Paneer Cheese

by Adelia B.

An easy cheese to make, Paneer is the most common cheese used in south Asian cooking.

Paneer Cheese

  • Servings: approximately 2 lbs of cheese

Paneer is an easy cheese to make, so much so that it is usually made fresh daily in India. It is the most common cheese used in south Asian cooking and can appear in several formats, from crumbly and open textured, to a firm, well consolidated cheese for cutting. It is a perfect cheese for vegetarians to use in cooking because it has no rennet used in the production.

Ingredients

  • 2 gallons or liters fresh whole milk
  • 1/2 tsp citric acid
  • 8 oz water

Directions

  • Begin by heating 1 gallon of fresh milk to 185-194F (85-90C). You can best do this by placing the pot with milk into a sous vide bath held to 185 degrees. If you do this in a pot on the stove make sure you heat the milk slowly and stir it well as it heats.
  • Once the milk has reached the correct temperature, continue to hold the milk at this temperature for about 20-30 minutes. This will prepare the milk proteins to respond well to the acid addition in the next step.
  • Allow the milk to cool to 170F. This is a more protein friendly temperature and allows the acid to easily mix into the milk before the proteins begin to coagulate. The result will be a more even curd development.
  • Heat the 8 oz of water to 170F. Add citric acid. This is a very diluted acid of about 2%.
  • Once cooled to 170F, slowly add the diluted citric acid to the milk while gently stirring. This will begin separating the milk solids from liquid. Continue the slow stir until you see a separation of white curd and a yellow green whey, milk with a high fat content may have a cloudy whey.
  • When you see a nice separation, stop stirring. The pot can now sit quiet for 20 minutes.
  • The curds can now be transferred to the colander lined with butter muslin. Begin by ladling the whey from the surface into the lined colander. Once the whey has been partially removed, the remaining curd can be poured into the drain cloth.
  • Drain curd for 30 minutes, a gentle stir half way through will help the whey to drain.
  • Once the curd has drained for 30 minutes, the cloth can be pulled up and tied into a ball. Make sure the cloth is pulled tightly around the curd mass. Then place a plate or lid over the curd. Place about 1-2 gallons of warm water into a pot and set it on top of the plate, this is a quick and easy “cheese press.” Press the curd for 10 to 15 minutes. The amount of weight and time for pressing will depend on how dry and compact you want your final Paneer to be.

  • Fresh Paneer won’t last long in the fridge and should be used within a few days. It can be stored at fridge temperature for 4-7 days with no salting and for 10 days to 2 weeks if lightly salted (2%) and packed in an air tight container.
  • When pressed the cheese will be firm and compact and once chilled it can be easily cut and cooked or fried. Traditionally, Paneer is made fresh and used within a day.
  • In making your own Paneer, you have control over how you want to use the cheese. The curd can be drained for a soft, crumbly cheese or lightly pressed for a firm slicing and grilling cheese.
  • By changing the cream content of the milk, the type of acid and the draining method, you can make a wide variety of cheeses.
  • Fresh Paneer that hasn’t been pressed very long tends to be more crumbly and is best for sauces.
  • Firm Paneer can be sautéed, seared, or grilled, and still retain both its shape and texture.