2 Cheeses, 2 Continents, 1/2 Gallon
Today, I made a meal that recycled itself (and not in the way you're snickering about, Kristen). I made paneer, soft Indian cheese, and with the leftover whey, I attempted a version of gjetost..which wasn't really gjetost, but more on that later. First, paneer.
Get ready for a lot of seriously unappetizing photography.
Paneer: Bring a half gallon of 2% milk to a boil, then add the juice of one lime. When it starts to curdle, lower the heat. Simmer 5 minutes, or until it all separates, and cool for another 5. Put a double layer of cheese cloth over a colander, and put that over a large bowl or pot. Drain the curds. Bundle up the curds in the cloth, and give it a good squeeze to get the excess whey out. Then, tie a knot and hang it from the sink to let it drip for a half hour or so. Remove from the cloth and refrigerate at least an hour in plastic. This is what I got:
Then I made the saag (similar to Kristen's Spicy Spinach recipe).
The saag was just a blended mixture of blanched spinach, ginger, garlic, tomato, chilies, and onion, to which I then added salt, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. I cut the paneer into cubes and lightly pan fried it, until there was a little browning on the outside, then added it and a little cream to the spinach. The cream was a treat, and it was so worth it with the fresh cheese and spinach. Serve over rice.
So then you've got all this whey. Stick it in a pot, and get it boiling.
Once it boils, reduce the heat, and simmer until it reduces a lot. Stir occasionally. (It will be at least an hour.)
When it reduces down to a paste-like texture, and the kitchen smells like gjetost, stir it a lot. (Mine started to look like brains. BRAAAINS!)
I should have stopped mine here, but didn't. Apparently, this stuff solidifies a lot, so it's okay to take it off when it's loose like this. Mine hardened when I took it off heat. You're supposed to whisk it when it's done, and pour it into a buttered pan, then chill. I did that, but it was so hard that I ended up soaking it in some leftover cream, then whipping it. It came out really nicely, like a much milder, spreadable version of gjetost. (Gjetost for beginners?) And then it occurred to me that "gjet" is "goat". Oops. Well, now I've got a non-gjet ost spread.
Here it is! I artfully spread it on a cracker, then dropped it ost side down, and it artfully broke and stuck to the counter. Oh well. Maybe the plate will distract you. Alex has a full set of dishes in this pattern..
P.S. This looks like a lot of work, but most of it happened simultaneously. It was waaaay less work than I expected. The paneer took less effort than walking to the Indian market (literally) across the street from my apartment, and I made the rest of the dish from scratch and cleaned the whole kitchen while letting one cheese drip and the other reduce. And then I got lots of credit for making ambitious-seeming food. It took less than an hour of active time to do all three, and a few hours of keeping an occasional eye on simmering pots. I also managed to save a bunch of spinach water for stock and use the same two pots for every step of this. Pretty (lazily) good!
Get ready for a lot of seriously unappetizing photography.
Paneer: Bring a half gallon of 2% milk to a boil, then add the juice of one lime. When it starts to curdle, lower the heat. Simmer 5 minutes, or until it all separates, and cool for another 5. Put a double layer of cheese cloth over a colander, and put that over a large bowl or pot. Drain the curds. Bundle up the curds in the cloth, and give it a good squeeze to get the excess whey out. Then, tie a knot and hang it from the sink to let it drip for a half hour or so. Remove from the cloth and refrigerate at least an hour in plastic. This is what I got:
The saag was just a blended mixture of blanched spinach, ginger, garlic, tomato, chilies, and onion, to which I then added salt, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. I cut the paneer into cubes and lightly pan fried it, until there was a little browning on the outside, then added it and a little cream to the spinach. The cream was a treat, and it was so worth it with the fresh cheese and spinach. Serve over rice.
When it reduces down to a paste-like texture, and the kitchen smells like gjetost, stir it a lot. (Mine started to look like brains. BRAAAINS!)
P.S. This looks like a lot of work, but most of it happened simultaneously. It was waaaay less work than I expected. The paneer took less effort than walking to the Indian market (literally) across the street from my apartment, and I made the rest of the dish from scratch and cleaned the whole kitchen while letting one cheese drip and the other reduce. And then I got lots of credit for making ambitious-seeming food. It took less than an hour of active time to do all three, and a few hours of keeping an occasional eye on simmering pots. I also managed to save a bunch of spinach water for stock and use the same two pots for every step of this. Pretty (lazily) good!
Comments
I've always thought that one of the interesting differences about gjetost is that it is made from the whey and I assumed did not have the fat content of the curds. What taste or texture differences happened from adding the cream? Thank you for sharing this very interesting experiment.
This has the sweetness and flavor of gjetost, but the cow milk makes it less pungent, and the cream makes it a little milder. So it's the idea of gjetost, but friendlier.