Paneer is a cheese from South-Asia that is made easily without the need of some bacterial protein coagulating agent. I just need : a cheesecloth, herbs and salt, lemon-juice, milk and a pan.
The milk is heated untill it starts to boil.
The herb are added and the milk is stirred while adding the lemon juice. Solids will appear.
The milk is left alone for 15 minutes for further curdling, yielding the curds and the colorless whey. The herbs are just for some taste, otherwise you will obtain something as tastefull as cheap mozzarella or lousy factory cheddar.
The curds are separated from the whey by filtration on the cheesecloth and. the salt is mixed with the isolated sediment.
The cheesecloth is wrapped around the curds, and then a pressure is applied to it in order to get rid of the liquid that is still in it, making the paneer less fluffy. In this case a heavy pan filled with water is left to stand on it for a few hours. 
Now I have the solid paneer in cheesecloth.
Unwrap the cloth and there is the endproduct.
It tastes not that bad... not great either I must admit. I will freeze it and use some of it in a salad this week. I will throw away most of it probably.Ohhh! Nice, I still have a little high quality Stilton and some Castelmagno, that is great in combination with the instant noodles. But first: I need another drink.
4 comments:
You have moonshine, and I'm just finding out about this now! Are you going to the next ACS meeting?
Mitch
Sorry, I will not be at the next ACS meeting. I have to travel about 20.000 km for it and nobody wants to pay it for me.
Paneer tastes best when fried and used in a curry, although yours looks a bit more crumbly than the stuff I normally get.
I've done a lot of experimenting with paneer - the end product comes out better if the curds don't have a chance to cook in the hot water. Once the the milk splits - starts really curdling, waiting more than thirty seconds is a waste and lets the curds get tough. On top of that, the curds will press into cheese much better while warm. Also, ultrapasteurization in American milk prevents most of the fat from becoming part of the paneer - add 2 cups of heavy whipping cream per gallon of milk, and you'll come out with a much tastier product. It tastes amazing in stir fries, or brushed with oil and baked.
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