Yogurt Cheese

I have been making yogurt cheese for years. It is a lot like other fresh cheeses such as fresh mozzarella or ricotta. I mix it with mayonnaise and use it in salads. It isn't hard to make. I have a drip coffee filter that I use. I line it with a paper filter, fill it up with yogurt, set the filter into a container that will keep the filter in an upright position, cover the entire rig with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator over night.

Here is Alton Brown's recipe for it. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yogurt-cheese-recipe/index.html

The liquid that remains is called "whey". Using it up is more of a challenge. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/353018 I substitute it as the cold water part in making jello. I use it in oatmeal. It can be used in any baked-good substituted for the liquid.

I came across an interesting recipe several days ago using the cheese. It preserves the cheese using olive oil. Preserving with oil is just another way to keep things from going bad without refrigeration. For an over view of this (and other) preserving techniques, see http://campfire.theoildrum.com/node/4858

The recipe? Make the cheese. Put about a cup of olive oil into a clean jar. Add garlic cloves to taste (I did about 5 large cloves, but, then I really like garlic). Then create walnut-sized balls of the cheese and add them to the oil, being careful to completely cover each ball with the oil (to avoid having them stick to one another). Once the jar is full, put the lid on the jar and refrigerate.

To use, let it come up to room temperature. The olive oil is going to do that funny thing that olive oil does in the refrigerator.

I am going to use the cheese as a spread on crackers or bagels, or an addition to pasta and marinara sauce (once it is on a plate and ready to serve). And, the oil is going to take on the garlic flavor and can be used in cooking or as a dip for slices of baguettes.

And, I just bet there are going to be lots of other places to use this new way to flavor and save Yogurt Cheese