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Paneer, lemon-set home method

Paneer, quick lemon curd · Paneer, Milkslinger batch

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Paneer, a pressed fresh cheese, set by adding yogurt and then lemon juice a spoonful at a time to warm milk, strained, rinsed and lightly pressed.

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Illustrative fresh paneer block with several cubes, showing the pressed cheese form rather than the exact Milkslinger video batch.

A pressed fresh cheese

Paneer is a fresh cheese made from milk and pressed into a firm block that can be cut into cubes. It is acid-set rather than cultured: the sources here set the curd with lemon juice or vinegar, and they do not describe it as a cultured cheese.

This batch is shown by Milkslinger in a video of several easy cheeses. The creator distinguishes paneer from a whole-milk acid-set curd he calls shortcut cottage cheese, so this method is the pressed one.

Setting the curd

The milk is heated gently until it is frothy and steaming, not boiling. Yogurt is stirred in, and then fresh lemon juice is added a tablespoon at a time until the curds separate from the whey. The heat is removed promptly and the pan is cooled with water.

The total lemon juice is not given, because the video adds it a spoonful at a time until the milk responds. Two seasoning fractions in the captions are garbled and are not used here.

Straining and pressing

The curd is strained, rinsed, and pressed lightly for two or three hours, then refrigerated for about an hour before it is cut. The video reports no yield and no storage duration.

Other paneer methods on this site

Other paneer methods on this site use different acids, heats and presses, including a written recipe with half a gallon of milk and a 5 L batch with a heavy press. Those batches are kept separate and not merged into this one.

History

The video and the other paneer methods on this site do not establish a single origin or an earliest date for paneer.

Ingredients

Scaling: source batch only

MilkHeat gently until frothy and steaming. Do not let it reach a rolling boil.
1 L
One litre or one quart in the video.
YogurtStir into the warm milk before the lemon juice.
Amount not stated.
Lemon juiceAdd a tablespoon at a time until the curds separate.
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Added in tablespoons; the total is not stated.
Salt (optional)
Amount not stated
Two seasoning fractions are garbled in the captions and not used here.

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Fresh soft cheese made from milk

Fresh cheese can carry Listeria, and the CDC advises pasteurised dairy. The source does not state the milk's treatment.

Hazard source

Pasteurised milk and refrigerated storage of the finished cheese

Control source

No storage duration is given in the video.

Curd appearance does not establish safety.

  1. Heat 1 L of milk gently until it is frothy and steaming, without a rolling boil.
  2. Stir in yogurt.
  3. Add fresh lemon juice a tablespoon at a time until the curds separate from the whey.
  4. Remove the pan from the heat promptly and cool the curds with water.
  5. Strain the curds and rinse them.
  6. Press the curd lightly for two to three hours.
  7. Refrigerate the pressed paneer for about an hour before cutting.

Places

Unknown

Relationship not established · Place not established

The sources do not establish paneer's origin or this batch's place. Paneer is an Indian-subcontinent fresh cheese in common use.

Location source 1 →

Related

Variants

  • Lemon paneer

    A half-gallon milk batch is coagulated with lemon juice, rinsed and pressed into fresh paneer for sweets or savoury dishes.

Related in the family

  • Aarchi and kurut (Altai dried curd)

    A two-stage Altai dairy preparation: sour chegen is heated into soft aarchi, then portions are drained, pressed and traditionally smoked into firm kurut.

  • Baby-Swiss-style cheese

    A washed-curd cheese with propionic bacteria, warmed by hot water in two steps and then held in a warm room for weeks so the bacteria can form its holes.

  • Beyaz peynir

    Beyaz peynir is a Turkish white cheese matured in brine. Sheep milk, alone or mixed with other milks, gives a close-textured cheese cut into blocks and packed in cans.

  • Brie, cream-enriched

    A cream-enriched Brie with a white bloomy rind and a softening center, made from pasteurized milk with lactic and surface cultures.

  • Brocciu

    Corsican Brocciu is a whey cheese made by heating sheep's or goat's whey with whole milk and salt, then gently draining the flocculated curds. It is eaten fresh or salted and ripened as Brocciu passu.

  • Budz (Hutsul rennet cheese)

    Budz is a traditional Hutsul rennet-set cheese made from sheep, cow or goat milk in the Ukrainian Carpathians, forming a fresh curd that can be eaten, smoked or processed into salted bryndza.

  • Canestrato-style basket cheese

    A scalded cheese moulded in baskets and re-cooked in its forms in hot whey, made alongside a ricotta from the same milk, then acidified, brined and aged for months.

  • Cheddar-style cheese

    A pressed cheese whose curd is cooked slowly, then cheddared: kept warm in slabs that are turned and stacked for hours before milling, salting and pressing.

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Sources