So why post a cheese recipe of all things? Because this recipe is extremely easy to make – it only uses ingredients most people already have – it’s a lot cheaper to make it yourself than to buy it, it tastes great and makes a wonderful healthy, high protein snack, and it’s really versatile. The flavor varies tremendously depending on what herbs you use to roll it in.
This cheese can be made with regular cow’s milk, but in my personal opinion, goat milk is better because the curds come out softer. If you use cow’s milk, you’ll definitely want to go with a slightly lower temperature.
We’ve had a lot of people who don’t like goat milk or goat milk products at all who like this cheese. Of course, if you get goat milk products from a small farm who deals with the milk properly, you really shouldn’t have to worry about that infamous goat taste at all anyway.
Panir Cheese
1 gallon milk (preferably goat milk)
1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Heat milk over medium-low heat to 190-195 degrees. The hotter the milk, the firmer the curd. However, if the milk isn’t hot enough, it may not separate into curd and whey.
Stir in lemon juice and continue stirring until curd separates. If after a minute or two the milk hasn’t separated, add more lemon juice/vinegar a little at a time until it does.
Drain curd into a jelly strainer or something similar such as a clean pillow case.
Let hang until whey is sufficiently drained out. This could take anywhere from 1/2 and hour if the curd is fairly firm, to several hours with softer curd.
I hate to subject y’all to the sight of the wall paper in our kitchen,
But sometimes, it’s just unavoidable.
Dump curds into a bowl and thoroughly mix in baking soda and salt.
Shape into logs or balls and roll into your choice of herbs or spices.
1 gallon of milk should make between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds of cheese
Our cheese coating favorites are:
Cracked pepper
Basil and Garlic powder (this one is the most popular)
Rosemary leaves
Italian seasoning
Enjoy!
PrintEasy Goat Cheese Recipe (Panir Cheese)
Ingredients
- 1 Gallon goat milk
- 1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
Instructions
- Heat milk over medium-low heat to 190-195 degrees. The hotter the milk, the firmer the curd. However, if the milk isn’t hot enough, it may not separate into curd and whey.
- Stir in lemon juice and continue stirring until curd separates. If after a minute or two the milk hasn’t separated, add more lemon juice/vinegar a little at a time until it does.
- Drain curd into a jelly strainer or something similar such as a clean pillow case.
- Let hang until whey is sufficiently drained out. This could take anywhere from 1/2 and hour if the curd is fairly firm, to several hours with softer curd.
- Dump curds into a bowl and thoroughly mix in baking soda and salt.
- Shape into logs or balls and roll into your choice of herbs or spices.
1 gallon of milk should make between 1 and 1 1/2 pounds of cheese
Our cheese coating favorites are:
Cracked pepper
Basil and Garlic powder (this one is the most popular)
Rosemary leaves
Italian seasoning
Enjoy!
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Nikki says
Can pasteurized milk be used for this as well? Many cheese recipes I’ve seen you need some additive if you use pasteurized (I don’t remember what it is)
Elise says
I believe so. I know that if you add lemon juice to pasteurized milk, it will curdle, so it should work with this recipe.
Rebeka says
how long do i have to wait for the cheese to be ready to eat, when i mix in the herbs?
Elise says
It’s ready right away.
Shelley says
We make cheese fairly regularly, and our basic recipe is pretty similar to this one. I look forward to trying it this way! I have to disagree your cost assessment though. 1 gallon of cow’s milk hovers somewhere between $1.80 & $2.40 in our area (plus the small costs of the other ingredients). That’s minimum $1.90/lb to make cheese w cow’s milk & no add-on’s, vs same white cheese at the Hispanic grocery store for $1/lb. Cheese is the one thing that we find it significantly cheaper to buy than to make, but we make it anyway for the pure enjoyment!
Jessie says
Why baking soda? I have never used it before and was curious about why it is needed.
★★★★
Elise says
It balances out the acidity.