Cheese from UHT Milk

Question

I live in a town where fresh or whole milk is not readily available.
I was wondering if I could make cheese from UHT Milk.
If so, what kind of cheese and what method I should use?
Or rather, Should I?

Jolenealaska · Accepted Answer

You can use UHT milk in cheeses that don't contain rennet, basically cheeses that are formed by adding acid to milk, allowing it to curdle, and then separating the whey. Quark, Paneer, Queso Fresco and Ricotta are all cheeses of this type. Opinions differ on whether UHT milk can make good cheese of this type, but it's clear that you can achieve cheese. Serious Eats discusses the use of UHT in Ricotta here. "UHT milk does not work as well as regular pasteurized milk. It has a smaller yield, and the curds do not cling together properly. The results weren't terrible, and would do in a pinch."

Even though Mozzarella can be made without rennet, it has a reputation for being particularly troublesome with UHT milk. Pictures of UHT Mozzarella Fail

UHT Pasteurization denatures the proteins in milk to the point that they can no longer hold the curd shape, they can't fully solidify. So you can certainly try UHT in Ricotta type cheese, you may find it perfectly tasty, but I'd recommend not even trying to make rennet cheese or Mozzarella.

SamBobb · Answer

The self-appointed Cheese Queen, Ricky, recommends making mozzarella from dry-milk powder and added cream if you're in an area where you can only get UHT milk: Mozzarella from Instant Nonfat Dry Milk and Cream.

That may be a better option that trying Mozzarella from UHT milk. Which, as @Jolenealaska points out, is known to be pretty bad.

Alternately, you could try non-rennet cheese -- but my personal experience has been that mozzarella is a lot more fun.

Chris · Answer

Yes, you can use UHT mik to make a rennet cheese.
You would need to use calcium chloride and the double amount of rennet.

Then the curds will be like rice.

You press it, and you have cheese.

Lynn · Answer

I forged ahead with my uht milk (and citric acid and rennet) because that’s what I had just bought (without realizing it was uht). I added 3 litres of uht whole organic milk and some cream and some other 2% milk to see if I could improve the odds. Then I tossed in quite a bit of dried milk thinking this might help counteract the effect of the uht. In the end it wasn’t a flexible mozzarella. I strained it through a fine cloth and then pressed it for about an hour. Tastes fine but it’s not really what I had in mind when I started. Lesson learned!

Answered by Lynn on July 4, 2021

Cheese from UHT Milk

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