Homemade Cheese is a kind of cheese that is typically prepared at home. Cheese making at home is quite easy as baking a cake at home. Homemade cheese is not as fine as the processed cheese, but it is considered pure and healthy. Appropriate cheese making kit and fresh supplies are needed to make cheese at home. Fresh milk is the most important component of making homemade cheese. A certain room temperature is also desired to get the perfect cheese.
Homemade cheese recipes can be a nice gift for friends and relatives. Dutch gouda or even blue cheese can be easily prepared at home and could be used as a gift item to surprise your friends and family. Ricotta cheese, homemade herb cheese and goat cheese are some of the most popular homemade cheeses that can easily be prepared at home.
History and Origin of Homemade Cheese
Homemade cheese is a product that has its origin thousands of years back. Since then this process has undergone many changes, after which, today’s perfect cheese was developed. Cow and goat milk are mainly used to make cheese at home. In olden times, there were not many techniques were available for making different homemade cheese recipes, but still there was no compromise in the quality of the product.
Culinary Uses of Homemade Cheese Recipes
Homemade cheese has similar culinary uses like the processed cheese. With the modern appliances and kitchen equipments, these recipes are quite perfect and used in making various dishes. It can be grated, crumbled, spread and even melted to be incorporated in several food items.
This type of cheese is very popular to be eaten alone. Herb and spiced cheese is quite popular as convenience food or easy snack. Like other cheese, homemade cheese can also be used as topping for pasta, pizza and sandwiches.
Cuisines Making Homemade Cheese Recipes
Homemade cheese is quite popular in Italian and French cuisines where cheese has always been one of the most popular ingredients in cooking. Italian and French cheese making techniques are quite modern and able to produce good-quality cheese at home.
In American as well as other European cuisines, home-produced cheese is well-accepted.
Methods of Preparation of Homemade Cheese Dishes
Homemade cheese is incorporated in various dishes with the following methods:
• Grated – Cheese is grated to be used as a topping for many dishes such as pasta and pizza.
• Crushed – Cheese is crushed to be mixed in various recipes with other ingredients.
• Sliced – Cheese slices are often stuffed in sandwiches and burgers.
• Melted – Many recipes call for melted cheese and this type of cheese is ideal for melting.
Nutritive Value of Homemade Cheese Recipes
Homemade cheese being a dairy product is a highly nutritive food item. It is rich in proteins and amino acids, but high in calories and fat. Vitamins and minerals are also found in abundance in homemade cheese. Though it is considered high in cholesterol, but cheese is helpful in various ways. It helps in preventing osteoporosis among women and also helps in eye sight prevention. Home-produced cheese, like other varieties of cheese is easy to digest and constipation can be avoided with regular consumption of cheese.
Homemade Cheese Trivia
Before 1851, when the first cheese factory was opened; the companies use to buy homemade cheese produced by local farmers to make various kind of cheese products.