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Looking for a new hobby that is easy to learn and offers tasty benefits? Become a cheese maker. There are few people who do not enjoy cheese and research now shows that it can increase the success of dieting. Insomniacs can find comfort in dairy's ability to promote sleep while people with diabetes find it helpful in maintaining appropriate blood sugar when eaten as a snack. Now you can make your own Farmer's cheese with these simple directions.

Farmer's cheese is a very mild variety that melts well and is highly versatile. The final product can have milk blended make ricotta. Yogurt can be added and blended to produce and tasty sour cream. Pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil can be added with olive oil for an amazing spread for toast or crackers. For a mere hour of your time, the benefits can be enjoyed in all your favorite recipes.

All you will need is a pot, a gallon of milk, 2-3 lemons, cheesecloth or coffee filters, and a sieve. A candy thermometer is also useful. First, take your lemons and juice them making sure to remove any seeds. Gather your items and set them out for use. Organization is key to good results.

Add the full gallon of milk to the pot and heat on medium-high. You will need to stir occasionally to keep the milk from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pot. If you have a thermometer, you are looking for a temperature of 190 degrees Fahrenheit. If you are cooking sans thermometer, then simply look for bubbles forming on the sides of the pot. When boiling has been attained, turn off the heat and add cup of lemon juice to the milk. Set a timer for 10 minutes and let it sit. It can be fun to watch the curds form, but do not touch it. The baking part of cheese making is now complete.

This is the hands on part of cheese making. Pour the whey, the water part, and the curds through a sieve to separate the two. If you end up with only a small amount of curds and the liquid is still white you can follow the above steps over again and still gain a good deal of cheese. Simply pour the liquid back in, boil, pour in another cup of lemon juice and wait the ten minutes. Doing so will bring you to the point of separating the two and ending up with about a pound of cheese. You can now place the cheese in a bowl while you clean out the sieve and ready your cheese cloth.

Place your cheese cloth in the now clean sieve and replace over a bowl that will catch any remaining whey. Place the cheese curds in the cheese cloth and bring sides up to form a bag that can be squeezed. Carefully squeeze to remove any liquid. You can now leave the covered cheese to drain in the refrigerator. Make sure to check periodically to ensure the cheese does not dry out. When all the liquid is removed, you can add to the cheese, salt the cheese, or simply enjoy and chunk by it self. Store the cheese in a covered container for up to a week.

This is a great way to teach science to young children while showing them the work that goes into making food products. It is a great way to enjoy some down time making a healthy snack and ingredient in your favorite recipes.

Learn more about this author, Vivian Nelson Melle.
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