Cheesemaking 101

Do you know that you can make your own cheese without turning on a stove or stirring or separating curds from the whey? Well, you can and it's as easy as buying a tub of Greek yogurt and having a little patience.Here is what I learned in the latest edition of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine. Take a tub of Greek yogurt, either whole milk or 2% which is what I used, and put it in a colander lined with a double layer of cheesecloth. Put the colander over a bowl and put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the yogurt. Then set a plate a 1/2 inch or so smaller than the diameter of the colander on top of the yogurt and set a something heavy on top of that, such as some canned food product. Let this sit in the refrigerator for 48 hr. Once it has drained, you get the most lucious soft cheese which can be used in a variety of ways. It has a taste very similar to goat cheese, with that yogurt tang but it is so much creamier and smoother than goat cheese. I used mine as a substitute for mozzarella on top of crackers with basil and tomato, a sprinkle of olive oil, salt and pepper. You could also roll the balls in herbs or perhaps poppy or sesame seeds for an attractive addition to an appetizer plate.