You need full fat milk for this. 4 pints gives a decent yield.
I usually make it when I've milk that's on the verge of going over or just has. But you can use fresh milk and start off the process by warming to blood heat in a pan and then adding a little lemon juice or vinegar to get it curdling. I prefer lemon juice to vinegar as the taste is less intrusive.
When the milk has curdled, put a sieve or colander over a bowl, line with a clean tea towel or muslin, and then pour the curds and whey in. You might need to do this in stages depending on the size of your sieve / colander or the amount of milk you have. Let it drip out for a few hours.
Squeeze out about half the remaining excess moisture - the texture needs to be soft and spreadable, so do this carefully. Turn out into a bowl and weigh. Add 1.5 % salt according to the weight of cheese and mix well.
You could use it like this, but I also like to add a finely chopped garlic clove, and chopped fresh parsley and chives. So much nicer than the garlic and herb cheese in the supermarket. Another thing you can do is swirl in some sweet chilli sauce instead of the garlic and herbs, or some cracked black pepper. The possibilities here are many.
P.S. The whey can be used to make bread.
