Sour Milk Cottage Cheese

If you’ve got a half gallon of milk that turned before you could drink it, don’t pour it down the drain. Make cottage cheese instead.

This is about as basic as cheesemaking gets. Sour milk goes into a double boiler, warms gently until soft curds form, then gets drained through cloth. Season with salt and pepper, stir in a little cream, and you’ve got fresh cottage cheese with a clean, tangy flavor that store-bought can’t touch.

The whole process takes minutes of active work, and the result is honest, no-additive cheese from something you might have thrown away.

Kitchen Tips

• Use a true double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over simmering water. Direct heat cooks the curds too fast and makes them rubbery.
• Don’t stir the milk while it heats. Let the curds form naturally. Agitating breaks them into pieces too small to drain.
• A thin cloth bag or several layers of cheesecloth work for draining. Let gravity do the work; squeezing forces out too much moisture and makes the cheese dry.
• Add the cream after draining to your preferred richness. A tablespoon or two is usually enough for a creamy finish.