Easy Homemade Yogurt Cheese Recipe
We've got company coming today! It's been pretty lonely on the homestead this winter. With all this snow and ice we haven't had much company. I'm planning and preparing all the food we are going to serve. One of my favourite recipes for entertaining is our yogurt cheese. I've shared photos of this recipe but I don't think I've shared the actual recipe yet!
It's incredibly versatile and easy to make. You can add any blend of herbs, edible flowers or seasoning that you want. I often involve guests in the task of foraging for edibles and making it . All you need is high fat yogurt, some garden chives, flowers or herbs and a pinch of salt. Bundle it up and let the magic happen.
The finished cheese has a lovely texture. Its a cross between cream cheese and goat cheese in texture. The flavour is bright, zesty and fresh. The presentation is beautiful.
Directions
Chop up your flowers/herbs. You can even used dried herbs if that's all you've got just be sparing with them.
Be sure to remove the stems and green parts of the flower as they taste bitter. Chop up chives or green onion. In these photos I used 1/2 cup of lilac petals & 1/4 cup green onions. I can't wait to recreate that combination ..come on spring!!!
Add the following to a bowl and stir to combine:
- Chopped flower petals, herbs & onions
- One cup of full fat plain yogurt
- A few pinches of salt (1/8th tsp)
note: The salt really brings out all the flavours and I don't recommend omitting it from the recipe unless you absolutely have to!
Place a double thickness square of cheese cloth or muslin on your counter top. Sprinkle some whole flower petals on the surface of the cheese cloth. Pour the yogurt mixture on the centre of the square. Gather up the corners and sides of the cheese cloth and secure with twine to form a bundle.
Suspend this ball over a bowl and let the liquid drip out for 24 hours. The whey (liquid) that drains out of the yogurt is a great source of protein and calcium. You can use it in smoothies or add it to drinks or porridge.
When done, gently remove the cheese cloth and enjoy.
These photos were taken last spring. I'll be making today's batch using whatever we have in the pantry. We still have a lot of snow on the ground and nothing fresh to forage or collect. That's the beauty of this recipe though, it's so versatile!
If you want to take it a step further you can also make your own yogurt. Here's a recipe from @slhomestead.
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WHAT an incredible (and easy) recipe!
I make kefir cheese and add chives or dill and hang up just as you do here. It is so creamy and dreamy!
Never thought about using yogurt- this may be a nice change up sometimes.
I will save the whey from cheese and use when making bread- just replace the water needed with the whey- adds a nice zing to the bread.
ENJOY your company!
Adding the whey to bread is an excellent idea, I'd have never thought of it.☺
I think so too @powellx5. I think @goldendawne is genius! I can't wait to try it. It would add a nice tang giving it a sourdough type flavour I think.
It really makes a nice flavor to the bread, especially if you're making sourdough bread. Definitely try it
Thank you. I am excited. My Mother in law decided to surprise us and fly in for a visit.
Hey, now we have the wine, the cheese and the jelly taken care of, all we need is someone to bring the bread and teleport us all the the same place :)
lol- SO TRUE!!! I can only imagine how your cheese will taste on a crusty loaf of bread! I bet heavenly
Thanks for that idea for using the whey @goldendawne!
We love this homemade cheese spread on crackers for a snack with fruit. My granddaughter loves to eat her apples with this cheese. Whenever we have guests coming I make extra because everyone loves the flavour of this cheese!
that is such a great way to get kids to eat healthy snacks. We'll have to try it on our niece when she comes. I'm on a secret mission to get her to love vegetables, fruits and healthy foods. I really love this cheese. I can eat a whole thing of it to myself as dinner if I don't carefully portion it.
This would be such a neat thing thing to take to holiday or pot luck dinners. I'm not a good cook, but I don't know how I could mess this one up! I think it would be a good conversation starter too!
lol- odd that you say that you can make a good mess. My brother is a chef and he will USE EVERY pot, pan and spatula in the kitchen. He makes the BEST food and the BIGGEST messes! (He knows I will clean up after him so he don't care- but well worth eating his food!)
That's so easy and it looks delicious. I never would have thought about making cheese from yogurt.
Glad you like the recipe :)
Looks yummy! Did you say too much snow to forage? I thought I was the only one lol
Enjoy your snow...it won't last long. And your cheese.
Oh, you mentioned full-fat yogurt. I usually have 0% greek yogurt in the house. Have you tried it? Do you think it would work?
seriously. We get way more snow here than we did in Yellowknife. It's nuts. Everyone who told me to move south tricked me (lol).
You want to use a really thick yogurt. Any type will do, just the thicker the better (and faster) to make this. If it's at all runny, you'll need a really thick material so it doesn't just leak out of the cloth.
I make kefir cheese, have never tried yogurt cheese. Your flowers in recipes has been so intriguing! I can't wait til spring to try them! That was one lovely ball of cheese!
Keifer cheese is really nice too. I just recently tried it for the first time. I can't wait for spring either!
Thanks for a delicious recipe!
I've always wanted to do this, not sure why I never have. Any sort of spreadable cheese product is right up my alley and I bet with the fresh herbs that you recommend it would taste amazing.
I have a slight addiction to cheese so this is a good way to indulge without paying such high prices for fancy cheeses. I hope you try it and love it!