Yogurt Cheese

eat. Ziggy has a best friend named Daisy. They have play dates at least four times a week, and can play, play, play, all day long:


Daisy’s human mom is named Julie, and we humans hit it off as well when we met (at the dog beach here in Santa Cruz), especially when I discovered that Julie is as into food and cooking as I am. This recipe (if you can call it that—it’s so simple it’s really more just a “method,” I’d say) comes from Julie.

Spoon half a large container of yogurt into a sieve which has been lined with a coffee filter (Julie recommends using the full-fat, plain Mountain High brand, which worked great for me):


Set the sieve over a bowl, and place it in the refrigerator:


Let it sit in the fridge for two or three days. You’ll notice that the whey separates from the yogurt and runs into the bowl, and the yogurt shrinks and starts getting firm. Here it is after one day:


And here it is after three days:


You can leave it for up to four or five days, but after a while it stops getting any thicker, because all the whey that’s going to, has run out. Here is the cheese dumped into a bowl, with my hand to show the size of the yield (about a cup):


And voilà the whey—a tangy sort of buttermilk—that resulted after three days of draining:


You could use the whey in a smoothie, or in lieu of milk or buttermilk in baking, or simply drink it (I’ve heard it makes good lemonade). But don’t drink it if you’re lactose intolerant, as it’s jam-packed with the stuff.

The resulting “yocheese” is similar to cream cheese, but a little tangier, and apparently has about half the calories and carbs. I’ve been using it in a variety of ways (wheys?):

I made bruschettas by slicing a loaf of French bread and toasting it under the broiler, then spreading the slices with a little tomato paste and yocheese,


and then pesto, and topping it with grated Romano cheese. I broiled them right before service, to melt the cheese:


But my favorite use so far is simply combining the yocheese with the lemon curd I recently made. When mixed together it’s like a luscious lemony-creamy pudding:


This combo is also delicious on toast:


Who knew it could be so easy to make cheese?