So, dairy and I do not always get along. I spent five years dairy-free because of all the sinus issues it caused. And then I discovered raw milk. What a wonder; I can now enjoy dairy again, as long as I keep it raw. That’s why I love this simple recipe for creamy, homemade raw milk cottage cheese.
Cottage Cheese From Just Two Ingredients
The recipe, from The Doable Off-Grid Homestead by Shannon and Stewart Stonger, contains just two ingredients – raw milk and sea salt. What it does require is a day or two of sitting so that the milk will sour and culture.
An added bonus, if you ask me. The good bacteria already present in raw milk is now increased with this cultured cottage cheese recipe. (Recipe used by permission of the authors).
Why Raw Milk?
Obviously, how a cow is cared for and fed will determine the quality of the milk she produces. And proper sanitation and handling is a priority, of course.
Raw milk contains live enzymes which help us to digest it. This is why I can handle raw milk, but not pasteurized milk. Pasteurization, especially using the high heat that is used today, essentially kills the milk.
With raw milk, the fat separates and rises to the top. The process of homogenization alters the structure of the protein in milk making digestion even more difficult.
And raw milk contains good bacteria that helps our guts to remain healthy and, like the enzymes in the milk, helps us to digest the milk.
A friend, milking her cow.
For Further Reading
The Lowdown on Pasteurization and Homogenization
Homemade Creme Fraiche (Cultured Cream)
Ways to Nurture Beneficial Gut Flora
Can Farm Life Boost Your Immunity?
Can Good Bacteria Destroy Bad Bacteria?
The Doable Off-Grid Homestead
The Doable Off-Grid Homestead is a practical guide for those who want to learn more about homesteading, especially homesteading off-grid.
And there are lots of projects in the book which you can use to begin homesteading right now, wherever you live. Like learning to make homemade raw milk cottage cheese, or pressure can chicken.
In The Doable Off-Grid Homestead, you’ll learn:
- to catch and filter rainwater
- how to build a root cellar
- about solar energy
- how to grow your own food
- to raise animals (including how to milk a cow so you can make that yummy cottage cheese)
- preserve your garden produce
- and so much more
Clabber Troubleshooting
At times milk will not clabber. For a successful fermentation it is best:
- to use fresh raw milk
- keep the milk in a warm area. Placing your glass jar of milk on a seedling heat mat works really well to clabber the milk in a cool kitchen.
- be sure your glass container is clean and rinsed well; sterilize the jar if desired
- add a few drops of lemon juice if desired to help the process
One last bit of information on milk not clabbering – a high Milk Urea Nitrogen value in the milk will prevent clabbering – in this case you’ll need to speak to your farmer.
Cultured Raw Milk Cottage Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 quarts raw milk fresh is best
- sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Skim the cream from the raw milk and refrigerate. The cream will not form curd, so it is removed and added back in after the cottage cheese is formed.
- Bring the raw milk to room temperature in a wide mouth glass jar or bowl. Cover the jar with a coffee filter or cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
- Allow the milk to clabber for 1 - 5 days until pleasantly sour and the consistency of yogurt. (A cooler kitchen may take longer)
- Pour the clabbered milk into a heavy-bottomed pot and place it over low heat.
- Warm the milk slowly, stirring frequently with a slotted spoon, until it reaches between 100 and 110°F (38 - 43°C). Be careful not to heat the milk to a higher temperature because the beneficial enzymes and bacteria begin to die, and the resulting product will be rubbery.
- As the milk warms, curds will begin to separate from the whey and form cottage cheese. Stir gently so as not to disturb the curd too much.
- Once the curds are separated, or the 110°F (43°C) is reached immediately remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove the curds with a slotted spoon or pour the curds and whey through a cheesecloth-lined colander.
- Transfer the curds to a bowl and salt them to taste.
- Stir in the reserved cream for a creamier cottage cheese.
- Yields about 3 cups.
 | Seedling Heat Mat for fermenting dairy |
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Lina says
Can low fat milk be used instead? There’s no access to raw milk where I live.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Lina, the process of making cottage cheese with pasteurized milk is different. Since pasteurized milk cannot be clabbered, a souring agent like vinegar is generally used. A google search should quickly find some instructions for you. 🙂
Claudia says
Find raw milk near you at getrawmilk.com
Low fat milk is….hmm… not good…
Rachel R. says
No; you can’t just let conventional pasteurized milk sit out at room temperature like this. It will spoil/rot. It won’t sour safely like raw milk will.
Kelsey says
Hi there. I used raw milk but ended up heating it to 130 degrees on accident. I only yielded 1 cup. It was definitely clabbered but I’m afraid to try it because it smells like spoiled milk. Did I let it clabber too long?
Susan Vinskofski says
I would taste a very small amount to see if it is palatable. It’s likely that the problem was caused by the accidental high heat.
Marie says
Suggestions on how to remove the cream? My raw milk comes in the standard plastic gallon jug. The cream does rise to the top, but I can’t really scoop it off. So do you pour it out, wait for it to separate again, then try to scoop it off?
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, unfortunately you’ll have to pour it into a wide mouth jar and wait for it to separate.
Miranda says
I used raw cow milk, but I only ended up with a few tablespoons of cottage cheese using this method. I then reheated the whey to 110 and added a tsp of vinegar, and got another spoonful of cottage cheese. This seems like such a small amount, is that what you get?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Miranda, you should have netted several cups of cottage cheese from this recipe. It sounds as if your milk was not fully clabbered (soured). Was your milk curdled and thickened? Wait until it is thick like yogurt before making the cottage cheese. I hope that helps.
Laurel says
I let the raw milk sit for 30-ish hours, and then heated it up, with nothing to show for it. I’m assuming I should have let it sit longer … but is it too late to salvage it? Can I just let it sit for a while longer to fully clabber? Or do I just need to toss and try again another time?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Laurel, the important thing is to make sure that your milk has soured and thickened before heating. The amount of time is less important than using your senses to be sure the milk has clabbered. Now that the milk has been heated, you cannot go back and keep trying but you can use that milk when baking, or in pancakes, etc. 🙂
Megan Stevens says
Mine turned out great, thank you!!! Super exciting! xo
Susan Vinskofski says
That’s great, Megan! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know!
Karma says
Hello dear. Thank you for this recipe. I had to come to the comments section however after heating mine for further information, and noticed I was not the first. I think you need to mention/edit in the part about the consistency of the clabbered milk in your article. That part is crucial. Thanks again for the share. It’s all very exciting. ?
Susan Vinskofski says
Thanks, Karma. The recipe did say to clabber the milk until pleasantly sour and thickened, but I changed it to say until it is the consistency of yogurt. I hope that helps.
Rossanna says
I’ve let my milk sit out more than 5 days and it’s still not clabbered. How long can I let it sit out?
Susan Vinskofski says
Some of the reasons that milk won’t clabber: it is best if the milk is fresh, the milk should be in a warm area – in a cool room it can take longer to ferment, the glass container must be clean and rinsed well or competing bacteria will interfere. You may also want to add a few drops of lemon juice to help it along. As long as your milk has not molded it is still fine to consume, but will likely be quite sour. You may also want to speak with your farmer – this post has some info: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/help-my-raw-milk-wont-clabber/
Elizabeth says
When the milk is clambered does it just get thick and yogurt consistency just on top or should it get like that throughout?? I’m really new at this I never made cottage cheese before.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Elizabeth, the milk should thicken throughout. Enjoy the cottage cheese!!!
Elizabeth says
Ok so if it just gets thick on top does that mean I just have to let it sit longer or did I not get all the cream off and are you supposed to get every last bit of cream off or should that not be a problem if you accidentally leave little bit behind. I’m sorry to be a pest but I tried it and it just didn’t turn out right for me and I’m just trying to figure out if I did something wrong.
Susan Vinskofski says
A little cream left is fine, but do give it more time to completely clabber for best success.
HJA says
I’m getting fresh raw milk from a local farm and do not always use it all before time to get another gallon. This is a simple method and works great!! Thank you!
Elizabeth says
Ok . Would putting it in a jar with a lid make it take longer and not cabber right cuz that’s what I did and it just got a thick yogurt consistency on the top and it took about three days just to get that.
Susan Vinskofski says
Elizabeth, if you are going to use a lid it should be loose fitting. I prefer a coffee filter or cheesecloth. It can take up to 5 days if the temperature in your home is cool.
Elizabeth says
Ok . Thank you for all your help and being patience with me . I greatly appreciate it!!!!
Susan Vinskofski says
You’re welcome! I hope you have success!!!
Rachel A. says
Hello, Susan,
Does the flavor develop more as it sits? My milk has clabbered, but it’s still a “stinky” sour flavor, and I’m wondering if it will become deeper and more complex if I let it sit longer before cooking. Or does heating it slightly change the flavor?
Thanks for the recipe!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Rachel, the curds do tend to sweeten after separating from the whey and straining!
Maria Chaves says
I wish I had read the reviews first. I warmed the milk after 3 days thinking it was good, but then realized I didn’t get enough curds. I should’ve waited the 5 days before warming the milk for the cottage cheese. I wonder if I could speed up the process now that we’re in the cooler weather by putting it in the oven with the oven light on only.
Carol Morgan says
Mom would move her milk closer to the wood stove 50 years ago.
Tecla Speed says
So….I have tried making cottage cheese 3 times now with basically the same results. This is the first time I have followed your recipe and felt it was as easy as pie to make cottage cheese. What I end up with is really rubbery and dry curds that easily stick together. I added the cream back hoping it would change the texture, but it did not. What could I be doing wrong?
Amy Wharton says
Like others above I wasted my milk because it had been way more than 48 hours and it was not “clabbered” yet, but I figured I had to do something soon, so I tried to make the cottage cheese and got poor results. If it could possibly take 5 days, you might want to mention that in the recipe, not just the comments below. I’m not sure if I want to try again, but maybe in smaller quantities. The “recipe” could not be simpler, but does not work well as described. Perhaps some photos of clabbered milk to help the newbies?
Amy
Nicole Guyot says
Our cottage cheese turned out superb with our clabbered raw amish milk. What can we use the whey for?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Nicole, you can use whey in place of some of the water when you make stock, toss it into soups, or add it to smoothies.
Nicole says
Can they whey be used to ferment?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Nicole, yes you can use the leftover whey in your ferments. Great question!
Carol Morgan says
Woo Hoo! This is what I was looking for. When growing up I watched Mom make her cottage cheese this way, but by sticking her pinky in to test temperature. She never taught me the secret. You have given the missing information and mine was spot on the first time. I do remember her saying the fermentation took longer in cool conditions. Mine took 3 days to be ready.
Thank you for the recipe.
Anna says
How long does is it good for in the refrigerator?
Christina says
Thank you! Left mine in the cartons 1 day, then transferred to a stainless steel pot with the lid on for 2 more days. I then cooked it in the same pot. Everything went great, but it tastes sweetly sour, is this how it should taste?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Christina, yes, cultured foods do have a sour quality to them; enjoy!
Gary Jones says
After so many failures making cottage cheese with our raw milk, finally this one not only works – it’s really simple. And delicious. Thank you so much.
Susan Vinskofski says
Fantastic; so glad you are enjoying it!
Jill says
This is the method description I’ve been looking for! I made one change that may help some of your commentors. I clabbered 1-2 cups of milk on the counter fully (until the milk separates and whey is on the bottom of the jar) then got out the rest of the half gallon and used the clabber to speed up the clabbering of the rest of the milk. Makes a less sour end product too. Thanks for writing out your method- I love when one ingredient can make a whole “recipe”!
betty says
So Jill, your 1-2 cups of clabber are like a starter? And you add the remaining gallon of raw milk to it? How much cottage cheese does this make?
Thanks in advance for clarification.
Jayme says
Can I do this with raw milk that has been in the fridge and begun to sour— I usually use the soured milk for kefir but wouldn’t mind diversifying, if so.
Faith says
My great aunt raved about the “old fashioned” cottage cheese they made from their raw milk. I would ask her how they made it and her instructions were very vague. Unfortunately she has passed on…now I have a dairy cow and want to make my own cottage cheese. This looks like what I remember her telling me. My raw milk clabbered in less than 24 hours.
Susan Vinskofski says
I sure hope this recipe works out well for you!
Ryane says
About how many cups of cottage cheese should this recipe yield? I used 5 quarts of milk and got 1.5 cups of cottage cheese. Does that sound right? Just seems like a lot of whey was left over. Not sure if that’s normal since this was my first time making cottage cheese!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Ryane, the recipe generally yields about 2 cups of cottage cheese. If you strain it longer, more whey will be released and you’ll have a drier cottage cheese but more whey, of course. 🙂
Ilene Faber says
Can you use fresh warm milk right out of the cow, or does it need to be refrigerated first to get the cream to rise? Also, do you rinse the curds with water after draining the whey?
Susan Vinskofski says
The cream does need to be separated from the milk, but I think it would be ok to go from cow to counter, and then remove the cream when it rises without ever refrigerating the milk. Do refrigerate the cream once skimmed though. And no need to rinse the curds.
Miriam Waldner says
Hi! I did everything as you said, but once I poured my milk into a sauce pan about half of my curds formed beautifully and floated to the top, but the other half simply sank to the bottom and remained a yogurt-like consistency. I skimmed the top ones off and tried leaving the others for up to a day, and also tried heating them more, neither worked. I have had these results multiple times and am really discouraged. Please help!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Miriam, since I’ve not had this problem, I’ve contacted the author of the book who gave me permission to use her recipe here. I’ll let you know when I hear back from her. My best guess is that the raw milk was not fully clabbered. It is always hard to give a definite time in which this will occur and sometimes you do need to let the milk sit for a longer period of time.
Bronze says
Thanks! Mine wasn’t showing any signs of clabbering by 24hrs so I moved it upstairs where the house is much warmer. It completely separated into curds and whey in only 24 more hrs (48hrs total)! I did the cooking step but I don’t think the curds even needed to be heated to separate; they were already completely separated forming one solid mass. Actually, they puffed up so much that they pushed through the cheesecloth looking like a muffin top, and some whey leaked out and almost soiled my books and electronics sitting on the same table! XD I would have appreciated a warning note that this could happen since most of us using your recipe are totally new to dairymaking. Then I would have used a bigger jar (I put 4 cups of milk in a 1qt jar so there was maybe about 1/2 cup extra space at the top). Thanks again and God bless you!
Susan Vinskofski says
Thanks for your feedback!
Bronze says
P.s. I forgot to mention:
1: You said every 4 cups of milk should make about one cup of cottage cheese, but mine yeilded only 1/2 cup per 4 cups.
2: The cottage cheese was DELICIOUS! I’ve never had my own homemade cottage cheese before and the first bite was strange, but after the second bite I could not stop eating and the aftertaste is wonderful. I found it did not even need any cheese.
Bettina says
Hello… I just made this using a half gallon of raw milk (poured into a bowl). I followed the instructions and noted the reply to one of the comments about the time being less important than the WHOLE container of milk becoming yogurt like… so mine sat out for 7 days and only the top seemed to be that way. By that time, I figured I’d better do something, so I followed the above and got 1 cup of curds and 5 cups of whey, but to be honest… I am scared to try it. I drink raw milk and eat raw milk butter, in fact… I eat lots of things many conventional people would pass on… and this scares me a bit. If it sat out for 7 days… is it ok to eat? Should I have waited longer to actually get the whole amount thicker? Should I have gotten that much whey? I am thinking this process just didn’t work for me or I did something wrong. If anyone has any suggestions… let me know, either way, thanks for the post, people who do stuff like this rock!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Bettina, I suspect that the temperature of your room is on the cool side which is why the milk took so long to curdle. As long as it is not moldy and does not have an off odor, it should be just fine to taste.
Erin says
Trying this today – I found a different recipe that actually includes adding yogurt to the milk while it clabbers. Why do you think this is? I’d rather not include yogurt but based on the lack of success people seem to have, I will if it will increase my chances!
Susan Vinskofski says
I imagine that the yogurt would encourage a faster clabber.
Stella J says
This recipe worked great. My milk sat out for 48 hours and worked well. I have a warmer kitchen, 75-85 depending on the time of day.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Stella! It’s a great recipe and a warm kitchen definitely helps!
Donna says
My finished product was very rubbery. What did I do wrong? Milk was in counter for about 5 days. It turned to yogurt consistency. Heated to 110 degrees. Removed curds. But rubbery. Added cream to rubbery, salted curds.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Donna, in general cottage will become tough and rubbery if too high a temperature or too long a cooking time was used.
Amy says
It is amazing when the clabber happens. In the desert, it happened in two days probably due to the warmth and dryness. In the coastal region, it never happened even after a week, likely because my home is too cold- like a cave.
I use raw milk. I don’t heat it at any stage so that all the beneficial bacteria remain intact. ((see aajonus vonderplanitz))
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, it’s amazing to watch milk clabber. The heating recommended in this recipe is low enough to ensure beneficial bacteria and enzymes are kept alive.
martin w cole says
In the 50’s my grandmother (born in 1884) would make cottage cheese and put it in a sort of drainage cloth and with clothes pins hang it from a clothesline overnight – I know we had 2 cows and would let milk set until clabbered on the back porch. I don’t remember what else she did to it. We made our own butter, too.
Susan Vinskofski says
What wonderful memories!
Jessica says
It’s pretty cold in my house…between 60 and 62 in the winter. Is it not possible to clabber milk by heating it to 75 degrees for an extended period of time? Not sure how you would keep that consistent for 24 hours though…
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Jessica, why don’t you try placing the raw milk in a cooler and then placing a mason jar of boiled water in there, too. Keep a thermometer in there and when the temperature drops, replace the jar of boiled water.
Monica says
I keep my house cooler too. What works for me is put the jars of milk in the oven with the light on. It’s warm, but not hot. Helps the clabber process beautifully. Hope it works for you.
Susan Vinskofski says
Great tip!
Christiane says
This turned out beautifully. I let my raw milk sit out for three days as this was when it had developed a runny yogurt consistency. I got about three cups of cottage cheese. Delicious!
Susan Vinskofski says
Fantastic!!!
Dana says
Hi, thank you for your recipe! I tried this method 4 times and each time my cottage cheese turns bitter and sour. The milk I’m using is Gurnesy raw whole milk. I skim the milk before clabbering it and take the extra cream after it clabbers. And do exactly as your instructions. Any idea why it turns bitter and sour? I used to buy cottage cheese from an Amish farm and it was always sweet tasted. Any insight will be appreciated.
Oh another question please not recipe related if it’s okay ? when I get my milkbi skim the cream of but the cream is very thin. Everywhere I see people are saying they get a thick cream from the milk not to mention that the milk I’m buying is Gurnecy cow milk which considered a really fat milk. So this kind of puzzles me. Any idea?
Thank you very much?
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Dana, thanks for contacting me! As far as the cream in your milk, I would definitely contact your farmer to ask that question. Something sounds off there. It’s hard to say what’s causing your problem but I do wonder about a few things. For example, is your milk sweet to begin with? Are you possibly over-clabbering? (I’m inclined to think this may be the issue). It definitely should have a tang to it but not be bitter. And did the Amish farmer possibly sweeten his cottage cheese?
Jennifer says
I had a beautiful result of cottage cheese. Thanks for your recipe!!
How long is is good for in the fridge once cottage cheese?
Susan Vinskofski says
Refrigerated, the cottage cheese should last at least a week. 🙂
Lucy says
Hi, I’ve skimmed my milk but there was still about a cm of cream I couldn’t skim without taking too much milk. Is this ok? Will it still work?
Susan Vinskofski says
That will be just fine!
Heidi says
Great recipe Susan! I think people have to remember that with anything new we have to practice. If the recipe doesn’t work bake it into muffins!
I love what you’re doing and can’t wait to read more!!
Heidi says
Some feed back: being our first time I guess we left it too long, it smells worse than sour after 4 days (but hadn’t clabbered after 3 days), clabber looked just like yogurt but end product rubbery and tastes bad, not just sour, and yet no mould..? . I’m wondering if the milk was not very fresh too… ? I’ll research a few more recipes before trying again. The chickens will be happy!
Susan Vinskofski says
You make an excellent point; traditional recipes are as much an art as a science, and take practice to get things just right. Just yesterday I was telling family that I take the weather into consideration when making pie crust to determine how much water goes into the dough. They aren’t pie bakers, so were really surprised. With the cottage cheese, the freshness of the raw milk matters, as does the temperature of the room where you’re clabbering.
Susan Vinskofski says
Thank you, Heidi!
Patti says
I made cottage cheese using this recipe but it took 5 days. I got about 4 cups. Mine taste sour to me. Is there any way to get the sour taste out or does it come out once it’s refrigerated.
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Patti, yes, a longer fermentation time will result in a more sour cheese. If there is somewhere warmer that you can clabber your milk next time so that it will work in just 2 days, that will help.
Stacey Lennox says
Can I use raw milk I pick up already cooled? Mine is brought to a natural foods store once a week where I buy it from the cooler. Our governor just legalized the sale, so this is the first time in years I have had access to it!
Susan Vinskofski says
Hi Stacey, yes, you may use the raw milk you purchase at the store. For success, the fresher the better.
Stacey Lennox says
Wonderful. Got it yesterday. Clabbering and making my yogurt mother today.
Tandy says
Thank you for posting this recipe. Mine worked beautifully!
Just starting out (at73 yrs old) on this journey. Had my goats for about a year
Love them. They make me smile everyday
Susan Vinskofski says
And you’ve made ME smile!!!
Dar says
Susan, thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I am blessed to have access to raw, organic milk and have made yogurt, kefir and soft cheese, but never cottage cheese. This cottage cheese is scrumptious, and I love that it’s raw! Thanks again! With gratitude and blessings.
Susan Vinskofski says
And it’s so simple, too! (You’re very welcome).
Karla says
Hi, is it normal for the milk to separate on its own on the counter? My jar has large white slabs and yellow liquid. I assume that’s the curds and whey, so do I still need to heat it? It looks like I can just pour off the whey and crumble the large slabs of curds. Thanks!
Susan Vinskofski says
Yes, a longer ferment will produce curds and whey. It can definitely be eaten as is.
Riley says
Hi there! Excited to try this, as I just started getting a supply of raw milk from a local farm. I have some milk that’s gone just a little off (it was good yesterday). Would that be okay to use?
Thanks for your time!
Susan Vinskofski says
The fresher the better for good results.
Drew says
Hi – I love this recipe and am starting to master it! Is skimmed milk preferred in this recipe since there is no cream to skim? Can the strained whey be drank or does it need to be used in baking/cooking? Thank you!!
Susan Vinskofski says
I love how creamy adding the cream back in makes the final product so I do prefer whole milk. And yes, you can drink the whey!
Drew says
Thanks Susan! I tried to put the milk in the oven with the light on rather than the countertop for 3 days. The milk separated but the top is a bit hard rather than getting a yogurt consistency. Did I let the milk clabber too long or do you think that temperature may have been too high?
Susan Vinskofski says
It does sound like the temperature was a bit too warm, or it was left too long. Unfortunately this is as much art as science so it’s difficult to say precisely how long it will take to clabber. Try removing the hard top and go forward from there. I hope that helps.