Making your own paneer

Paneer is made in a very different way than most cheeses. Neither bacteria nor enzymes are involved. You could say the cheese closely resembles fresh, pressed ricotta made from whole milk. The preparation is also almost identical to the preparation of “mats” for mat pies. If you ever want to make your own cheese, paneer is a good start.

Making paneer is not very difficult. We make our paneer under very controlled conditions that you can’t replicate 100% at home. But don’t worry: we expertly explain it here. In any case, it’s fun to try out for yourself.

The milk

We get the fresh cow’s milk straight from Koen and Annick, the farmers who supply the milk for our Berloumi. If you want to make really good paneer, look for fresh raw milk. If you don’t, buy whole milk from the store. We begin our adventure with 10 liters of fresh cow’s milk.

The vessel

Preferably choose a low cooking pot. This will stir more easily. The pot should be about one and a half times the volume of milk you want to make into paneer.

Heating

While constantly stirring well over the bottom, heat the milk to 90°C. Use a thermometer for this purpose. Afterwards, let the milk cool back to 78°C.

Add

We add another 250 grams of skim milk powder to our 10 liters of milk. This ensures a higher yield and, especially if you use fresh milk, less fat is lost in the cheese whey.

Add

Calcium Chloride is naturally present in milk. We add an additional 17 ml because it gives better coagulation, especially in milk that has been kept cold for a long time. If you can’t find calcium chloride leave it out.

Preparations

To curdle the milk at 78° we add 15 grams of citric acid. We dissolve the citric acid in 1.5 liters of water. It is important to heat this water + citric acid also to about 70°C. You may also use another acid, vinegar, buttermilk, … but in a different ratio.

Preparations

Prepare a sieve and place a cheesecloth or a thin clean-washed towel in it.

Making paneer

This is the best part about making your own paneer. Once the milk has cooled to 78°C, add the acid while stirring well. Also, stir from top to bottom and do not pour the citric acid all in the same place into the warm milk.

Finally homemade paneer

Out of the blue, when milk is sufficiently acidified at a pH of 5.40, the milk begins to curdle. If you make the milk too acidic, you obtain a paneer that is too dry. Not acidic enough and nothing or too little happens. A fine line where you have to pay close attention.

Pour off

Pour the curd through the cheesecloth. Be careful, it’s hot. You can use the whey, the leftover liquid from cheese production, to bake bread. Most importantly, the fats and proteins are in the breadcrumbs.

Press

To obtain a firm and even cheese texture, you can press the cheese for half an hour. Fold the cheesecloth over the paneer and put about 2 kg on top.

Cooling

Remove your homemade paneer from the cheesecloth and carefully place it in an ice bath with, of course, clean water. This is good for the shelf life and texture of the paneer. Leave in ice water for at least an hour.

Homemade paneer

When the paneer is cooled you can cut it and start using it in recipes. Our newsletter will keep you informed of new recipes.