Thrifty mom

When I was little my dad had cattle, well a couple of milk cows and some bulls. Mom made all kinds of milk products, and I helped her sell milk before going to school, and after school my brother and I helped make cheese, cream, etc.

Today I took a trip back to my childhood : I made cheese, although I don't have cheese molds:

Queso fresco (fresh cheese) is creamy and delicious! I don't have all the equipment my mom had but I made do! Instead of a mill I used a food processor, and Tupperware instead of molds! 

I also made panela, which basically salted curd then compacted by draining all the whey and is shaped by the basket it drains on, a chiquihuite

A byproduct of cheese making is whey. By boiling it 

... You get ricotta ...

Once you've drained the cooked whey...

Too bad I buy a little milk, only 5 quarts every other day. You need a substantial amount of whey to get more than the couple of spoonfuls you get with my 5 quarts. We used to boil the whey of 10 gallons of milk and got about a pound or two of ricotta . 

Still, it was great making cheese for my family! My girls love fresh cheese!