The key facts

  • Homemade cheese can be made in 1–2 hours from milk, cottage cheese or kefir with salt, sour cream and eggs.
  • According to Rosstat, in November 2024 cheese became 1.3% more expensive.
  • More complex recipes require starter culture, milk-clotting enzyme and calcium chloride (E509).

Homemade cheese as a trend

Making cheese at home has become a popular hobby, especially ahead of the New Year feasts. Life.ru notes that home cheesemaking was widespread in the crisis-stricken 1990s, when the fashion was driven by the desire to save money. Now, according to the publication, people are motivated by distrust of manufacturers and interest in culinary hobbies. The publication cites Rosstat: in November 2024 cheese rose in price by 1.3%. Another argument is the fear that industrial dairies may use powdered rather than whole milk; homemade preparation makes it possible to obtain a product without preservatives and artificial additives.

What you will need

The main ingredients of homemade cheese are milk, cottage cheese or kefir, as well as salt, sour cream and eggs. You will need a stainless steel pot or an enamel container (aluminium cookware is not recommended), a thermometer to control the temperature, a slotted spoon or colander, cheesecloth and a press — a jar of water can serve as one. There are also special home cheesemakers, but experienced housewives advise beginners to start with an ordinary pot. The most popular types of homemade cheese are soft (creamy and curd), semi-hard, and fermented-milk cheeses made from kefir or yogurt, rich in probiotics.

Simple recipes

A classic recipe from everyday products: 2 litres of milk, 200 g of sour cream, 2 eggs and 1 tsp of salt. The milk is heated over medium heat without bringing it to a boil, the mixture of sour cream, eggs and salt is poured in, stirred until the whey separates, the mass is squeezed through cheesecloth and kept under a press for 1–2 hours. Cottage cheese cheese: 1 kg of cottage cheese, 500 ml of milk, 50 g of butter, 1 tsp of baking soda and salt to taste. The cottage cheese with milk is heated until the whey separates, strained, then the butter is melted, the cottage cheese, soda and salt are added and stirred until smooth; the cheese is cooled and left to set for 2–3 hours. Kefir cheese is the simplest: 1 litre of kefir is heated over low heat, strained through cheesecloth, 1 tsp of salt is added and it is left under a press for 1 hour.

The complex version and fine points

For a more labour-intensive recipe with starter cultures and enzymes, you need milk, a starter culture of lactic acid bacteria, a milk-clotting enzyme and calcium chloride (food additive E509), which restores the calcium lost during pasteurization. The milk is pasteurized at 60 degrees for half an hour, then the starter, enzyme and calcium are added; rennet gives the cheese a uniform curd texture. Enzymes are sold in retail stores and on marketplaces. Among the general recommendations: do not heat the products over high heat, use fresh and fatty milk and cottage cheese, and let the cheese set under a press — the longer, the denser the texture. A common beginner's mistake is not letting the cheese rest, but it should also not be stored for a long time without being eaten: the product may spoil. Some housewives recommend only farm milk, however, based on experience, store-bought milk is also suitable for home experiments.