Skip to main content

Paneer - A brief return to cheese making

 I found myself wanting to make cheese the other night.  In particular, paneer cheese.  I've not made cheese in some time and it was for that reason that I decided to stay away from something a bit more complex like my beloved Amish Cup Cheese.  It's so simple that you could have it ready within a few hours.

I wanted to make paneer for a couple of reasons but mostly because it's a simple cheese to make; only needing milk and an acid like vinegar or citric acid.  It's also used in a lot of Indian recipes, and I just happened to have a couple of jars of simmering sauces for two well known Indian recipes in my pantry.  

Since I've been trying to eat more plant based or vegetarian dishes, paneer can be - and often is - used as a meat substitute.   Well many of these dishes are Indian, paneer can be used in a lot of different dishes as well.  

As I've said before I'm more "plant based diet curious" than a vegetarian and there are various shades of "vegetarianism." Depending on your level of commitment, you may not want to use paneer at all.  However for those of us that are trying to eat healthier and a bit more environmentally friendly, this is certainly a good option.

For example, cheese is certainly better than eating beef when it comes to the environment, you are lowering your carbon footprint which is never a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.  However like everything in life, there is a downside.

First however, the good news.  In 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of paneer cheese, you have about 20 grams of fat and protein with only 2 grams or less of carbohydrates.  Since this is a dairy cheese it also contains the nutrients  calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus; and together with vitamin-D, Paneer provides sufficient nutrients available for bone growth.  It may also help in weight loss.

It is also low in lactose and gluten free.   However, since most milk today is created on factory farms, you may also be ingesting hormones and antibodies given to the cows.  Well the US has various regulations in place, this can not be said for other countries and trade is global. 

Paneer is a cheese of many magical powers.  First is that it doesn't melt.  It is also a rather mild "green" cheese, meaning it's not aged, that easily adsorbs the flavors of what ever it is added to.  It can be used in a lot of different ways.  Depending on how it's made it can be fried, cubed or crumbled like a blue cheese into your dish.

While it was originally made from Buffalo milk, it's normally made for cow's milk today.  It was even be made form goat's milk, low fat milk, Half and Half, and even dried milk!  In other words it's a pretty simple thing to make and, well not idiot proof, is close to it. 

If your making it at home, and I highly recommend you do, it can be refrigerated for roughly a week.  If you lightly salt it, you can save it for up to two weeks.    Generally speaking it only takes about an hour to make so it can be used the same day.   In fact, this is going to be part of my lunch today. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

What all the cool kids are reading.

Maybe we need to rethink invasive species???

Hi. As the writer of the post and feel that I need to clarify something. I do not advocate the planting of invasive species. The point that I'm trying to make, and clearly didn't, is that perhaps we should be thinking about an invasive species in a different light. Apples, figs and other crops are clearly non native to America and Europe but are widely cultivated because they have use to humans as a food source, animal feed, etc. Kudzu is an edible plant and although it is clearly harmful can it be used someway by humans? It's a food source, it's been used as a cloth and is showing some use as a building material. All I'm trying to do is to create discussion on how we can use invasive plants in new ways.   It's mid April here in Western Pennsylvania and so far it's been warm and wet.  The buzz of lawnmowers fill the air as I gallivant through my back yard collecting dandelions to make some tea and bread with them.  I had always known that they w
Post a Comment
Read more

Why didn't Erie, PA develop into a bigger city?

          Recently I had to travel up to Erie, PA for business.   It's about an hour north of me and is a rather small city, having just under 100 thousand people living in it.   It played an important role in the founding of America,  - where it was the headquarters for Oliver Perry's flagship Niagara during the battle of Like Erie in the war of 1812 .            It was also a important shipping center, being Pennsylvania's only access to the Great Lakes which was the easiest way to trade with parts of Canada at the time as well as move goods to the cities of Detroit and Chicago, which in the mid to early 1800's were just starting to develop.  It was also directly north from Pittsburgh which was a major industrial city at that time.     Yet Erie never really grew beyond it's humble beginnings and I wondered why.   Like any good sleuth I turned to the internet where I found mostly wrong answers.    Many people thought the port of Erie was to shallow to handle most
3 comments
Read more

Don't leave the rural areas behind.

This blog was started because I had lived most of my life as an urban dweller; I wanted to record my adventures as I tried my hands at different things and I never pictured this blog would become what it did. Country life suits me in some ways.   I'm at a point in my life where I can appreciate looking up into the night sky and seeing thousands of stars, just like I did as a kid.   I just love how the moonlight bathes my beautiful sleeping wife in a creme colored light.   Country life is more peaceful and a lot more hard work than I would have ever expected.  While my neighbors and I may not agree politically or philosophically, my new lifestyle has given me insights on how they view the world. This brings me to my main point.   Here in rural America we simply don't have public transportation, nor do we have a lot of manufacturing or diversity or hospitals or even great education...and if we are going to move forward with a brighter greener future that we all want then we canno
2 comments
Read more