single cow, can yield a diverse variety of cheese. Each one distinctly different tasting from the next.
I love milk, but I revere cheese.
Cheese is an art. Cheese is a delicacy we dedicate stores to, put on marble pedestals and celebrate. Well, some of us do anyway.
Getting back to the point, of all the wondrous ways to make cheese in the world, Paneer is made by Heat-Acid Precipitation.
So we start with adding heat. When the proteins in milk are heated, especially whey protein, it gets denatured. Which means it’s complex protein structure, sort of unfolds itself leaving it exposed to anything that might be in its environment. This is when we add the acid (in my case the acidic yogurt) which causes the milk to curdle, or rather causes the whey proteins to coagulate. An added advantage of making Paneer is that this process of heat-acid precipitation, causes the casein protein to filter out with the whey. Casein is a large component of cow’s milk which means the cheese yield is greater than in cheese made by other methods. More importantly, casein is rich in essential amino acids, calcium, and phosphorus.
Here is my primary reference.
Alright then, let's roll up our sleeves. This is how we do it.
Take about half a gallon of WHOLE milk and a cup of fresh yogurt.
Okay fine!!! If you don't have fresh yogurt use the juice of half a lemon or lime or even 2 tbps of white vinegar.
I have fresh yogurt, so that's how I'm going to do it.Oh yeah, about the can being shy of half a gallon, I think the husband, being unaware that this milk was destined for greater things used it for a cup of coffee or two.
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan...
Add yogurt...
Let the whole merry mixture toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble...
... you will notice the curd separate from the whey.
When the whey turns clearer, turn off the heat and let it stay for about a minute.
There is no great purpose for doing this, except that it's really very hot.
You could use these minutes to set up a cheesecloth in a strainer. Make some arrangement for collecting the whey too. It too has great potential, let's not let it drain away.
Strain and hang over sink. Let gravity work the whey out of it's system and help the Paneer really come together.
In case you're wondering... that's a small ball of Paneer hanging from a hook hung on the cabinet above my kitchen sink.
And what do our labors yield...
About that much... of deliciousness.
Why is it yellow? I added half a tsp of turmeric right after adding the yogurt to the milk.
You don't have to do this... I just like my paneer yellow.
Wrap in cling-foil and refrigerate till you're ready to use it. If it's going to be longer than 4 days - refrigerate it for a day, slice it into bite sized pieces, then freeze it.
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