If you are looking to get more living probiotics into your diet to help increase digestion and love cheesecake but don’t love spending hours making it – then this is the recipe for you!
You are about to learn an easy to prepare ‘friendly ferment’ that you can enjoy as a crust-less no-bake cheesecake – perfect for breakfast, as a snack or dessert that is full of probiotic goodness to nourish you and your microbiome.
Check out the video and recipe below inclusive of many suggested variations and upgrades you can apply.
INGREDIENTS for Soft Cheese:
This simple dairy cheese is a great place to start for beginning cheese makers, as it is easy to make and results in a very simple, soft, spreadable cultured cheese with a mild flavour.
* 2-4L of local, organic non-homogenized milk
* 1 packet mesophilic cheese culture starter or previous batch of cheese – see method to know how and when to save from previous batch to use as a starter for your next>
METHOD for Soft Cheese:
* Gently warm milk on low to 86 F in a non-reactive pot such as glass, ceramic or other non-metal pot. Remove from heat and add culture allowing it to sit on surface and rehydrate, then gently mix in so the culture is dispersed throughout the milk.
* Cover the the pot and leave to culture for 12hrs at a minimum of 86F or very warm room temperature. After 12hrs the cheese should look like yogurt holding together in a soft clump with some liquid whey having separated around it.
* Strain out the whey from the curds by pouring through cheesecloth or a cloth strainer bag with a bowl underneath. Tie up the corners of cheesecloth and hang this or your cloth strainer bag over a bowl to further drain all the whey for 6-12hrs* until the desired consistency is reached.
* Remove cheese from the cloth and mix in 1 tsp salt to help preserve and add some more flavour to your cheese. You may also flavour your cheese with any herbs or spices if desired at this time.
* Note: 6hrs of draining will give a soft spreadable cheese consistency and 12hrs will be more a cream cheese consistency.
Storage:
* The less whey left in the cheese the longer it will last. The more salt you add the longer the cheese will last. Use these as guidelines for storing your cheese. Without salt it will last about 1 week. Adding the tsp of salt not only increases flavour but gives you another few days of shelf life in the refrigerator.
Fruit Jam:
* You can see my unique method for making Saskatoon berry jam on a previous episode of Easy Upgrades – you can view that by clicking HERE
* Any fruit and any, of course, any other method you have for making jam can work. The best thing about this is you are simply stirring the jam into your cheese or spooning it on top or below the cheese in a mason jar.
Cheesecake with UPGRADES & VARIATIONS:
* You can make your cheesecake as a single serving in a bowl, or take it to go in a small mason jar. Or create multiple cheesecakes in small mason jars.
* Simply add your cheese to bowl or jar to begin.
* You can sweeten and or top with raw organic honey, maple syrup or any other sweetener if desired.
* I have also added a fruit syrup – check out my video on making Chokecherry syrup as well as how to harvest and process this most abundant and tasty wild fruit.
* Try adding vanilla if desired.
* Add any kind of dried fruit like dates or figs, as well as freeze-dried fruits
You can add granola or roasted or sprouted chopped nuts as a topping or a base for the cheesecake if desired. Simply add to bowl or mason jar below or on top of cheese.
