If you remember this post then you'll already know that I got a heck of a lot of buttermilk from a food net a while ago. Someone asked what I was going to do with it all. I do enjoy cooking and baking with buttermilk. I love the slight tang it provides. But as this was already past date and I wasn't using it fast enough, I decided to make buttermilk cheese. Here's how I did it.
Preheat oven to 375.
Pour buttermilk into an ovenproof dish. I used 2, since I didn't have one large enough.
Put buttermilk in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.
Line a colander with cheesecloth.
When the buttermilk is done in the oven, it will have separated into curds and whey.
Pour into cheesecloth lined colander to strain out liquid (I read that you can reserve this liquid and use it in cooking. I reserved it but didn't end up using it, I wasn't sure how to, so I eventually dumped it...)
Tie ends of cheese cloth and hang it somewhere (the faucet works fine) for several hours. I left it overnight.
After several hours, give it a couple squeezes to drain out any remaining liquid then open your cheesecloth and scoop the cheese into a container. Seal and store in the fridge for up to a week-ish.
Use this delicious, soft, creamy stuff as a spread, like cream cheese.
Or you can sweeten it with honey if you prefer a sweet cheese.
I used some in a spinach dip, and some to make a buttermilk frosting for cupcakes. Both were scrummy. It's softer and smoother than cream cheese, and therefor easier to spread or blend.
