If you are a first time cheese-maker, try these easy recipes for a home-made treat for guests. Quark, yoghurt balls and Indian paneer are all great ways to find your way into the joys of cheese making. Berlin (dpa) – If you are a first-timer at cheese making, there are some easy ones to start with. For sure, to make Pecorino or blue cheese, you need to know a little more about cheese-making and have the necessary equipment at home. But beginners can easily make simple cheeses such as quark or yoghurt balls in their kitchens. Even Indian paneer is easy for amateurs to make themselves. For those unfamiliar with it, quark is a soft, fresh dairy product similar to a thick yogurt or mild sour cream, originating from Germany and Eastern Europe. You make it out of soured milk that is warmed to curdle, the whey strained to create a a soft, creamy, and high-protein cheese you can use on sandwiches, in cakes or even with potatoes. But why go to all that trouble when you can buy cheese, quark and the like? "It's the joy of doing it. And you have something special and unique on the table when you eat," says Sibylle Roth-Marwedel, a qualified agricultural engineer and consultant for farm cheesemakers. She has also written a book on cheese making, together with Anja Schnellbeck. Start with yoghurt cheese, or labneh, as an easy way to get started, although strictly speaking it is not cheese, says Ingeborg Hanreich, a nutritionist who has written two books on cheese, together with her mother. "This way, you can conjure up something exquisite with very little effort," says Hanreich. She would use yoghurt with a fat content of 3.5%. "Because fat always adds flavour." Eye-catcher: make an impression with yoghurt balls The yoghurt – it can simply be one from the supermarket – is hung in a cloth over a bowl. You can use old, boiled cloth handkerchiefs or nappy cloths, for example. "It's best to boil them several times beforehand," she says. The liquid drips off the yoghurt for a day or overnight. "It's best to turn the cloth contents occasionally," says Hanreich. This is because "the cloth will eventually contain a firmer mass, to which a little salt is added before processing." This can be shaped into small balls, which can then be rolled in sesame seeds, pepper, caraway seeds or herbs. These yoghurt balls are a colourful eye-catcher on any dining table. For a longer shelf life, the balls – without toppings – can also be preserved in oil. "Sealed in an airtight container, they will keep for up to three months," says Hanreich. Make your own quark with sour milk bacteria The next stage, quark, is a little more complicated as the milk has to be soured. If you haven't bought it directly from the farmer or if it has been heated, you need to add sour milk bacteria. These are found in yoghurt, butter or sour milk, for example. If you take half a litre of milk, for example, add two to three tablespoons of buttermilk. Leave the mixture at room temperature for about a day. The acidification time depends on the temperature, says Hanreich. The longer you wait, the more acidic it becomes. The milk is then slowly heated, causing it to flocculate, and then strained through a cloth overnight. What remains is quark. You can use the drained liquid from yoghurt or quark – drinking it or adding it to bath water. "It makes your skin beautifully soft," she says. Other suitable cheeses for beginners are cream cheese and Indian paneer Cream cheese is also easy to make at home. However, it requires more acid than quark – for example, lemon juice or vinegar. And to make it creamier, you need cream. Anything that does not need to mature is suitable for beginners. So if you plan to have guests in four weeks, try out the cheese recipe beforehand to get the hang of it. "Well-drained cream cheese offers many possibilities," says Roth-Marwedel, because it can be served in many different ways. You can mix it until it is creamy and pour it into a glass, alternating layers of cream cheese and green herbs. Or drain it directly into a heart-shaped mould during production and sprinkle with red paprika powder after turning it out. Roth-Marwedel and Schnellbeck also recommend paneer, a cheese that originates from India and is eaten hot from the pan. "You can get it in restaurants, but not necessarily in shops," says Roth-Marwedel – so it's something unique. When you need pasteurized milk, cheese mould or rennetWhile other types of cheese require pasteurised milk that has not been heated above 75 degrees and is labelled "traditionally produced," you can use milk from the supermarket refrigerated section to make paneer. It doesn't matter whether it has 1.5% or 3.5% fat. Here, too, the milk must be acidified, for example with yoghurt. Lemon juice is also added. You need tools such as a cheese mould when making cheese if the end product is to have a specific shape. Hard cheese is also pressed in a mould. You don't need it for paneer, but for cream cheese and other types of cheese, rennet is also required, an enzyme that ensures that the cheese holds together better. Rennet is available from specialist retailers and you usually only need a few drops for one cheese. The small bottle will keep in the refrigerator for about a year. Next level: soft cheese, Camembert or semi-hard cheese Once you've practised making quark and cream cheese, you can move on to soft cheese, says Schnellbeck. Crescenza, for example, tastes good even if you haven't quite got it right. "The only thing that can happen is that it becomes a little firmer and squeakier," she says. After that, Camembert or simple semi-hard cheeses are a good choice. "If you continue, you'll move on to Tilsiter or Gouda, and at some point you might even be able to make an alpine cheese," says Schnellbeck. In the end, it takes a lot of time as well as skill. "Cheese maturation can take anywhere from one day to five years," says Hanreich. Don't bake bread in the cheese room – otherwise the cheese will crackEven when making a simple hand cheese, you need to pay attention to the environment in which you are making it. "When it comes to proper cheese making, you shouldn't bake bread in the same room," says Hanreich. "This releases yeast into the air, which can cause the cheese to crack, taste bad or even spoil, making it inedible." Pollen count can also affect those making cheese at home. "It's said that when first trying your hand at cheese making in your own kitchen, it is best to make cheese from May to autumn," says Hanreich. The following information is not intended for publication dpa/tmn bac xxde arw
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