Cream cheese is a soft, spreadable & mild-tasting fresh cheese made from a combination of cream and milk. Making it yourself means you can do without the stabilisers commonly added to store bought varieties. This homemade cream cheese recipe will result in a slightly more acidic cream cheese than the store-bought stuff, making it amazing for cheese cakes and other desserts.

Makes approximately 350g

Ingredients

• 300ml full cream milk (homogenised)

• 300ml runny whipping cream (not thickened)

• 3 drops or 0.2ml Calcium Chloride

• A tiny pinch (or ¼ ‘drop’ spoon) Mesophilic Starter Culture

• 0.3ml liquid rennet or 1/16th tablet rennet diluted in 15ml cool, non-chlorinated water (boiled then cooled)

• Salt and herbs to taste

Instructions

1. Measure out the rennet and dilute in 15ml cool, non-chlorinated water

2. Place milk and cream in a heavy-based pot

3. Add the calcium chloride to the cold milk and cream

4. Warm the milk and cream mixture to 25°C, whilst stirring the base of the pot constantly to prevent scalding

5. When you reach 25°C , remove the pot from the heat and add the mesophilic starter culture. Allow the culture to rehydrate for 1 minute before stirring it through

6. Add the diluted rennet, and count to 15 as you stir the rennet through the milk and cream, then stop stirring immediately

7. Cover the saucepan and and let it sit undisturbed in a warm spot for 20 hours for the cream cheese to set

8. After 20 hours the cream cheese should look like a soft set custard, indicating it is ready to be drained

9. Gently tip it into a double-layered cheese cloth lined colander and allow it to drain until it reaches the desired consistency (between 4-6 hours). Hang the cheese cloth to speed up the draining time

10. The cream cheese will last up to one week in the fridge, although this may vary depending on the freshness of the milk