Page 86 - Spring2009

over chopped crispy nuts. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate over night. cooking up WAPF-friendly creations. If you
Experiment with different herbs, cheeses and nuts. This is tasty with have topic suggestions you would like to learn
homemade crackers. more about, contact her at jen@nourishingcon-
nections.org.
Fudgesicles: Mix a scoop of honey with a spoonful of cocoa or carob
powder. Add an egg yolk or two and a good amount of moist cheese curd
(or combine with raw cream) and stir. Taste as you go and make any needed REFERENCES
adjustments. Pour into Popsicle molds or paper cups with a popsicle stick 1. Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. The Home Creamery. Story Publish-
ing. 2008. pp 60-62.
and freeze—yum! 2. Fallon, Sally and Enig, Mary, PhD. Nourishing Traditions.
NewTrends. Washington DC. 2001. p 81.
3. Vasey, Christopher, N.D. The Whey Prescription. The Healing
The versatility of real, whole foods never ceases to amaze me. And Miracle in Milk. Healing Press Press. 2006. pp 1-2.
homemade curd cheese is no exception. So go forth, Miss Muffet, and 4. Ibid, pp 11-12.
eat your curds and whey plain, while we sit on our tuffets eating our curd 5. Farnworth, Edward R. Kefir: a complex probiotic. Food Re-
search and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-food.
cheese-endowed fudgesicles, herby dip with crunchy veggies and yummy FST Bulletin 13 May 2005. St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
pancake spread! (Exactly what is a tuffet anyway?) 6. Found at http://www.ifis.org/fsc/bulletin-ff-free#fig:6.
GI ProHealth website. GI ProHealths’ Yogurt recipes. Found
at http://www.giprohealth.com/makingyogurt.aspx.
Jen Allbritton is a Certified Nutritionist and has been researching and 7. Turkan Keceli. The role of olive oil in the preservation of
yogurt cheese (labneh anbaris). International Journal of
writing on all topics of nutrition for over ten years. She lives in Colorado Dairy Technology. Volume 52 Issue 2, pp 68 – 72. Published
with her husband and two sons, and spends lots of time in the kitchen Online: 9 Aug 2007. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/
journal/119086686/abstract.

THREE EASY STEPS FOR MAKING CURD CHEESE AND WHEY

1. Culture your desired dairy product. First you need to decide which dairy product you will use to create your curd cheese
and whey. Kefir and yogurt are ready to be used. However, buttermilk and pima milk need to curdle or coagulate a
bit (approximately two days at room temperature) before they will effectively separate. Fresh milk may also be used
but must also be left out to curdle (clabber), which takes approximately four days. See Nourishing Traditions for more
details on how to create all of these cultured dairy products. Kefir is my preferred dairy product for this process. Not
only is it exceedingly easy to make at home (especially with the self-perpetuating grains), but it has a superior probi-
otic-profile compared to other dairy products. As mentioned above, it is ready to use immediately, so no additional
preparation is necessary for making curd cheese. Kefir is more tart than other cultured dairy products, so keep that
in mind when you are cookin’ up recipes. Yogurt is my second favorite dairy product to use for curd cheese-making.
It is slightly less tart than kefir, although it depends on the type of yogurt, and again is ready to use immediately. I
will sometimes combine curd cheese made from kefir and yogurt to reduce the tartness in sweet recipes. One note
on yogurt: commercial products can be used, but be sure to avoid those that contain stabilizers or thickeners such
as gelatin or pectin, as they are there to help bind the solids and liquids and will prevent full separation of the curds
from the whey. As always, choose a product that is made with the highest quality milk.

2. Choose your straining tool. There are several choices when it comes to straining whey from the curds. One way is to
fit a few folds of unbleached cheesecloth or an unbleached coffee filter inside a strainer or colander, which is then
placed over a bowl. Cheesecloth from muslin is the best to use, since the stringiness of loose-weave cheesecloth
makes it a hassle to wash and reuse. The strainer must sit high enough to allow for the whey to drain and collect.
Another technique is to tie up a thin linen dish towel to a kitchen spoon or kitchen faucet and suspend it over a bowl.
But be sure to use a thin towel (or even an old t-shirt), as thicker varieties will soak up the valuable whey. There are
devices on the market specifically made for straining these foods (such as the Cuisipro Donvier Yogurt Cheese Maker
by Donvier or the Kefir Cheese Making Strainer by Alpha Health). I have had great success with a muslin (thin cotton)
bag, often sold as a nut-milk or sprouting bag (someone handy with a sewing machine could even whip some of these
up). I drape the bags over the edge of a tall glass container and the lid holds the bag firmly in place (see pictures of my
set-up to the right). I prefer these bags because they clean up easily, have other kitchen uses and reduce the number
of dirty dishes. About mid-way through, I pull the bag down over the rim of the glass a bit further to prevent it from
touching the whey. Be creative, find what you have in your kitchen and start experimenting. It won’t take long before
you find the straining method that works best for you.

84 Wise Traditions SPRING 2009