Full-fat milk, a splash of cream and three tablespoons of vinegar make a silky, fridge-ready cream cheese in under half an hour — and the whey is great for baking.
A few years ago, I figured out how to make cream cheese and didn’t quite know what to do with this information. What kind of crazy person makes their own cream cheese, no matter how delicious it is? Then again, you could use that reasoning to reject almost anything here (looking in particular at you, marshmallows) and you’re still here. But I suspected this would be a bridge too far. Even food-blogging grandmothers have to stay relevant and who has looked around [gestures to all of these things in this world right now] and said “What really keeps me up at night is the stabilizers in store-bought cream cheese”?
And then the pandemic happened, many of us had more free time than we knew what to do with, the grocery stores didn’t always have what they used to, and when they did, the prices were whack (whoops, so much for “relevance”) and I made it again and what I forgot to tell you, what I should have led with, is that it’s unbelievably easy. I made this in 25 minutes. The only hands-on portion was scraping the cream cheese out of the food processor, and in the case of veggie cream cheese, mincing some vegetables. It requires no fancy ingredients, just regular whole milk, heavy cream, salt, and white vinegar. And it tastes fantastic. Each time I’ve made it, we’ve been kind of shocked at what a match it is for store-bought cream cheese; I’m not sure I could tell them apart with my eyes closed. And in the case of the flavored cream cheeses, so much better. Come on; you should try it at least once.
Servings: 1 cup — Time: 30 minutes — Source: Smitten Kitchen
If you’ve ever made homemade ricotta, farmer’s cheese, paneer, or other fresh cheeses, this process will be familiar. The primary difference with cream cheese is the addition of cream (I use it in my ricotta, but it’s not traditional), the higher level of salt (trust me, it does not taste like cream cheese without this level of salt), and the blending process. This recipe only makes 1 cup; I recommend doubling (using a 1/2 gallon of milk) or quadrupling (with a full gallon of milk) it if you’re serving more than a couple people.
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Whole milk | 4 cups (945 ml) |
Heavy cream | 1/4 cup (60 ml) |
Fine sea salt | 2 teaspoons (11 g) |
White vinegar | 3 tablespoons (45 ml) |
Line a fine-mesh or other tiny-holed strainer with one or two layers of cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl, giving the strainer enough clearance so its bottom won’t touch the bowl once it has 4 cups of liquid in it — if it touches the bottom the cheese won’t drain properly. In a heavy medium-large saucepan, heat the milk, cream, and salt over medium-high heat until the mixture is just below a simmer — it will look foamy and register about 200–205°F. Remove from the heat. Stir in the vinegar and wait 4 minutes, then pour the curdled milk through the cheesecloth. Drain for 10 to 20 minutes; the curds will still be fairly moist but should barely drip from the strainer. Drain time depends on how fine your cheesecloth is; if it drains too much you can always add back a little whey to reach the desired texture. Transfer the curds from the cheesecloth to a food processor or blender and purée until very smooth, a few minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. That’s it — you made cream cheese!
The cream cheese will still be warm and should resemble softened store cream cheese. If it seems too stiff, add whey in 1-teaspoon increments and reblend until the texture is right. As the spread cools it will firm up, but you can use it immediately. Save the whey for other uses, such as soup stock or as the liquid in bread dough.
To make vegetable cream cheese: add 2 tablespoons minced carrot, 2 tablespoons minced scallion (white and green parts), 2 tablespoons minced red pepper (blotted dry), 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, and a couple grinds of black pepper per 1 cup plain cream cheese.
To make scallion-chive cream cheese: add 4 tablespoons finely chopped scallions and/or chives per 1 cup plain cream cheese.
To make lox cream cheese: add 4 tablespoons finely chopped lox, 1 tablespoon minced chives, and minced fresh dill to taste to 1 cup plain cream cheese.
To make strawberry cream cheese (the author’s favorite non-canonical flavor because it tastes like cheesecake): add 2 tablespoons strawberry jam (drained a bit if it’s loose) per 1 cup plain cream cheese.
Do ahead: This fresh cream cheese should keep for about 1 week in the refrigerator following standard food-safety guidance; the author notes plain cream cheese was fine at 2 weeks, but lox cream cheese should be consumed within a few days.
Ingredient notes: Use full-fat milk for yield and texture — lower-fat milks will reduce the yield. For cream, pasteurized is fine but avoid ultra-pasteurized cream that may contain stabilizers (gellan gum). The author used Organic Valley milk and cream and a preferred fine sea salt brand. White vinegar is sold as plain vinegar in the U.K. The author recently started using a machine-washable brand of cheesecloth.
Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
Whole milk | 4 cups (945 ml) |
Heavy cream | 1/4 cup (60 ml) |
Fine sea salt | 2 teaspoons (11 g) |
White vinegar | 3 tablespoons (45 ml) |
Tip |
|---|
Use full-fat milk and cream — lower-fat milks will reduce yield and texture. |
Heat mixture to just below a simmer (about 200–205°F), add vinegar, wait 4 minutes, then strain. |
Drain curds 10–20 minutes depending on cheesecloth fineness; add back whey in teaspoons if too firm. |
Blend the curds until very smooth in a food processor or blender — this is what gives cream cheese its texture. |
Save the whey — it’s useful for bread, soups or other cooking applications. |
