How to make cottage cheese from kefir: recipes and methods

General information

Before I tell you how to make cottage cheese from kefir, we should tell you what this product is.

Cottage cheese is not only very tasty, but also a healthy ingredient that contains a huge amount of calcium and other nutrients. That is why such a dairy product must be present in the diet of every person, especially young children and pregnant women.

If you want cottage cheese to bring only benefits to your body, then it is not recommended to purchase it in the store. After all, very often careless entrepreneurs add various substances to it that improve the taste of the product and increase its shelf life. In this regard, we decided to devote this article to how to make cottage cheese from kefir yourself.

Cooking method in a slow cooker

1000 ml kefir with a fat content of 3.2%.

Calorie content - 56 kcal/100 g.

How to make cottage cheese from homemade kefir in a slow cooker:

Pour kefir into the multicooker bowl. It needs to be installed in the device;
Select the “Milk porridge” mode with a timer for ten minutes. Be sure to close the lid;
After a while, open the lid and remove the bowl;
Using gauze, strain the kefir mixture. After this, do not immediately remove the cottage cheese from the gauze. Instead, you need to tie the ends of the gauze into knots and carefully hang it over the sink. Can be attached to a faucet or a nightstand. This will allow the remaining whey to drain;
The longer the knot hangs, the drier the curd will be. Therefore, if you need wet cottage cheese, it only needs to hang for about ten minutes. You can achieve dry mass in an hour or more. After this, remove the product from the gauze and use as desired.

The easiest homemade cottage cheese recipe

Did you know that cottage cheese made from frozen kefir turns out to be very tender, tasty and nutritious? It should be noted that this method of preparing a dairy product is the simplest and easiest. So that you can see this for yourself, we will present its detailed recipe. For this we need:

kefir of maximum fat content - 1 liter (preferably taken in a cardboard package).

Why is cottage cheese useful?

The composition of cottage cheese is rich in natural proteins and a record calcium content. In addition, you can choose a product with minimal fat content, which is important for baby food. Ideally, the human body should receive it at least once every two days, and for children and the elderly, cottage cheese is simply a necessary product.

Modern supermarkets have a huge selection of a wide variety of dairy products, including cottage cheese. By purchasing products from trusted manufacturers, you can provide your family with everything they need, but in some cases it is better to make cottage cheese yourself. This is especially important for babies, whose digestive system is just beginning to adapt to new foods.

Cooking process

The presented recipe for kefir cottage cheese recommends using a dairy product with maximum fat content. After all, only from such a drink you will get a large amount of tender and tasty curd.

Thus, packaged kefir must be placed in the freezer and kept there for several hours. During this time, the product should completely harden.

After the kefir is frozen, it must be removed from the cardboard packaging by cutting it with scissors. In this case, the contents of the container should be placed in a very fine sieve. Place a colander over a saucepan or bowl and wait until the kefir has completely thawed. During this process, it needs to be kneaded regularly with a spoon.

After the frozen milk mass has completely melted, a very tender and tasty curd should remain in the sieve. It should be placed in a bowl and served immediately along with sour cream and sugar. As for the liquid that glassed into the bowl, you should not pour it out. After all, this whey can serve as an ideal basis for kneading dough for pies or other baked goods.

How to make cottage cheese from sour kefir in the microwave

1000 ml sour kefir;
15 ml sour cream.

Calorie content - 58 kcal/100 g.

Pour the sour kefir into a plastic or glass container;
Place the container in the microwave, the power should be at maximum. Heat the kefir for ten minutes, then remove it;
The whey should separate from the top. The mass should be passed through cheesecloth. Alternatively, you can use a handkerchief;
What remains in the gauze should be transferred to any bowl. This is cottage cheese, which will become much more tender when a spoonful of sour cream of any fat content is mixed into it.

Cooking method

To make cottage cheese from kefir, which can be fed even to small children, you should take a large container, pour water into it and bring to a boil. Next, you need to place the dairy product in a smaller bowl and place it in the bubbling liquid.

Thus, kefir needs to be boiled in a water bath until it begins to curdle. In this case, it is advisable to reduce the fire to a minimum. During this procedure, the resulting clots must be carefully moved from the center of the pan to its edge. In this state, it is advisable to heat the product for about 10 minutes and then remove it from the stove.

We will no longer need the hot water with which we made the water bath. In this regard, it can be carefully poured out. As for the dishes with kefir mass, it is recommended to put them in a cool place for half an hour.

After the curdled drink has cooled, you should take a colander, place multi-layer gauze in it, and then completely pour the heat-treated dairy product into it. Next, the edges of the mesh must be carefully tied together. The result should be a small but tight bag that should be suspended over the container of whey. After a few hours, the kefir cottage cheese will be completely ready for use. It should be noted that such a product turns out to be very tender, tasty and healthy.

How to quickly cook cottage cheese on the stove for a 1 year old child?

Another cooking method that will become a lifesaver for young mothers. You don't need a multicooker or other kitchen appliances - the whole process takes place on a regular stove. The product is prepared quickly and easily, so you will always have a fresh, tasty and healthy snack for your baby.

Required Products

1 package of kefir with the highest fat content.

Step by step recipe

1. Take a saucepan with a thick bottom and walls (you can use a roasting pan or a container for stewing food).

2. Pour sour milk into it, place on the stove at the lowest temperature or on low heat.

The base should not boil or gurgle, but only move barely noticeably.

3. Leave the pan on the fire for 2 hours - the base should separate into a thick and liquid mass.

Strain well through cheesecloth until the whey is completely drained. A two-liter bag yields about 400 grams of product.

Step-by-step cooking recipe

So, to make cottage cheese from kefir, you should pour the fermented milk drink into the multicooker bowl, and then set it to the “Multicook” mode. In this case, it is advisable to set the temperature to 80 degrees, and the time to 10 minutes.

After the device has completed its work, you need to open the lid, under which you can see the curdled kefir. This mass should be carefully poured onto multi-layer gauze and tied tightly. After hanging the bag over a bowl, it is recommended to keep it in this position for several hours. During this time, all the whey will drain from the product, leaving only the most delicate and delicious cottage cheese in the gauze.

It should be noted that such a grainy product can be prepared not only using the “Multi-cook” mode, but also using the heating program. To do this, you need to pour kefir into the device’s container and set the time for 15-20 minutes. It is recommended to keep the lid open.

After the whey appears in the multicooker, the milk mass should be carefully poured into a colander, onto which you must first place gauze folded several times. Having hung the bag in the same way, it should be kept over the bowl until the curd has lost most of its moisture. Subsequently, the dairy product must be removed from the gauze, placed in a bowl and served.

It should be noted that as a result of such actions, from one liter of medium-fat kefir you can get about 250-270 grams of fresh and tasty cottage cheese. As for the remaining whey, it can be used to make pancakes and other baked goods.

It is recommended to store the finished curd in the refrigerator, but no longer than five days.

Classic recipe

1000 ml kefir.

Calorie content - 50 kcal/100 g.

Method for preparing cottage cheese from kefir at home:

Pour kefir into a small saucepan, always enameled;
Turn on medium heat and place the container on the stove;
The kefir will begin to gradually heat up. As soon as the whey begins to separate (it has a yellowish color), the heat must be turned off. If you overheat the product, it will turn out tough;
Place a layer of gauze in a colander and hold it over a bowl;
Transfer the kefir mass to cheesecloth and wait until all the whey has drained. There is no need to throw it away. You can drink it raw, or you can add it to baked goods;
After this, you can put the cottage cheese under pressure for a while to achieve a denser consistency. This is not necessary.

Step by step cooking method

Before making cottage cheese from kefir, you need to make your own fermented milk product. To do this, add sour cream to fresh fat milk and mix everything thoroughly. Next, you need to pour kefir into the same container. Leave the ingredients in a warm place for 10-15 hours. As a result, you should have a fatty and thick fermented milk drink. From it you will get a very tasty and tender cottage cheese. To do this, homemade kefir needs to be heated in a water bath so that it completely curdles. Next, the resulting whey with flakes should be poured into a colander, previously covered with multi-layer gauze. After waiting until the whey has partially drained, you need to make a bag from the mesh by tightly tying its ends. Next, the cottage cheese needs to be suspended over a deep dish and kept in this position for several hours. If you want to get a drier dairy product, then place the gauze bag in a bowl and press firmly with pressure.

After the curd has lost all the whey, it must be removed from the mesh and placed in a bowl.

Kefir cottage cheese with herbs

6 g salt;
1000 ml kefir;
20 g of greens.

Time - 1 hour 10 minutes.

Calorie content - 60 kcal/100 g.

First, pour the liquid into a small saucepan. It needs to be put on low heat;
The mass must be heated to a maximum of 70 degrees. Around this time, the whey will begin to separate from the curds. As soon as the process has begun, the stove should be turned off;
The mass must be mixed carefully, from top to bottom;
After this, the liquid must be poured into a colander with a layer of gauze to separate the whey. It should separate in about an hour;
During this time, you need to chop the washed greens very finely. Cilantro, dill, parsley will do. You can also use oregano, green onions, mint, thyme - experiments are welcome;
Take the cottage cheese out of the cheesecloth into a bowl, add a little salt and all the greens. Mix. If desired, you can add a little sour cream so that you can spread it on black bread. Garlic is also often added for flavor.

Processing kefir into cottage cheese using a multicooker

Do you have a slow cooker? Why not “stress” her? Let him work for the benefit of a healthy family diet.

To prepare you will need:

kefir of any manufacturer and fat content - liter packaging;
clean thick cloth (gauze);
whey collection container;
sieve or colander.

Homemade cottage cheese made from milk and lemon

Thanks to lemon juice, milk will turn sour much faster.

Ingredients

2 liters of milk;
1 lemon.

From the specified amount you will get about 350 g of cottage cheese.

Preparation

Pour the milk into the pan. If you use country milk, then you need to bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. If the milk is already pasteurized, then simply heat it, but do not boil.

Squeeze the juice out of the lemon - you should have about 60 ml. Then pour lemon juice into the milk in a thin stream and stir. Almost immediately the whey will begin to separate and curd clots will appear. Once this happens, remove the pan from the heat.

Leave it for a few minutes to allow the mixture to cool slightly. Place the curd in a colander and let the whey drain.

How to make cottage cheese at home

It would be optimal to use homemade milk and dairy products for these purposes. Making homemade cottage cheese is as easy as shelling pears, even for an inexperienced housewife. In addition, the process will not take much time, which is ideal for always busy mothers.

The specificity of curd products is that they are usually consumed without preliminary heat treatment.

This creates a certain threat, because bacteria develop well in such an environment. This is why it is necessary to use boiled or pasteurized milk. The main nuances of home cooking are described below.

Secrets of successful cooking:

Cottage cheese can be obtained from almost any dairy product. In addition to the traditional milk recipe, you can use kefir, yogurt, curdled milk, sour cream or cream as raw materials. The fat and calorie content of homemade cottage cheese directly depends on the raw materials, so it is better to prepare dietary cottage cheese for baby food from regular milk.
If you have chosen a recipe with natural fermentation of the milk mass, the main thing is not to let it sit for too long. Otherwise, the cottage cheese will acquire a sour taste, which will make it not very suitable for desserts or baby food.
The pharmacy has special starter cultures for these purposes. With their help, you can quickly ferment milk and prepare yogurt, curdled milk and other fermented milk products. In addition to the speed of preparation, such starters contain additional substances: vitamins, bifidobacteria, etc. The disadvantage will be the increase in the cost of products, and ordinary homemade cottage cheese can be made without extra expenses.
The first complementary food for infants can be made from homemade cottage cheese. For this, only non-sour milk and kefir are used.

Cottage cheese at home from milk can be prepared using different methods. Usually the natural fermentation method is used, but for quick results it is better to boil milk or other raw materials and then quickly cool. Such temperature changes contribute to the rapid formation of semi-solid clots, from which the final product is obtained.

On average, to prepare one kilogram of cottage cheese you will need about five to six liters of milk.

Cooking in the microwave

Another device with which you can prepare homemade cottage cheese from kefir is a microwave oven.

But it will not be possible to curdle more than 1.5 liters of kefir, and for this volume the preparation technology will be as follows:

Pour the kefir into a container suitable for use in a microwave oven, place it in the microwave oven and turn on the device in the “Defrost” or “Accelerated Defrost” mode for 30 minutes. Instead of these options, you can use any other option that does not heat the food above 80 degrees.
Every 10 minutes the device should be stopped and the kefir stirred. When the gadget is finished working, all you have to do is squeeze out the cottage cheese using gauze.