Make your own cream cheese for less...
oh, and it's super yummy, too!
oh, and it's super yummy, too!
I like cream cheese bunches. I cook with it, bake with it, and eat it plain on bagels and toast. Okay, yes more often than not, I add a dab or two of Nutella, but that's true of most of the foods I eat. Cream cheese stars in many party dishes and cream sauces, too. I can't always get it on sale though and I loathe to pay retail for anything. Plus, I think Philadelphia cream cheese may have hatched some diabolical plot to get us all hooked on the stuff and then, drove up the cost, leaving us jonesing, helpless and addicted.
One thing's for sure, come cheese cake making time, I make my own cream cheese. I wouldn't be able to make so many delicious desserts if I was paying Philadelphia prices. Does making your own cream cheese sound too Little House on the Prairie, crazy homesteader to you? Seriously, friends, it's not hard to do. Once you try it, you'll see. I mean, have you met me? I don't do difficult. Peace, B.
One thing's for sure, come cheese cake making time, I make my own cream cheese. I wouldn't be able to make so many delicious desserts if I was paying Philadelphia prices. Does making your own cream cheese sound too Little House on the Prairie, crazy homesteader to you? Seriously, friends, it's not hard to do. Once you try it, you'll see. I mean, have you met me? I don't do difficult. Peace, B.
You ready to do this thing?
You'll need the following to make your own cream cheese:
a large container of plain yogurt
a colander
a dish towel or cheese cloth
a bowl
a colander
a dish towel or cheese cloth
a bowl
Put your colander on top of your glass bowl. The glass bowl is going to collect the liquid (whey) that drains off the yogurt.
Line the colander with the cheese cloth or dish towel. (I used to use a burp cloth for this purpose. Once that was so ratty from years of use, I just switched over to a cheese cloth.)
Spoon the yogurt into the colander. Make sure you are able to bring the sides of the cheese cloth up and around the yogurt to cover it.
As the whey drips into the bowl, the yogurt will firm up and thicken. It's like magic and you'll feel like a professional cheese maker.
Your super mega awesome cream cheese will be ready in about 5 or 6 hours, but I usually leave the whole shebang there on the counter over night. The longer it drains, the thicker the cheese will be.
I store my homemade cream cheese in a large crock and make smaller batches of flavored cream cheese in half pint size mason jars. I like to add in fruits* or dried herbs, garlic, and/or dehydrated onions.
Your cream cheese will keep in the fridge for a week.
*Sometimes, I receive bulk packs of flavored yogurt through a "co-op" or through stockpiling via sales ad and coupon match-ups. I have successfully made cream cheese with Yoplait blueberry, strawberry, and peach. I don't know if results will vary by brand or flavor.
Line the colander with the cheese cloth or dish towel. (I used to use a burp cloth for this purpose. Once that was so ratty from years of use, I just switched over to a cheese cloth.)
Spoon the yogurt into the colander. Make sure you are able to bring the sides of the cheese cloth up and around the yogurt to cover it.
As the whey drips into the bowl, the yogurt will firm up and thicken. It's like magic and you'll feel like a professional cheese maker.
Your super mega awesome cream cheese will be ready in about 5 or 6 hours, but I usually leave the whole shebang there on the counter over night. The longer it drains, the thicker the cheese will be.
I store my homemade cream cheese in a large crock and make smaller batches of flavored cream cheese in half pint size mason jars. I like to add in fruits* or dried herbs, garlic, and/or dehydrated onions.
Your cream cheese will keep in the fridge for a week.
*Sometimes, I receive bulk packs of flavored yogurt through a "co-op" or through stockpiling via sales ad and coupon match-ups. I have successfully made cream cheese with Yoplait blueberry, strawberry, and peach. I don't know if results will vary by brand or flavor.
You want some good ideas for using that whey you just collected when you made your own homemade cream cheese? Go here.
For more Thrifty Thursday fabulous-ness, go here.
