Vegetarian Venezuelan Cuajada Cheese

Name: Vegetarian Venezuelan Cuajada Cheese
Yield: 1.2 pounds
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 Gallon Pausterized Milk; 1/4 teaspoon calcium chloride; 1 packet Mesophilic Starter Culture; 1/8 teaspoon vegetable rennet; 8 grams salt

Bishma Stornelli @cook_17486474

San Jose, CA, USA

Fresh cheese... Delicious to eat with fried plaintains, arepas, cachapas, tequeños, empanadas, etc. or cut it into slices and grill them...

Note about milk: use pausterized milk; if you use ultra-pausterized or homogenized milk it won't work.

Note about other ingredients: follow the instructions in the package for the calcium chloride, starter culture and rennet. Each brand has its own concentration and instructions. It might take a few attempts to get the amounts right.

Fresh cheese... Delicious to eat with fried plaintains, arepas, cachapas, tequeños, empanadas, etc. or cut it into slices and grill them...

Note about milk: use pausterized milk; if you use ultra-pausterized or homogenized milk it won't work.

Bishma Stornelli @cook_17486474

San Jose, CA, USA

Fresh cheese... Delicious to eat with fried plaintains, arepas, cachapas, tequeños, empanadas, etc. or cut it into slices and grill them...

Note about milk: use pausterized milk; if you use ultra-pausterized or homogenized milk it won't work.

Fresh cheese... Delicious to eat with fried plaintains, arepas, cachapas, tequeños, empanadas, etc. or cut it into slices and grill them...

Note about milk: use pausterized milk; if you use ultra-pausterized or homogenized milk it won't work.

Saved

Ingredients

1.2 pounds

1 GallonPausterized Milk
1/4 teaspooncalcium chloride
1 packetMesophilic Starter Culture
1/8 teaspoonvegetable rennet
8 gramssalt

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Steps

1

Heat the milk until it reaches 36° C or 97° F
2

Mix the calcium chloride with a bit of water (1/4 or 1/8 cup of water) and add to the milk
3

Add the starter culture to the milk
4

Stir for 2 minutes
5

Let it sit for 45 minutes (keep the temperature with slow heat for ~2 minutes every ~15 minutes)
6

Mix the rennet with a bit of water (1/4 or 1/8 cup of water) and add to the milk
7

Use a knife to cut the curd into squares of 1/2 inches
8

Slowly stir for 15 minutes. The curds will clump together. Cut them back into squares of 1/2 inches while stirring. Keep the temperature of the whey at 36° C or 97° F the whole time.
9

Remove the pot from the stove and use a slotted spoon to transfer the curd to a colander lined with a cheesecloth (the thinner the better)
10

Let the curd drain the excess of whey for 30m
11

Transfer the curd to a bowl and knead together with the salt
12

Now transfer the curd back to a cheescloth and into a mold / press
13

Press with 4-8 pounds of weight for 1 hour
14

Extract the cheese from the mold and refrigerate