My Homemade Cream Cheese recipe couldn’t be easier, because you likely have everything you need to make rich, creamy, and tangy cream cheese.
How to Make Cream Cheese
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Total Time : 25 mins
Ingredients:
- 4 cups (32 oz /1000 ml) whole milk (full fat, not low fat)
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice (lime juice or white vinegar)
- ¼-½ teaspoon salt (read notes)
Instructions:
- In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk on med-high.
- Stirring constantly until it starts to a rolling simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the lemon juice 1 tablespoon at a time, in 1-minute intervals.
- Continue stirring constantly.
- Continue cooking until the mixture curdles.
- Stir constantly until the mixture has separated completely, this should take just a few minutes.
- There will be a yellowish liquid on the bottom and thick curdles on top. Remove from the heat.
- This should happen within a few minutes.
- Lay a cheesecloth in a large sieve and place it over a large bowl.
- Pour the curds into the sieve. Let it strain and cool for about 15 minutes.
- Once cooled, use the cheesecloth to squeeze the excess whey out of the curds. (Note: You can reserve the whey for marinades, bread, pancakes etc)
- Transfer curds to a food processor and process until very smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
- If the mixture seems grainy and stiff then add in a splash of the whey or cream to loosen it.
- Add salt and taste. Add more if you want more flavor.
- Now is also a good time to add herbs, garlic or any other flavors you like.
- This cream cheese must be stored in the fridge. I always use it within 7 days.
Recipe Notes:
SMALL CURDS: I have heard feedback that lemon juice yields a smaller amount of curd than vinegar, and this may very well be true for pasteurized milk. Choose a white vinegar, cider vinegar/white wine vinegar will do it. When using lemon juice use it fresh from the fruit.
Salt: Just add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and then taste. If you would like it saltier then feel free to add more.