Cream Cheese Recipe

[Cheese Head]

Found this recipe from old 1999 Geocities website that doesn't appear to be maintained anymore as several links fail. Tried to get original poster cheezewizard's OK to posts here as worried that Geocities will delete account for non-use but his/her email account no work:

Cream Cheese is a farmhouse classic is used in many recipes and many desserts.

This recipe makes a creamy sweet cheese that is worthy of your best cheese cake recipe or on hot piece of toast covered with slices of ripe strawberries!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 US Gallon / 1.8 liters Fresh Cream
• 4 oz. Mesophilic Starter Culture
• 1/4 tab Rennet

DIRECTIONS

• Mix 1/2 gallon fresh cream with 4 oz. of mesophilic starter.
• Mix 1/4 tab Rennet into two tablespoons of COOL water. Mix this into the milk thoroughly using a whisk and stirring for at least 5 minutes.
• Cover and set aside to ripen for about 12-15 hours at room temp (70 F / 21 C).
• The milk should be a firm curd within 15 hours, however the full 12-15 hours is needed to develop the correct flavor.
• After 12-15 hours, gently ladle the curds into a colander lined with a FINE cheese cloth.
• Allow the curds to drain for awhile then tie the four corners of the cloth together. Hang it to drain 6-8 hours.
• After the curds have drained, place the curds into a small bowl.
• Mix by hand until pasty.
• Add salt, herbs, etc. to taste.
• Place the cheese into a sealable container into a refrigerator. The cheese will firm up a little once under refrigeration.

[Cheese Head]

Made this Cream Cheese recipe, records posted here.

[Tea]

I made this recipe on Friday, with the following changes.
1.8lts pure cream
100ml type A culture
.5ml rennet per 2lt

The rest I did the same as the recipe although I hung the bag for 24 hours and worked it probably 3-4 time thoughout that time.

Here is the bag hanging, then freshly opened and still in the cheese cloth, then turned out into a bowl.

The texture was silky smooth, and the taste seemed to be a cross between a cultured butter, mascarpone, cream cheese flavour.  Very different.

I have made a cheesecake and a dip, so will let you know later how they turn out.

[Cheese Head]

Well that looks very nice, I assume the very yellow colour in pictures is from lighting or is it really that colour?

Also, I found that the curds form a filter cake of drier curds against the cloth slowing down the middle high whey % curds ability to drain. So I use a spatula to periodically move that filter cake away from the cloth and allow the high whey runnier curds access to the cloth. Assume you got the same and thus reason for you periodically "working" the bag. What did you do for "working"?

Also, also, the colour of your cheesecloth changed , I've found that very heavy cloths like in your first picture, while strong, slow down the drainage too much, did you get the same?

FYI, mine had more of cream cheese flavour, I think yours is different as you used pure cream and possibly as a different culture.

[Tea]

The colour is probably a shade or too lighter than what shows on my screen, but don't forget that I used cream and not milk.
If you look at the first pic, you will see the cheese cloth peaking out the top.  I originally had it only in the cheese cloth, but it was too porous and the cream was starting to drip out as well as the whey, so I quickly wrapped it in a tea towel as well, which stopped the cream from seeping through.
I let it stand longer mainly because cream is thicker than milk, and I remember you saying that you had whey forming on the top of yours, so I decided to hang for 24 hours.
To work the bag I just kneaded it with my hands, then twisted it to tighten and force out any excess whey.  Altogether I probably got around 2 - 2 1/2 cups of whey.

[Cheese Head]

Thanks for details . . . the passion fruit cheese cake you made with some of it should taste great!

[Tea]

The cheese cake tasted wonderful, and got the thumbs up from everyone.  Seemed to be lighter and smoother than usual.
Ok I have included a photo with the flash on to see if it will give you a better colour image.
Here goes.

[Cheese Head]

Looks great, hanging for 24 hours which is way more than the recipe, definately firmed your cheese, starting with full cream rather milk also helped.

[Tea]

As this made so much, almost 2 1/2lb, I experiemented with freezing a little of the cheese, then thawing it out the next morning.  Behaved beautifully, and thawed with no lumps or seperating, so I have devided this cheese into  workable amounts for further use.
Which is good to know, as I can still make the larger amount when I want to, and can store away until needed.
I was definately feeling a little sick at the thought of having to use up all that cheese before it went off.

[Cheese Head]

Wow 1.8 litres x 2.2 = 4 lb, obviously not that much whey if you ended up with ~2.5 lb of cream cheese, which is a lot!

Good to know on freezing, I've only ever frozen hard cheeses and ater thawing their texture is much more crumbly and taste is so-so.

Assume you used store bought pasteurized homogenized full cream, less 0.2 litres for coffee .

[Tea]

Hi Cheese Head, my apologies that I didn't reply to this post, I missed it somehow.
Well I just wanted to update on this cheese.  Even though it thawed well, with no apparent lumpies, it didn't want to be stirred at all, and after a few gentle stirs did curdle.     I made up a new batch last week, and this time it curdled straight up front, which surprised me.  Maybe the cream wasn't as fresh as the last lot, maybe my daughter stired it to long, I'm not sure, but the end result is, that even though this gives a beautiful rich cream, it appears that it is too tempermental to give good consistant results for cooking.  It would work well as a spread on bagels etc, as there is a definate "cultured butter" flavour that comes through.

So I experiemented again on the weekend.  Recipe this time.

900ml milk
300ml cream  ratio 3:1
Type A culture
approx .35ml rennet (liquid rennet rate of .5ml per 2 ltr)

Heated milk and cream to setting temp of 32C added culture, stirred well.  Added rennet stirred well.
Allow to set for 12-15 hours.
Poured into fine cheese cloth, and hung for 12 hours, working bag occassionally.

These amount yielded almost double the amount of whey the full cream one did, and was much softer in consistancy.
Final weight of cheese was just over 300gr or 10-11 oz.
Made up a desert last night and treated if fairly roughly, and it seemed to hold up well, with no signs of curdling.

Will make this up again, and report again, on any changes that I may find.
Here is my cheese.

[Cheese Head]

Looks nice Tea

With mine I just made it into a flavoured Cream Cheese, didn't use it for any cooking, I also used what here is called (pasteurized, homogenized) Half & Half cow's milk, which is commonly used in coffee, it's 12.5% butterfat. Don't know how that compares to your 1/4 cream & 3/4 milk.

[Tea]

As I said in another post, we don't have half and half here, or any like product.  There is milk, and there is cream.

I did forget to mention that I used pure cream, not a whipping or thickened cream. JFYI.

[Tea]

Just updating this again.  Have made this recipe repeatedly now at least once or twice a week, (have a batch hanging for my eldest DD now) and have had much success with it.  We have been rough in the handling of it, and even tried to over beat it.  It has held up well in both normal and baked dished, and is great for dip bases.
This one is a keeper.
Final recipe I experiemented with and kept is,

1lt milk
300ml pure cream
Type A culture
rennet as per use (mine .5ml per 2lt)

Heat milk and cream in a pot to setting temp of 32C  add culture spores and diluted rennent and stir well.  Put on lid and leave over night to set.  Next morning hang, and work the bag every few hours by hand or twisting tight.  Ready to use between 10-12 hours after hanging.

[Cheese Head]

Thanks Tea, the great news for you is having so many consumers around the house, I still have tonnes of cheese to eat!