How to make fresh cheese from powdered milk

Powdered milk stores for years, but most households that buy it in bulk never learn to do much with it besides stir it into water. Cooking with it regularly is the real test of a food supply: a stockpile that gets eaten and replaced stays fresh, and the people eating it already know what to make when it matters. Fresh cheese is one of the easiest things to make from it, and it needs no rennet, no culture and no aging.

The result is an acid-set cheese in the family of Indian paneer and Latin American queso blanco. It is sometimes called ricotta, but true ricotta is made by heating the whey left over from another cheese. This one is firmer and drier, with a clean, mild taste.

You will need

• Nonfat powdered milk
• Water
• White vinegar (5% acidity) or lemon juice
• A heavy cooking pot and a spoon
• A kitchen thermometer, if there is one
• A colander, a bowl, and cheesecloth or a clean cotton T-shirt

Quantities

The full batch uses:

• 3 cups powdered milk
• 6 cups water
• 1/2 cup white vinegar

That is roughly twice as much powder as ordinary reconstituted milk, which gives a richer milk and a bigger yield of curd. For a first try, a quarter batch works well: 3/4 cup powder, 1 1/2 cups water and about 2 tablespoons of vinegar.

Method

1. Stir the powdered milk into cold water in the pot until no lumps remain.
2. Warm it over medium-low heat, stirring so it does not catch on the bottom, until it is steaming and small bubbles form at the edge, about 180 to 185°F.
3. Hold it at that temperature and stir in the vinegar a tablespoon at a time. White curds start to separate from a thin, yellowish liquid almost at once.
4. Keep stirring gently over the heat for a few minutes. When the curds have clumped into large soft masses floating in clear amber whey, it is done. If the liquid still looks milky, add another tablespoon of vinegar and give it a few more minutes.
5. Line the colander with the cloth, set it over a bowl, and pour everything in.
6. Gather up the cloth and twist it to squeeze out the rest of the whey.
7. Rinse the curds under cool water to wash off the vinegar taste, salt them lightly if desired, and eat them fresh or refrigerate them in a covered container. Use within a few days.

For a firmer block that can be sliced or cubed, leave the wrapped curds under a plate with a heavy can on top for half an hour.

Many older versions of this recipe heat the milk only until it is hot to the touch, about 140°F. Extension guidance for acid-set cheeses heats the milk much hotter, to around 176 to 185°F, which gives a fuller, firmer curd and clearer whey (New Mexico State University guide to homemade cheese). The same guide recommends adding the vinegar slowly and stopping once the whey runs clear, rather than tipping it all in at once.

Yield and uses

Expect about the same volume of curds as the powdered milk that went in: the quarter batch gives roughly 3/4 cup of cheese. Scale up from there when planning a recipe.

Save the whey. It is slightly sweet and can replace the water in bread, pancakes or biscuits.

Acid-set cheese does not melt and stretch the way mozzarella does. It softens and holds its shape, which suits it to layering in lasagna, crumbling over beans or salads, or frying in cubes. Pasta and canned or powdered tomatoes keep for years in storage while fresh cheese does not, so this recipe is the missing piece that makes a pantry lasagna possible.