Cottage Cheese Recipe - Low Calorie Recipe for Dieters

Have you ever tired to make cottage cheese in the comfort of your own humble kitchen? It does require a bit of arm strength - but when it comes to food, there is just nothing that can quite match the wholesome flavors of homemade.

Maybe it's because we enjoy our food better when we have to work for it - or maybe it's because we know what's inside - that it's lacking all those rotten little preservatives.

Whatever the reason, we hope you enjoy our cottage cheese recipe. You can have 1 cup of this low calorie cottage cheese recipe for about 150 calories. And the recipe is enough to serve 1 small hungry village.

Enjoy with a lean protein as the star such as pinto beans or pan-roasted chicken breast. Also include a whole grain choice such as a slice of oatmeal bread. And add some tasty vegetables - such as orange carrots and green beans. Don't forget to slice some fruit and serve it with your homemade cottage cheese because at that point - you will have included all of the five basic food groups into your meal plate. And what a healthy mix they are!

1 Gallon of Skim OR Reduced Fat Milk
4 Ounces of Mesophilic Starter Culture
¼ Rennet Tablet (to make milk curdle)
Salt to Suit Personal Taste
Skim Evaporated Milk & Water

Add the starter to the skim or reduced fat milk. Next, dissolve the Rennet tablet in a Tablespoon of water. After tablet is completely dissolved, add to the mixture of skim milk. Incorporate very well, stirring until your arms feel close to falling off. Stir a good five minutes. Use a hand beater, a slotted spoon or a whisk when stirring.

Pour the mixture into a thick crock and cover. Allow it to rest and cure at room temperature for 1 full day, 24 total hours. The room temperature should be around 70 degrees.

After the time has passed, when you peek into the crock you will discover curds! Cut these with a sharp knife into tiny cubes. Allow the curds to grow tight and firm again – about 20 minutes.

When you return to the newly firmed curds begin lifting the temperature of the curds from 70 degrees temperature to 110 - 115 degrees. Do this over a period of about half an hour.

Continue to cook at this temperature for an additional 40 minutes, stirring from time to time. The curds wilt shrink and sink in the pot to the bottom.

Next, drain the curds by lining a colander with cheesecloth. After curds have drained, lift and plunge them into ice water. Leave them in the ice water for five minutes.

Add salt according to personal taste. Add a bit of the cream. Store in fridge in a sealed container.

Making homemade cottage cheese is quite detailed and requires a good deal of time and careful watch - which might make some of us realize how lucky we are the next time we go to the market and pull out a container of ready-made cottage cheese.

When shopping, choose low fat cottage cheese for fewer calories and more calcium benefits than the full-blown varieties - but if you prefer the full-blown variety, then go for it. It will have just a tab more calories and saturated fat grams but not enough to make gray hairs over.