Homemade Cream Cheese

Bagels. What can I say? I love bagels. Some of my friends who are fortunate enough to live in New Jersey have some of the best bagels on the planet.

I also enjoy a nice cream cheese on my bagel.  However one serving (2 tbsp) of you typical cream cheese packs 30mg of Cholesterol, 100mg of sodium and 10g of fat.

I was thinking about this many months ago. Can this be made at home without having to invest in the means to make my own "cheese" products?

This is so incredibly easy to make, and allows you to take control (somewhat) of what is in your cream cheese.


What you will need:

• One 16 oz carton of Sour Cream (see note)
• Cheesecloth or a cloth napkin or old but clean segment of sheet/pillowcase (do not use a "fluffy" material like a towel)

Note: check the ingredients of the sour cream. If it contains "gelatin" it will not work. Look for grade A cream and cultured milkfat. I prefer to use Daisy(tm) Light. The nutrition facts are decent and it's so good I could eat it right out of the carton (no, I don't do that, honest!).


Some very easy steps:

1. Open the carton
2. Pour contents into the cheesecloth or napkin
3. Grab the corners of the cloth and twist until you have a ball of sour cream at the end of your twisted cloth
4. Use a rubber band, twistie-tie or some string to tie cloth just above the ball of cream
5. Hang on your counter over a bowl (not in a refrigerator)
6. Let hang for 8-24 hours

When you place the sour cream in the cloth and wrapped it up, you will immediately notice a clear liquid starting to saturate the cloth or even drip out. This is whey, a very useful byproduct of this process. The bowl underneath the hanging cloth will capture this for use later, or to discard if you please.

While hanging, you can give the cloth a squeeze to prime the dripping process, however be careful. If solid white dots appear outside the cloth, you are forcing out the sour cream itself and not just whey.

After the appointed time has passed (see #6 above), take the cloth down, untie it and open it. You will have what looks like a head of garlic in your napkin; a clump of white soft cheese. Place this in a clean resealable container and mix (I use a wooden spoon handle). You can use it immediately, but I prefer to refridgerate it for a couple hours first. Also, if you plan on using the whey later, place it in a container and seal it as well. Both are good for approximately 10-14 days.

This is also a good opportunity to give the cheese a taste. If you used Daisy, what I can tell you is that it will be a little bland compared to Philly and will have a smooth aftertaste. Letting the cheese hang longer will affect the firmness and depth of flavor. I usually invest no less than 12 hours.

Spread on a bagel, toast or use as a dip.

Cream cheese after hanging for 12 hours

Variations:

• Add a tablespoon or two of yogurt to the mix before you hang the cheese to add nutrients and alter the taste (do not use yogurt that contains gelatin). 
• Mix in herbs or spices with the sour cream to change the resulting flavor (garlic, onion, cilantro and black pepper will yield a "ranchy" result)
• Mix in jam with the finished cream cheese before placing in the fridge
• Use your homemade cream cheese to make cheesecake, appetizers or frosting!
• Replace sour cream with yogurt to make yogurt cheese. Hanging for only a few hours will yield something akin to "greek-style" yogurt.