Cream Cheese

cultured homemade cream cheese

Makes 2 cups · 127 kcal per serving

Ingredients

• 500 g Milk
• 500 g Heavy Cream
• 25 g Buttermilk
• 4 g Salt

Method

1. Cultured (default): Gently warm the milk and cream to ~85°F. Stir in the buttermilk, plus a little liquid rennet for a firmer set (optional). Cover and hold at room temperature ~12 h, until set like a soft yogurt.
2. Quick acid-set: Instead, heat the milk and cream to ~200°F, stir in the vinegar off the heat, and wait ~4 min for curds to form.
3. Either way: Ladle into a cheesecloth-lined strainer and drain in the fridge (~12 h for the cultured set, 30–60 min for the acid-set), then blend the curds smooth with the salt. Keeps ~1 week.