Did I accidentally make cheese?
I was making a bran muffin recipe that called for 3/4 c buttermilk, which I didn't have. I took 3/4 c fat-free milk and added 2 tsp white vinegar and let it sit. I added 1 tsp vanilla.
Since I was going to use coconut oil and thus needed the "buttermilk" to be slightly warmer than room temperature (so the oil wouldn't harden), I put the "buttermilk" in the microwave for 30 seconds. The photo shows the unwanted result - I guess the milk separated from the whey and formed this glob. Can I assume this is unusable? I'd like to understand better what happened.
Best Answer
Yes, you did; although in a non-traditional manner :) You created an acid-set cheese. These are made by adding an acid (e.g., lemon juice or vinegar) after heating the milk (e.g., paneer) or by heating soured (acidified) milk (e.g., quark).
It appears that your microwave blast caused the proteins to combine into a single clump. Normally, the heat is more gently applied. From your picture, it seems to be most similar in texture to the curds used in a poutine.
Let us know how it tastes!
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Can you accidentally make cheese?
You can make this (nearly) accidental cheese by letting milk ferment or sour on the countertop for a day then heating it until the curds separate from the whey.Can milk turn into cheese by itself?
The reason expired milk becomes \u201ccheesy\u201d is that bacteria in the milk grow rapidly when it gets old. The bacteria digest the milk sugar (lactose), producing lactic acid as a result. Lactic acid causes the casein to curdle, or separate into lumps, and gives the milk a sour smell.Can you turn spoiled milk into cheese?
After all, the main ingredient in cheese is milk that's gone bad. You can make cottage cheese by cooking sour milk in a double boiler over simmering water until it begins to whey (when the watery part of milk separates from the curd, or cheese).The first person to make cheese.
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Images: Yan Krukov, Anna Shvets, Andrea Piacquadio, Monstera