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Home-made Cream Cheese
Home-made Cream Cheese is a traditional British recipe for a classic creamy fresh cheese made from cream and milk flavoured with cream cheese starter and salt. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Home-made Cream Cheese.
prep time
10 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
30 minutes
Additional Time:
(+draining and chilling)
Makes:
400g
Rating: 
Tags : Milk RecipesCheese RecipesBritish Recipes
The first cream cheese was invented in the USA by William A Lawrence who was attempting to re-create French Neufchâtel cheese. According to the story, around 1873, William A. Lawrence, a dairyman in Chester, New York, was the first to mass produce an unripened fresh cheese known generically as cream cheese. In 1872, he began manufacturing Neufchâtel cheese. By adding cream to the process, he developed a richer cheese that he called 'cream cheese'. In 1877, Lawrence created the first brand of cream cheese; its logo was a silhouette of a cow followed by the words 'Neufchatel & Cream Cheese'.
It's actually fairly simple to make cream cheese at home, and following this recipe you can have your own cream cheese. Note that you will need a non-reactive container for this recipe. Glass is typical, but an enamelled container also works.
Ingredients:
500ml (2 cups) cream
500ml (2 cups) milk
1 package cream cheese starter culture OR (1/8 teaspoon Mesophilic starter culture)
Fine cheesecloth or a tea towel
Salt to taste (optional)
Method:
Combine the cream and milk in a glass or enamelled container then gently stir in the starter culture. Cover loosely (a cloth is good, you need the air to get at the mixture). Then set in a warm (but not too hot) place for 8 to 12 hours (the exact time will depend on the ambient temperature).
The final mixture should resemble Greek yoghurt. When it's reached this stage, turn the mixture into a cheese cloth and tie securely. Hang this over a bowl or bucket and allow the when to drip out for at least 12 hours (the longer it's allowed to drip the firmer your cream cheese will be).
Once drained scrape out of the cloth and into a bowl. Season to taste with salt (this is optional, but adding salt will make the cream cheese last longer).
Transfer to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator.
If you would like to make yoghurt cheese rather than cream cheese then substitute a natural home-made or commercial live thick yoghurt for the cream.
Note, don't discard the whey it's very healthy and is great used in cakes in place of water or added to morning oats. Simply pour into bottles and store in the refrigerator.
