I made really yummy Queso Blanco tonight. The advantage of this cheese is that it requires no rennet or anything special.
Ingredients:
1 gallon whole milk, not ultra-pasteurized, preferably without hormones.
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Kosher salt (grind in mortar and pestle until fine)
Tools:
Accurate thermometer
Colander, lined with a clean, tight-woven dishtowel (NOT Terrycloth)
Two zucchini-bread pans
Cookie sheet
8-quart stainless steel pot (NOT ALUMINUM)
In a large stainless steel pot, heat the milk to between 180 and 195, stirring frequently to prevent burnination.
When the milk is at the correct temperature, add the cider vinegar in little bloops, stirring as the milk curdles. The milk should clearly separate into curds and whey; if it doesn't, add another bloop of vinegar.
When the curd has formed all the way, empty the pot into the colander. When the cloth is cool enough to touch, gather the corners and wring out as much whey as you can, then set it back in the colander, open it carefully, and salt the curds to taste. Bundle the curds in their towel until they're all wrapped up in a neat little package,then press it inside one of the zucchini bread pans. Set the second breadpan on top of the first, as though you were going to nest them together, with the proto-cheese in between. Turn the whole affair over, and set it in your sink or on a cookie sheet.
Wash your pot and fill the empty gallon jug that the milk came in with water. Set the pot on top of the inverted breadpans and put the full gallon of milk in the pot. Presto! You now have a cheese press exerting eight pounds of pressure. Press down on the handles of the pot to make sure the whey can still run out of the cheese. Let stand overnight. In the morning, you will have a cunningly shaped brick of Queso Blanco, suitable for slicing and frying, Palak Paneer, or a million other yummy applications.