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Soft Cheeses
    The following steps for making fresh, soft cheeses are fairly simple. These cheeses are not molded or aged, and in the case of yogurt cheese, there is no need to heat the ingredients.

Curding Milk: Acid Curd and Cultured Milk
    In making any fresh cheese, the first major step is to curdle the milk, which separates the solids and liquids, so the liquid (whey) can be drained off. There are two methods of accomplishing this: the first is to use an acid, typically in the form of vinegar or citric acid; the second involves acidifying the milk with bacterial cultures. As a general rule, acid-curd cheeses are the fastest to make: they can be made in as little time as it takes to boil milk, which makes them an ideal first cheese to attempt. The acid-curd fresh cheeses included here are paneer and lemon cheese.
    When making an acid curd cheese, begin by placing a cooking thermometer into the top of your double boiler, add water to the base, and set the top in place. Turn the burner to a medium setting. In the top of the double boiler, heat your milk slowly, for twenty to thirty minutes, until it reaches 170°F (77°C). Just as it reaches the target temperature, remove the top of the double boiler and set it into a basin of ice water to cool, adding ice to the basin as necessary to bring the milk to 70°F to 72°F (21°C–22°C). Remove the pan from the basin and wrap a towel around it to maintain the temperature. Add the starter culture your recipe calls for, and slowly stir to mix. Set the lid on the pan and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for the length of time your recipe directs.
    When making a fresh cheese with starter cultures, you will also need a double boiler, but the milk will be heated to a lower temperature, generally below 100°F (38°C) (check each recipe for the specific temperature). When you have reached the target temperature, add the amount of culture called for, stir, and wait for the curds to form. Cultured fresh cheeses come in many different varieties; the ones included here are chèvre, quark, yogurt, yogurt cheese, cream cheese, crème fraîche, and cottage cheese.



TOOLS
Cooking pan, or double boiler
Cheese thermometer (an instant-read thermometer, or any thermometer that is calibrated to read in 2°F (1°C) increments)
Stainless-steel stirring spoon
Colander
Cheese cloth or a loose-mesh kitchen towel
Catch bowl

Draining Curds
    Line a colander with cheese cloth and place a catch bowl underneath. Use a piece of cheese cloth that is large enough to cover the cheese when it has finished draining.
    Spoon the cheese curds from the double boiler into the cheese cloth-lined colander, fold the excess cheese cloth over the curds, and allow the whey to drain into the catch bowl for two hours.



Draining
    Discard the whey from the colander, gather the cheese cloth into a ball, and tie off the ends around a wooden spoon. Let the cheese continue to drain, either refrigerated or at room temperature, according to your recipe instructions. Do not touch the whey for eight to twenty-four hours, as your recipe requires.



Finishing
    After the cheese has drained enough to the desired consistency, remove it from the cheese cloth, roll it into a ball, and place it in a covered plastic container (or spoon into a covered container, depending on the consistency). Refrigerate your cheese for up to two weeks, or for as long as the recipe recommends.



Basic Cheese Recipes
    In the recipes that follow, use cow’s milk unless goat’s milk is specified in the recipe. If you prefer the tangy flavor of goat’s milk, it may be substituted for cow’s milk in all of the recipes.

For a festive party or breakfast spread, make yogurt cheese from fruit-flavored yogurts, such as lemon, banana, and strawberry, and serve your cheese garnished with whole-fruit jams, such as sour cherry or blueberry.

Paneer
    Paneer is a staple in Indian cooking. Go to any Indian restaurant and you are likely to find Saag Paneer, a