An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe

This is the Banner for An Easy Homemade Farmers Cheese Recipe. The title is at the top in bold black. There is a picture of the finished Farmer’s Cheese in the center with a Bees Warp cover. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

Today, we have an Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe for you. As you know from other talks, we have a milk cow. We milk her twice a day and she normally give around 2 gallons of milk at each milking. As you can imagine, we have to figure out what to do with all that milk.

This picture shows a fridge full of fresh milk jars. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

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We had a calf on the milk cow, but the baby did not drink as much milk as the cow was making, so we still had to milk her at least once a day. So, we drink milk, we cook with milk, we give it away to family, friends, and church members, and we barter and trade with the extra milk. But still, sometimes, we have too much milk, and it goes bad before it can be used. Sorry to say, we have had to put some milk in the compost.

This picture group shows A picture of a Jersey cow with her calf, standing under a pine tree in a pasture. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

So we started making yogurt, butter, and then buttermilk. But still, we had a lot of milk in the fridge. So Grammy decided to make cheese. At different times in the past, we had talked about making cheese, but we had neither the equipment nor the knowledge to do so.

It turns out, the most basic cheese, called Farmer’s Cheese, is very easy to make. If you have made yogurt, which we have done, Farmer’s Cheese is just a few more steps.

We did make Mozzarella cheese once, and Farmer’s Cheese is just one step different than that. Please feel free to check out that talk,

To make Farmer’s Cheese you will need:

1 gallon of milk

Renit, lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar

salt

a large pot

a strainer

cheese cloth

a bowl

a mold of some kind

a cheese press is helpful but not critical

For our Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe, we used a ratio of 1 gallon of milk to ¾ cup of lime juice.

But you can use Renit, lemon juice, or vinegar if you like. The different liquids do change the taste of the cheese, but only a little.

To make An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe:

1. In the large pot, heat the milk on the stovetop.

DO NOT BOIL. Bring the milk to approx 195 degrees, just as bubbles start to form, but not a full boil. You want to heat the milk enough to kill any bacteria that may be in the milk, but not actually cook the milk.

It should also be noted that if you heat the milk too much or too fast, it may scald to the bottom of the pot. You do not want this.

This is the first picture group for An Easy Homemade Farmers Cheese Recipe. There are four pictures of milk being poured into a big cooking pot. Two pictures have the cream being scrapped out of the glass jar with a spatula. The fourth picture shows the milk in the pot with a spatula for stirring. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

This picture group has three pictures of milk in the pot on the stove top being heated and stirred. Picture two has a cooking thermometer to watch the temp of the milk. The last picture shows the milk starting to bubble. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

2. Turn off heat.

3. Stir in lemon, lime or vinegar.

4. Let set for 15 minutes. Curds will form.

This picture group has five pictures. Picture one is of a bottle of lime juice and a bottle of salt. Picture two is the lime juice being poured into a measuring cup. Picture three shows the lime juice being poured into the milk. The fourth picture shows the milk with curds forming. The last picture shows a wooden spoon with curds form the milk. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

5. Pour the curds into the cheese cloth and strainer to separate the curds from the whey.

The whey is the liquid left after the cheese curds form or after the butter forms, if you are making butter.

This picture group shows three pictures of the tools needed to make An Easy Homemade Farmers Cheese Recipe. There is cheese cloth, strainers, wooden spoons, cookie trays, and bowls. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

This picture group shows three pictures of the milk being strained to separate the curds from the whey. The third picture shows curds from the milk. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

This picture group has two pictures. Picture one is of the curds in cheese cloth in the strainer. The second picture shows the left over whey in a bowl. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

6. Squeeze cheesecloth to get as much whey as possible out by hand.

7. Let it sit for 30 to 45 minutes.

It should be noted here: The cheesecloth will absorb the whey, so have the strainer on a baking sheet to catch the drips, or you will have a mess dripping off the counter. You can hang the cheese to drip longer if you want a drier cheese.

This picture group has three pictures of the cheese cloth being squeezed to remove whey from the curds. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

8. Sprinkle salt over the curds and mix with a wooden spoon.

We do not use much salt, less than a Tablespoon, but you can salt to your taste.

This picture group show four pictures of the curds with salt being added and then stirred with a wooden spoon. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

This picture group has two pictures. One picture shows the Farmer’s Cheese still in the cheese cloth. The second picture shows a pinch of Farmer’s Cheese between fingers to show the crumbly nature of the cheese. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

At this point, you may want to cover the Farmer’s Cheese and let it sit for a bit to cool down before you handle it. The cheese can still be very warm, and letting it cool will make it easier for you to handle it. But it is not critical to let it sit for the cheese to form correctly.

This picture group has two pictures, one of the cheese in the cheesecloth and the second with the cheese covered to sit and rest. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

9. Press the curds into a bowl, mold, or cheese press.

We squeezed our curds in the cheesecloth and then kneaded them a bit to make a smoother finished cheese. But kneading is not critical.

This picture group has two pictures. In picture one, the curds are being kneaded to make a smoother cheese. Picture two shows the curds being pressed into a bowl while someone steals a piece on the side. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

This picture group has two pictures. In picture one, curds being pressed into a bowl. Picture two shows the curds smoothed into the bowl as a form. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

10. Cover the Farmer’s Cheese and put it in the fridge to finish cooling.

This picture group has four pictures. Picture one is of a bowl covered with a Bees Wrap. The second picture shows the package of Bees Wrap and the third shows the Bees Wrap label package. The fourth picture is of the bowl of Farmer’s Cheese covered with Bees Wrap in the fridge. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

11. Gently remove the Farmer’s Cheese from the bowl, mold or cheese press.

This picture group has three pictures. Picture one is someone using a knife to pry the Farmer’s Cheese from the bowl. Picture two shows the bowl upside down on the Bees Wrap. The third picture shows the finished Farmer’s Cheese on the Bees Wrap on the counter. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

12. Wrap the Farmer’s Cheese in a sealed wrap and put it in the fridge.

This picture group shows four pictures of the process of wrapping the Farmer’s Cheese in Bees Wrap to store it. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

And there you have An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe. Congratulations, you have made cheese.

The Farmer’s Cheese should stay good for several weeks in the fridge. Although ours never stays around that long.

You can put your Farmer’s Cheese into the freezer if you want; it will be fine to use when you take it out.

There are several things to note in making An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe:

a. You can use either Renit, lemon juice, lime juice, or vinegar for this Easy Homemade Farmers Cheese Recipe. It does not seem to matter which you use; the cheese still comes out right.

In case you do not know, Renti is used in commercial cheese making; it is the thing that makes the milk curdle to make curds. You can buy this from many grocery stores and specialty shops. But you do not have to use Renit; the others will work just as well, and are things that you probably already have on hand in your kitchen.

b. A mold will help form the curds into the shape you want, but again, any bowl will do.

C. And a cheese press is helpful but not totally critical. The cheese press will squeeze most of the whey out of the cheese and help form it. But you do not have to have one. A good squeeze, a bowl, and firm pressing into the bowl will do.

There are all kinds of tools and equipment that you can buy, but they are not really critical to making cheese.

Since our first Farmer’s Cheese making, we have bought a new cooking pot, one with a porcelain inside so that the milk will not stick to the pot. We have also bought a small cheese press to help with the form and squeezing out the whey.

As you can see, cheese making can be done in different ways depending on what finished form you want.

This picture group shows three pictures. Picture one is of a shinny, new, red cooking pot on the stovetop. Pictures two and three show a new cheese press and it’s parts. The background is white with a dark teal trim.

The most important things in making An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe are:

Do not boil the milk.

Squeeze out as much whey as you can.

Wrap your Farmer’s Cheese in a sealed wrap to prevent spoiling or mold.

These are the most critical parts; the rest offers all kinds of possibilities for experimenting.

You can use any of the liquids listed, and probably some we do not know about, to cuddle the milk, and each will make the final cheese taste just a bit different. After the curds are strained and cooled a bit, you can add herbs or spices to make an artisan cheese. There are so many ways you can specialize your Farmer’s Cheese to your exact liking.

We use Bees Wrap to wrap up our Farmer’s Cheese and keep it in the fridge.

For those of you who are not familiar with Bees Wrap, let us introduce you. Bees Wrap is a sustainable, Eco-friendly alternative to plastic wrap and foil. Bees Wrap is made of organic cotton cloth, natural oils, and beeswax. You can fold it and mold it into any shape you need. The bees wrap sealed onto itself to keep your food to keep it fresh.

You can buy Bees Wrap in several different sizes and shapes for bread or sandwiches, and even in large rolls.

We love our Bees Wrap and use it for many different foods and containers. As you know by now, reading some of our other talks, we try to be as green, sustainable, and self-sufficient as possible. Bees Wrap is another step in that direction.

Check out Bees Wrap, it is a great addition to any kitchen, going green, Eco-friendly, or just wanting to get away from plastics.

Bees Wrap Starter Bundle

Bees Wrap Vegan Roll 14×52 Herb Garden

This Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe gives you a soft, slightly crumbly cheese with a very smooth flavor. It does well in salads, baked potatoes, or just eaten. Anywhere you use Feta, you can use Farmer’s Cheese. Farmer’s Cheese is not as strong a flavor as Feta, but it is still very good.

So go ahead and try your hand at An Easy Homemade Farmer’s Cheese Recipe. And you can enjoy knowing that you made it by hand in your own kitchen. No, making cheese is not a huge thing or a life changer, but it is another step in the direction of becoming more self-sufficient.