Making Paneer - Trial #4 (Homo milk & White vinegar)

[a_boleyn]

Today I went grocery shopping and picked up a 4 liter 3-bag pack of homogenized milk (3.25% butterfat) so I could do a final trial on the production of paneer. I used white vinegar because it's cheap, I have a ton of it in the house and the percentage of acid is consistent for the volume used. My kitchen scale is not digital so the accuracy is low

Comments

[ext_877277]

Curious - I never would have thought there could be such a difference between milks - good to know for future paneer making escapades :D

[a_boleyn]

See the update to the post above.

[anonymous]

Hi Charles, I suspect that it's the fat in the milk that determines how much milk solid would be separated from the whey. Pretty much the same as the ricotta I just made.
Perfect timing Maraia, I have 2L of homo milk left over when I decided not to make the entire recipe of ricotta, just as well, 1lb is a lot of ricotta. The paneer recipes I have seen around all use lemon juice to separate the curds from the whey.
Eva kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com

[a_boleyn]

It's the protein that coagulates when you add the acid so I don't know what part the fat plays but you can't dispute the results. I'll have to do some more repetition in the future.

I'm curious what your ricotta yield is per liter of milk ... I'm too tired to do the math for myself from your recipe, Eva. :) By the way, I use 1 pound of ricotta when I make my spinach and cheese lasagna ... I even add feta cheese to it.

[anonymous]

Hi Charles, I suspect that it's the fat in the milk that determines how much milk solid would be separated from the whey. Pretty much the same as the ricotta I just made.
Perfect timing Maraia, I have 2L of homo milk left over when I decided not to make the entire recipe of ricotta, just as well, 1lb is a lot of ricotta. The paneer recipes I have seen around all use lemon juice to separate the curds from the whey.
Eva kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com

[a_boleyn]

Lemon and lime juice were common in the paneer recipes I saw as well, probably due to ease of availability. However, at times I've had to use more lemon juice than at others or I've gotten lower yields. I wanted to be 'authentic' but I no longer think it's THAT important if white vinegar gives consistent results. :)

[anonymous]

An interesting read about the differences in milk. It's one thing I've yet to get round to making, probably laziness but I really should as I know how good fresh home made paneer tastes. Thank you, you've re-inspried me! Claire

[a_boleyn]

I'd made paneer a few times but never really kept track of what milk I used, acid type or the yield so this was done as much to help me as to inform others. I'm happy to hear that you've been inspired. :) Eva of foodinspirations has inspired me to make ricotta.