Why? Because you can! And pickle, and jam, or otherwise celebrate the resurgence of the domestic arts our forebears held so dear. Put on your best apron and step into our kitchen, won't you?
Imeretian cheese is a fresh cow’s milk cheese. Although it originated in the Imereti region, you can find it everywhere in Georgia, whether it’s homemade or bought at the market. This is the cheese traditionally used in Georgian cheese bread.
Acid cheeses, like mascarpone and ricotta, are some of the easiest, quickest cheeses you can make at home, not to mention much less expensive and tasty than store-bought. This year I baked my holiday pumpkin pie with freshly made mascarpone. Yum!
Making mozzarella can be tricky but when I found some buffalo's milk I was determined to give it a go. Using just citric acid and rennet to set the milk, I managed to eventually produce a small but perfectly-formed ball of mozzarella cheese.
One of the easiest cheeses to make at home is paneer. Takes less than 30 minutes of active prep time and doesn’t require any specialized ingredients (just milk, acid, and salt) or equipment (I don’t even use cheesecloth, just a tea towel).
Letting the cream go sour adds a welcome, mild funkiness to this homemade butter. This recipe hearkens to European-style butters where flavor is something to be desired, not obliterated as it is under USDA guidelines.
Now, how is it we can have been on this earth nearly 40 years and never knew that making butter is so utterly, totally easy? Why isn't everyone making it, all the time? I don't know, but I do know may well never buy butter again.
