Farmer Cheese

Farmer cheese can be described as a soft, white cheese, which is usually made from the milk of goats, sheep and cattle. Even the milk of more exotic animals, like yaks, can be used for making this cheese. It is produced in almost all the parts of the world. Initially, farmers were the ones who usually made this cheese, mainly because of the fact that it can be made quickly and with much ease. This is the reason why it is traditionally known as 'farmer's cheese'. Farmer cheese sold by grocers and dairies is the un-aged white cheese, which can be employed over a wide range of uses.

 

Since farmer cheese can be crumbled, sliced and even cut, it is used in a number of ways. You can crumble it on salads, spread it on bread slices and even use it as filling, in foods like ravioli. The addition of flavoring, such as dill and chives, and herbs in farmer cheese is a very common phenomenon. Apart from that, the cheese might also be wrapped in very thin slices of flavorful smoked meats, to give a distinct flavor. Many cream cheeses, when not heavily processed, can also be included in the family of farmer cheese.

 

The procedure of making farmer's cheese starts with curdling of the milk. Thereafter, the curd is tightly packed in cheesecloth, which enables squeezing out of the whey. Following the squeezing process, the curd is allowed to remain wrapped in cheesecloth and sit for a day or so. This results in the formation of a dense cheese that can be cut as well as crumbled into an assortment of foods and is ready to be eaten. In the usual cases, cheese is molded into a log, as it is easy to handle and store.

 

The base of farmer cheese is made of nothing, but cottage cheese. However, in the former case, instead of being retained, the whey of curd is pressed out. This is the reason why, though it has a flavor similar to cottage cheese, farmer cheese is firm and dry, not at all watery. During the process of making farmer cheese, if milk is curdled with yogurt or buttermilk, the resultant cheese might develop a slightly tangy flavor. Unlike fresh cottage cheese, with spoonable curds, farmer cheese has spreadable curds.