Soft cream cheese rolled in oats. Watch this space!

I had some yogurt that needed using up and as I had a fresh batch from my thermal bag this week I needed to think of something else to make with it.

My finished cream cheese, shall I press it or not?

 I recalled a family holiday in the Scottish Highlands, we ate a local cheese (in vast quantities) which was a creamy cheese rolled in oats.  This was what I had in mind when I began this batch of cheese.

Ingredients:

250gm natural yogurt (any kind you like) My 1kg tub was £0.80p so the cheese works out at around £0.20p

optional: S&P, chives, garlic, herbs, chilli

Method:

Jug lined with 3 layers

The yogurt in the muslin

Line a jug with three layers of scalded muslin, jelly cloth (or as I have, old voile curtains)

Pour in the yogurt and tie the top of the baggie closed

Tie the string to a wooden spoon to help suspend it.

Check the 'cheese' is suspended and not dipped into the liquid that immediately drains out, change to another pot if it dips, I had to put it in the cleaned out yogurt pot as my jug was too shallow.

Pop into the fridge 

Check regularly to see that the 'cheese' is not immersed, pour off any liquid (it can be used in baking)

You can leave from 5 hours to 24 hours, the longer you leave it the thicker it will be.

If you wish, you can press the cheese for a further 24 to 48 hours by relining a container with freshly scalded muslin and pouring the cheese back in (you can mix salt or flavourings in at this stage).  Re-cover and put a weight, such as a tin of baked beans on and return to the fridge to press it.  Again, the longer it's left the denser the finished product.

I apologise for the following video nasty, it's really badly shot but shows how to suspend your cheese in it's baggie ready to hang.  It also demonstrates how quickly the liquor pours out.

There!  Watch this space, I will update with the finished article when I've decided how long I'm leaving it, whether I'm going to press it and if it's the right consistency to roll in oats.