how do you make cream cheese and whey...

[bornthrifty]

Hi there,

I tried to make some cream cheese by putting some old buttermilk(one week old) in a colander lined with a coffee filter,

I let it drain in the fridge, and collected the whey for cooking with

now I understand that I am used to modern foods and may just need to aquire a taste for this cheese and whey,

but it tastes really tangy too (see my post complaining about my overly ripe and tangy sour cream, lol)

any how should this cream cheese taste so tangy,
how about the whey,
I guess I expected the whey to, but wanted the cheese to be mild in flavor, I don't mind some tang but this is eye squinting tangy is it rancid? did I let it sit to long?

any advice would be most appreciated
thanks

 

[freemotion]

Cream cheese that you buy in the store is not the same as straining buttermilk, yogurt, or kefir. It is a "real" cheese that is actually made with cream. What we make by straining the above cultured milk products is not the same, it just has the same consistancy.

The best way I can illustrate what I mean is this....bread, biscuits, and pancakes are all made from the same main ingredients, but they are very different products, with different flavors and textures. Cheese is similar, in that pretty much all cheeses have the same or similar ingredients, but the proportions and the process is different for each recipe, producing very different results.

So what you have is really strained buttermilk. Real cream cheese is made with rennet and certain cultures and a certain proportion of milk and cream, following a certain process at certain temperatures, and each step takes a specific amount of time.

I find that strained storebought yogurt has the mildest and least sour taste of all the strained products. It might give you something closer to what you are looking for. Or if you make your own yogurt, try straining a very mild batch, and do so in the fridge so it won't continue to sour, although the whey separates out better at room temperature.

Your strained buttermilk would work great in a recipe that works for sour cream, such as an onion dip or a salad dressing such as blue cheese or parmesan peppercorn.

Hope this helps!