Homemade processed cheese from cottage cheese: a recipe for Slavic cuisine. Homemade processed cheese recipe with photos

Processed cheese is no less loved than traditional hard cheese by Russian residents. Its delicate, soft texture creates the perfect contrast to dry toast, and the taste remains as excellent as its counterpart of a different consistency. For great connoisseurs of this product, the news that it is quite possible to prepare it at home will be joyful. It is created much easier than hard cheese, and the entire process requires only widely available products.

What is it?

Processed cheese is made from ordinary rennet cheese by, as you might guess, melting. Heat treatment should be carried out exclusively at a temperature ranging from 75 to 95 degrees Celsius. In addition, some salts, called melters, are also responsible for the production of the product. These include potassium and sodium phosphates and citrates. It is believed that processed cheese was invented as an attempt to make a cheap substitute for Brie cheese. Its sale began in Switzerland in the 50s of the last century.

During pasteurization of hard cheeses, milk, butter and additives, the consistency of the mass becomes viscous and uniform. In addition, at the same moment, microorganisms develop that can increase the shelf life of the product. It should also be noted that, in addition to the traditional melting point range, there is another one - 140 degrees. This indicator guarantees absolute sterilization of the cheese substance.

Processed cheese is considered healthier for the human body than solid, since it is much better absorbed and contains less cholesterol. In addition, the dairy product is rich in various vitamins and elements. Vitamins include A, D, E, and other microelements include sodium, calcium, phosphorus, and amino acids. It is important to note that processed cheese is considered an optimal source of protein for the growth and development of the body. The calorie content of 100 grams of products varies from 220 to 360 kilocalories.

The product is contraindicated for those who suffer from lactose intolerance, as well as for people whose consumption of dairy products causes allergic reactions. Patients suffering from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract also need to be more careful.

Varieties

This product is sold in stores in various forms. This is either a box with a viscous mass, or thin pieces packed in individual bags, or briquettes that must be spread onto the bread while being deformed. In the first case, the cheese paste contains a large amount of moisture and fat, and its consistency resembles pastry cream. In the second case, the fat content of the cheese ranges from 50 to 70%. Some people also classify processed cheese as sausage cheese. It has the most dense consistency, contains little fat, and is smoked during the cooking process.

The number of different flavors is very large, because various vegetables and even fruits, herbs, meat products and mushrooms are added to processed cheese. Manufacturers also supply the market with sweet cheeses that contain coffee, cocoa, berries, nuts, honey and other additives.

Recipes

Homemade cheese

Making processed cheese at home shouldn’t be too difficult. You need 400 grams of cottage cheese, 100 grams of butter, 2 eggs and a teaspoon of soda. Preparation begins with the fact that the cottage cheese is transformed into a homogeneous mass by manual action. Then soda and egg are added to it and everything is mixed thoroughly, after that - butter, and everything is repeated again.

The resulting substance is placed on a small fire, where the lumps should melt over the course of a quarter of an hour. During cooking, it is important to constantly stir the contents of the pan, otherwise it may burn. The finished cheese is poured into a container with a lid, cooled and sent for long-term storage in the refrigerator.

Spicy cheese with fresh herbs

You can make a savory cheese with fresh herbs from goat's milk at home. In addition to 500 grams of cottage cheese and 120 milliliters of milk, you will have to prepare 2 tablespoons of butter, half a teaspoon of soda, dill or parsley and spices. It all starts with whipping dairy products and soda with a mixer. The substance is poured into a saucepan, after which it begins to heat up over low heat. Everything needs to be stirred periodically.

At the moment when the structure of the cottage cheese begins to change, you need to immerse oil, salt and finely chopped herbs into the container. Everything will remain on the fire until the cottage cheese is completely gone. Then the future cheese is poured into boxes and put into the refrigerator.

Chocolate cheese

Chocolate cheese is prepared in approximately the same way. To start, buy 400 grams of cottage cheese, 100 grams of bitter or dark chocolate, 50 grams of butter, 75 milliliters of milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a teaspoon of soda. Beat cottage cheese, milk and soda with a mixer until a homogeneous consistency is achieved. Together with butter, they are placed in a saucepan and sent to a water bath for 20 minutes.

It is important to stir the future cheese until all the curd has dispersed. When this happens, the product is removed from the heat and mixed with sugar and chocolate. Again, it is important to achieve dissolution of all ingredients. The finished cheese is poured into containers and sent to the refrigerator for storage for up to 7 days.

In a slow cooker

You can also cook processed cheese in a slow cooker, because the device will greatly simplify the whole job. The necessary components are pre-processed with a mixer, and then placed in the multicooker bowl. The temperature is set to 95 to 100 degrees Celsius, and the cheese begins to cook until the mixture begins to thicken. The substance needs to be stirred periodically.

Processed cheese from kefir

Of course, processed cheese is also made from kefir. This recipe requires 2 liters of a high-fat drink, one egg, a tablespoon of butter, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of soda. In addition, black pepper, curry, paprika or other spices are added if desired. Kefir is placed in a water bath, where the drink will remain until clots appear and the whey is removed.

The clots are placed in a colander, previously lined with gauze. Excess liquid is squeezed out, after which the cottage cheese is infused for 30 minutes. The resulting mass is mixed with other ingredients, kneaded and put into the pan. The water bath is turned on again, where the cheese is kept for approximately 15 minutes. By periodically stirring the substance, it is necessary to obtain a yellowish and uniform mass in which individual pieces of cottage cheese are not visible. After that, everything is poured into a container, cooled and sent to the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

You can check the correct preparation of the product by its consistency. While it is heated, the cheese should stretch and be very tender, but as soon as it cools, the substance should harden a little. However, it is important that it does not begin to crunch or fall apart into crumbs. These symptoms indicate that something was done incorrectly. Experts recommend cooking in a water bath to avoid burning during the melting stage of dairy products. But even in this case, the cheese will have to be stirred constantly.

If a spoon cannot cope with a dense mass, then you can use a masher designed for making purees. It is also important not to forget to strain the cottage cheese first - it may contain whey. Butter and cream are used to change the fat content of the product, therefore, by increasing or decreasing their amount, you can adjust the taste characteristics of processed cheese. A kilogram of cottage cheese usually produces curd cheese, the weight of which ranges from 650 to 700 grams.

If the cottage cheese does not melt, you can do it in two different ways. Firstly, if there are large lumps in the substance, it is recommended to add a little soda. If the lumps are small, then there is no need to worry - they are able to disperse on their own while the cheese dissolves. In the end, their presence is not critical, and therefore it is important to continue cooking so as not to ruin the entire dish. Secondly, cottage cheese does not melt if it is of low quality. When the composition contains unnatural substances, the product has been diluted with something or was stored under incorrect conditions, further processing may be difficult.

To learn how to make processed cheese at home, watch the following video.

Homemade processed cheese from cottage cheese A good recipe will turn out just as good as store-bought. Today, there are two types of processed homemade cheese - hard, which can be cut with a knife, and liquid, like the beloved Yantar cheese. Many still remember how delicious store-bought Soviet cheese “Yantar” was. Alas, GOSTs and standards for its production have changed significantly over the years, which negatively affected its taste. In addition, in addition to its taste characteristics, cheese has many harmful additives.

By preparing processed cheese at home like Yantar cheese, you will be sure that it will bring only benefit and no harm, and you will also see how tasty cheese made at home with love, with your own hands, can turn out to be delicious with a pronounced creamy taste. For lunch or breakfast you will get delicious toast or.

By the way, to make the finished cheese fatty, tasty and viscous, give preference to good butter with a fat content of 72% or more and full-fat homemade cottage cheese.

Ingredients:

Full-fat homemade cottage cheese – 600 gr.,
Soda – 1 coffee spoon,
Salt – 1 teaspoon,
Eggs – 1 pc.,
Butter – 100 gr.

Processed cottage cheese at home - recipe

After all the ingredients are prepared, you can start preparing processed cheese from cottage cheese. Pour the required amount of full-fat homemade cottage cheese into a bowl.

Beat in the egg.

To obtain a thick consistency of processed Yantar cheese, be sure to add soda.

Add salt so that the processed cottage cheese is not bland.

Mix the cottage cheese with the above products until smooth. Finely grate the frozen butter. If the butter is from the refrigerator and soft (such that you can easily spread it on bread), then simply cut it into small pieces and add to the curd mass.

Now we need an immersion blender.

Using an immersion blender, blend the curd mass until you obtain a homogeneous consistency, reminiscent of soft curd puree. There's just a little bit left to do - we'll cook, or rather melt the cheese in a water bath.

Place the cream cheese base in a small metal bowl or saucepan. Fill another pan with hot water. After the water boils, place a pan (bowl) with the curd mass on top. As it heats up, stir it with a spatula. A plastic spatula is ideal for this purpose for applying cream to cakes.

Before your eyes, the curd mass will begin to melt and acquire a more liquid consistency. While constantly stirring, cook the processed cheese for about 5-10 minutes.

As soon as the grains of cottage cheese completely disappear from the hot processed Yantar cheese, it can be removed from the stove. In the photo you can see the consistency of the cheese.

It can be seen that it is quite liquid, and not like we are used to knocking it out in the store. But don’t worry, the cheese will definitely thicken after it cools. If, however, its consistency confuses you, cook it for another 5 minutes. The moisture will evaporate and the cheese will become thicker. So, hot, ready-made processed cheese at home should cool slightly after being removed from the stove. After this, pour it into a plastic tray or glass jars.

Place the warm cheese, almost at room temperature, to cool and thicken in the refrigerator. Delicious and thick homemade processed cheese from cottage cheese “Yantar” You can try it in a few hours. For those who like to experiment with cheese flavors, you can add finely chopped and fried pieces of champignons, paprika, dried dill or Provençal herbs. I also recommend preparing

In order not to purchase a cheese product with a questionable composition in the store, you can make processed cheese from cottage cheese at home. Its taste will be much higher, and even inexperienced housewives can do a simple recipe.

A simple recipe for processed cottage cheese

To effortlessly make processed cheese from cottage cheese in your kitchen, you need:

500 g fat cottage cheese;
5 g soda;
1 tsp. salt;
1 large chicken egg or 2 small ones.

Step by step recipe:

You need to place one pan with a small amount of water on the stove, and place a smaller container in it to create a water bath. The upper dishes should not come into contact with hot water.
Mix all components and grind with a blender to obtain a homogeneous mass.
Place the resulting mixture in a previously prepared container and cook, stirring constantly, until the cottage cheese is completely dissolved. This usually takes no more than 10 minutes.

Pour the resulting processed cheese into containers and cool to room temperature. During this time, a crust forms on its surface. To get rid of it, the product must be mixed. The cooled cheese can be placed in the refrigerator.

Cooking in a slow cooker

Delicious processed cheese can also be made in a slow cooker.

To do this, you should prepare the following ingredients;

500 g cottage cheese 9% fat;
100 g quality butter;
2 large chicken eggs or 100 g;
5 g soda;
½ tsp. salt;
½ tsp. dried herbs to your taste.

This amount of ingredients is enough for 12 servings.

Instructions:

Grind the cottage cheese with a blender to obtain a delicate consistency.
Place all ingredients into the multicooker bowl and mix well.
You need to turn on the electrical appliance in the “Multi-cook” mode. Cooking time – 7 minutes. Temperature - 100 degrees.
During the cooking process, it is important to stir the curd mass constantly.

Pour the finished cheese into containers and cool.

Recipe with milk

Milk enhances the taste of cheese prepared in a home kitchen.

To make processed cheese from cottage cheese with the most delicate taste, you need:

1 liter of fresh milk (2.5%);
2 large chicken eggs;
100 g butter;
10 g table salt;
1 kg of cottage cheese;
15 g soda.

Step by step instructions:

Grind the curd in a blender to obtain a smooth paste.
The curd mass and milk must be mixed and placed on low heat. Cook the resulting mixture until the whey separates. In this case, the sediment should have a soft and sticky consistency.
Strain the cheese mixture to remove excess liquid. It is convenient to use a fine-mesh sieve, or you can hang the resulting mass in gauze over the sink.
Mix the curd mass with the remaining ingredients and melt in a water bath until a homogeneous consistency is obtained.
Pour the finished cheese into containers, cool and put in the refrigerator.

The complexity of the described recipe is that if, during the process of boiling the cottage cheese in milk, you remove the mass from the heat too early, the cheese will not turn out, and if it is too late, then its consistency will be similar to rubber.

Processed cheese from cottage cheese in the microwave

Processed cheese can also be prepared in the microwave.

To do this you need to have:

300 g low-fat cottage cheese;
½ tsp. soda;
2 tbsp. l. milk with a minimum percentage of fat content;
large chicken egg;
a pinch of salt;
fresh or dried herbs to taste.

From the described amount of components you will get 350 g of product.

Step by step recipe:

Cottage cheese should be mixed with soda and left to infuse for 30 minutes.
You need to add milk and eggs to the curd mass. Beat the resulting mass with a blender to obtain a homogeneous mass.
The mixture must be placed in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. Power – 700 watts.
Every 30 seconds, remove the container with cottage cheese and stir.
Salt the resulting curd mass and microwave for another 2 minutes.

Cool the finished cheese. During the cooling process, in order to prevent the formation of a dense crust, the finished product must be stirred periodically.

From goat curd

Homemade processed goat cheese has a pleasant and delicate taste.

To prepare it, you need:

470 g goat curd;
2 large chicken eggs;
5 g table salt;
5 g soda;
a pinch of granulated sugar.

Homemade processed cheese is very easy to prepare, the main thing is to prepare it from high-quality (real) cottage cheese. Delicious, beautiful, healthy, real processed cheese made from cottage cheese.

To make processed cheese, I buy homemade cottage cheese at the market. Cottage cheese should not be sour, of any fat content. Cottage cheese that has been frozen will also work. Making processed cheese is also a good way to process some stale cottage cheese.

cottage cheese - 0.5 kg;
soda - 0.5 teaspoon;
salt - 1 teaspoon;
chicken egg - 1 pc.

Pour water into the pan (about 1/3) and put it on fire. You also need to choose a smaller metal bowl or saucepan; we will cook the melted cheese in a water bath.
Grind the cottage cheese, salt, soda and egg well in a blender.
You will get a pleasant, “fluffy”, homogeneous curd mass without lumps.
Next, transfer the curd mass into a metal bowl and remove the pan of boiling water from the heat. Place the bowl on the pan and return the pan with the bowl to the heat. Water should not touch the bowl. We built a water bath.
We constantly stir our curd mass and it melts before our eyes and turns into melted cheese, the consistency of hot custard. It will take about 7 minutes for the cottage cheese to melt completely.
If the cottage cheese is very watery, keep the cheese in a water bath a little longer to let the excess liquid evaporate. Then everything is simple, remove the pan from the heat, you can cool a little cheese in a spoon and taste, add salt if necessary. Pour the cheese into a bowl or container and cool slightly. As it cools, a film forms on the surface of the cheese, which easily disappears when stirred. Stir the cheese at room temperature, cover with a lid or cling film. Place in the refrigerator until completely cool.
It’s convenient to make melted cheese in the evening, and in the morning you will have delicious cheese sandwiches with a cup of coffee.

This is a basic cream cheese recipe. If the cottage cheese is low-fat, you can add 50-100 grams of butter. Processed cheese can be made with sugar and vanilla, you can add herbs, garlic and spices. You can also make good cheese without the egg. Try, experiment and make homemade cheese to your taste.
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To make processed cheese from cottage cheese at home, you need, firstly, a clear and understandable recipe with a photo, and secondly, a certain skill. I will try to describe the process in the smallest nuances, and it is their correct implementation that is the key to success. I must admit right away that I did not cope with the task the first time. Although I already had some experience in home cheese making. Once upon a time I already tried to make cheese myself, it was hard cheese and the only thing I remember is that it was prepared from cottage cheese and milk, it turned out tasty, but very little. :) That’s why it seemed to me that making processed cheese at home would be quite easy. I found a recipe where everything seemed to be written out simply and clearly, I tried to cook it, but it didn’t work out that way. It turned out that there are quite a few nuances in this simple matter. After 3 unsuccessful attempts, I finally came out with delicious homemade processed cheese. I will tell you about all my mistakes and failures below. I hope my story will help you avoid trouble and you will definitely succeed the first time. I would like to warn you right away that the main thing in preparing processed cheese from cottage cheese is the quality of the original product. If you come across cottage cheese with additives or made in violation of technology, it will not make cheese. Therefore, I advise you to buy cottage cheese for the first time at the market, from a trusted seller (there is usually a queue of at least several buyers).

Ingredients:

cottage cheese – 2 packs (450-500 g),
large egg – 1 pc.,
butter – 100 g,
salt - to taste,
soda – 1 tsp,
dried herbs, seasonings and spices - to taste.

How to make processed cheese from cottage cheese at home (recipe with photo)

The mixture for cooking cheese is prepared very quickly, so first put a saucepan on the stove filled with water about 2/3. Plus, you will additionally need a container of a smaller diameter than this saucepan, which can be used for a water bath. For me, this is a regular plastic container for the microwave. I put cottage cheese in it.

Add butter, chopped into cubes, to the cottage cheese. If the oil is completely icy, you can slightly melt it.

Now we arm ourselves with a blender and turn the grainy curd mass into as homogeneous as possible. In the future, this will help get rid of harmful grains that do not want to melt completely. If you don’t have a blender, no problem! A regular fork will also work fine. Mash the mass with it as finely and uniformly as you can.

As soon as the water in the larger saucepan boils, reduce the heat on the burner to medium and place the curd mass in a water bath. It is important that the container with the cheese preparation does not touch the bottom of the pan with water.

After literally 2-3 minutes, you will notice that the curd mass slowly begins to melt and becomes viscous, like melted hard cheese.

We begin to intensively stir the mass until the curd grains are completely dissolved. As soon as they are all melted, remove the cheese from the water bath, add salt and herbs/seasonings to it to taste. In general, you can use any fillers to your taste as additives to processed cheese. I added a little paprika and a mixture of Italian herbs. A very tasty cheese is obtained by adding garlic and fresh herbs or finely chopped mushrooms. It turns out original and no less tasty with a sweet filling: jam, honey, jam, etc. The kids especially like this option.

Once again, intensively knead the cheese mass and pour it into prepared containers. After a couple of hours, the processed cheese will have cooled down and can be used. Homemade processed cheese can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. It can be spread on bread, added to pasta (it melts when hot, like regular cheese), made into snack rolls, etc.

Since I didn’t get the processed cheese right the first time, I’ll tell you a little about the difficulties that may arise in the process of preparing it.

What to do if the cottage cheese does not melt?

There are two options here.

1) If the cottage cheese has melted, but not completely, and massive and noticeable grains remain, you can try adding just a pinch of soda. This will help melt them. If the grains are small, you don’t have to add soda - they will disperse on their own when they stand to cool.

2) And an option when the cottage cheese does not want to melt at all. This, unfortunately, also happens. It's all about the quality of the cottage cheese. It can be of any fat content, the main thing is that it is natural, not frozen or overcooked. Correctly chosen cottage cheese begins to melt almost immediately. If after 5-15 minutes you do not notice any changes in the curd mass, do not suffer and do not hope that a little more and the process will begin. It won't work! Trust the person who has more than once spent 2 hours uselessly waiting and stirring the curd mass in the hope that it is about to turn into cheese. It’s better to remove it from the heat and place it somewhere in cheesecakes or cheesecakes, for example.

Another point: if almost all of the cottage cheese has melted, and small grains do not give up even after an additional portion of soda, remove it from the stove. If you leave it longer than necessary, the reverse process will begin - i.e. the cheese mass will begin to turn into grainy again. In this case, the product will also be spoiled.