How do you make cream cheese (including vegan)?

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I know it as labneh.
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I was making an Indian dessert today called Shrikhand, which is basically "hung" yoghurt mixed with sugar, nuts and saffron.
The hung yoghurt (which was Greek style yoghurt) was thick enough to be cream cheese after 24 hours. Volume wise, it was half the original quantity.
 
Had another 2 pint of nice organic full fat milk hanging about in the fridge and just as well because after my last attempt I wouldn’t have bothered again, this time though was a different story.

Heated the milk and added less lemon juice this time as I decided that I may have used too much last time and that might have contributed to the crumbly squeakyness.
Much softer smaller curds this time.
IMG_2699.jpeg


Left it to cool for just the 15 mins the recipe said and blitzed it on a high speed adding a very little whey slowly.
IMG_2700.jpeg


Success. Added a bit of salt and there it was smooth, creamy cream cheese.
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I used it to make the full dairy version of a smoked mackerel paté. This lot will be going in the freezer, apparently it freezes well, we’ll see!
IMG_2698.jpeg


Overall I’m happy. I’m not convinced making your own cream cheese is worth the bother when you start to count up the cost of the milk, the time and the fuel it takes to make it when there are good value well made cream cheeses out there but if you were wanting to avoid additives and other nasty extra’s then it’s a winner on the purity front.

For me I think only needing milk and an acid to make it is a win because there are times when I’m cooking and tasting as I go when I think a dash of cream or yogurt would just tip this from not bad to delish and occasionally (rarely) I discover I have nothing in the fridge.

If I could find an ambient or long life vegan milk that this works with that will be a very handy thing to have in my back pocket.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
Had another 2 pint of nice organic full fat milk hanging about in the fridge and just as well because after my last attempt I wouldn’t have bothered again, this time though was a different story.

Heated the milk and added less lemon juice this time as I decided that I may have used too much last time and that might have contributed to the crumbly squeakyness.
Much softer smaller curds this time.
View attachment 113209

Left it to cool for just the 15 mins the recipe said and blitzed it on a high speed adding a very little whey slowly.
View attachment 113210

Success. Added a bit of salt and there it was smooth, creamy cream cheese.
View attachment 113211

I used it to make the full dairy version of a smoked mackerel paté. This lot will be going in the freezer, apparently it freezes well, we’ll see!
View attachment 113212

Overall I’m happy. I’m not convinced making your own cream cheese is worth the bother when you start to count up the cost of the milk, the time and the fuel it takes to make it when there are good value well made cream cheeses out there but if you were wanting to avoid additives and other nasty extra’s then it’s a winner on the purity front.

For me I think only needing milk and an acid to make it is a win because there are times when I’m cooking and tasting as I go when I think a dash of cream or yogurt would just tip this from not bad to delish and occasionally (rarely) I discover I have nothing in the fridge.

If I could find an ambient or long life vegan milk that this works with that will be a very handy thing to have in my back pocket.
Click to expand...
Love it!
 
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