FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Cheese - Paneer and Ricotta

Paul M. Cook

"Ranée at Arabian Knits" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> (Charlotte L. Blackmer) wrote:
>
>> In article >, Paul M. Cook >
>> wrote:
>> >
>> >"Steve Freides" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> >> Cool! Thanks for the instructions - might even try this over the
>> >> upcoming
>> >> long weekend.
>> >>
>> >
>> >Don't be surprised if you get no ricotta. When I have made cheese the
>> >whey
>> >leftover is so thin that you cannot get anything more out of it. I
>> >suspect
>> >it is because of the low butterfat content of store bought milk. You'll
>> >get
>> >decent paneer or ricotta but not both. Raw milk makes all the
>> >difference
>> >but can be hard to come by.
>
> What they call "whole" milk at the store isn't really. They have
> already removed some of the fat to use in butter, heavy cream etc.
> Whole milk is more like 4-5% butterfat, not 3.5%
>
>> Yes, even using whole organic milk from the store, the whey was pretty
>> thin after making a batch of ricotta (or maybe you could call it paneer).
>> I'd suggest supplementation if you want to do it that way.
>
> I'm still trying to master cheese making of any kind. I've only had
> so so results.
>

The stuff in stores is not only pasteurized but "ultra pasteurized" and
"ultra homogenated." It is as far removed as can be from genuine moo juice.
I was able to buy some under the counter "you don't know me I don't know you
wink nod dark alley" raw unpasteurized milk at one time and the results were
phenomenal. I made awesome mozzarella. I just never came close to those
results using even the best organic milk from stores.

Paul