Fresh cheese

Precipitation with lemon

1. Heat the milk over low heat to 85 ºC. If you do not have a thermometer, continue heating it until it foams.
2. Gradually add the lemon juice while stirring gently.
3. Check that the milk precipitates and continue stirring until the first bubbles appear, just before it comes to a boil.
4. Turn off the heat and let the temperature drop to about 30 ºC.
5. You can leave it to rest until the next day.
6. Line a large colander with cheesemaking cheesecloth or a clean kitchen cloth to remove the whey.
7. Pour all the contents into the prepared colander.
8. Let it drain for 4 hours.
9. Do not press the curd: let the whey drain on its own, because if you press it, the fresh cheese will become too firm.
10. You can transfer the fresh cheese to a perforated mold lined with cheesecloth and let it finish draining by gravity for about 8 hours. Do not press it to force the whey out.

Precipitation with calcium chloride

1. Heat the milk over low heat to about 35 ºC.
2. Add the calcium chloride dissolved in a tablespoon of water.
3. Stir vigorously at first and then stir very slowly, from bottom to top.
4. Let the temperature drop or leave the preparation until the next day.
5. Line a large colander with cheesemaking cheesecloth or a clean kitchen cloth to remove the whey.
6. Pour all the contents into the prepared colander.
7. Let it drain for 4 hours.
8. Do not press the curd: let the whey drain on its own, because if you press it, the fresh cheese will become too firm.
9. You can transfer the fresh cheese to a perforated mold lined with cheesecloth and let it finish draining by gravity for about 8 hours. Do not press it to force the whey out.

Enzymatic coagulation

1. Heat the milk over low heat to about 35 ºC or, if using sheep's milk, to 32 ºC.
2. Add the rennet dissolved in a tablespoon of water.
3. Stir for one minute.
4. Let the covered preparation rest for about 45 minutes; depending on the room temperature, it may take 12 hours.
5. Cut the curd with a long knife, making large cuts: first make several vertical cuts and let it rest for 5 minutes; then make several horizontal cuts and let it rest for 10 minutes.
6. Do not stir the curd.
7. Do not add any salt, because it contains none.
8. Pour all the contents into the colander.
9. Let it drain for 12 hours.

Finer-texture finish

Optional shared guide for obtaining a finer texture.

1. Reserve some of the whey when draining the curd.
2. When the curd has drained and separated from the whey, place it in a glass bowl and beat it with electric whisks or an immersion blender.
3. If the texture is still too thick, gradually add a little of the reserved whey until it has the desired creamy texture.
4. Then, mold it in a perforated mold lined with cheesecloth or let it drain inside a cloth without pressing it.
5. If it loses the whey, it will be finer but dry; if you want it to retain a creamy texture, place it in a container.