If you’re ever wondered how to make fromage blanc, here’s your tutorial! If you have no idea what fromage blanc is, keep reading! This is what sealed the deal when I was considering a milk share. My friend Holly brought this to work on a few occasions and I couldn’t get enough. She told me it was super easy. She was right!
What you’ll need:
- 1 gallon of raw or store-bought milk (NOT ultra-pasteurized).
- Large stainless steel pot.
- 1 gallon container (sun tea or pickle jars work great).
- Thermometer.
- Starter culture.
- Butter muslin or cheesecloth.
The process:
1. Heat milk in pot to 86F.
If I have a lot of milk in my refrigerator that I need to use up, I’ll double the recipe. Note that I do NOT stir with the plastic thing below, it’s just a thermometer holder.
2. Stir in starter packet, put into containers, and do not disturb for 24 hours.
Notice that if you forget, the directions are right on the packet! Except that I usually let it set for 24 hours, not 12 hours.
My fanch-schmancy jars. Note they really are clean, the labels are just in various stages of coming off.
And since I’m making this on a vacation day, and not after work, I’ll write what time it started on a small slip of paper. If I have a lot of jars culturing at once, I’ll write one for each jar and indicate what’s what. That way I don’t get my kefir, fromage blanc, or other cultured goodies mixed up.
3. Drain your curds into a colander for 4-6 hours.
Or until it has the consistency you like. I rig up a large bowl with another bowl inside to keep the colander off the bottom and to catch the whey (the watery stuff that drains off). Don’t throw the whey away! Here is a link to a list of lots of things to do with it.
4. Add flavorings.
This is the fun part. You can use whatever you wish. Herbes de Provence is a popular choice.
What do I do with it?
- Spread on crackers, bagels, or toast
- Use as a dip for veggies
- Use on top of pasta
- Pipe into tomatoes or mushrooms for an appetizer
- Use any way you would cream cheese
Oh, I’m so excited to see this post! I recently tried fromage blanc for the first time while traveling in France and I absolutely fell in love with it – I’ve been craving it ever since. Good to know that I can make it myself. I will definitely have to try this! Thanks for posting it!
Alrright, so it looks kinda gross but now I’m all curious and I think I need to try it! This is a great post….where else can you get this kind of info?!
Visiting from TILT
ha ha! Yes, it does but it tastes great. And it looks less gross with a dusting of herbs or spices.
Oh yeah. I am so on this. Ordered some cultures last night and they should be here next week. Cannot wait to try this for myself.
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I love your thermometer holder.
Klassy, isn’t it? 😀
I LOVE it!! What does it taste like? Is it as tart as cream cheese? So it’s like kefir & yogurt where once you buy a culture, unless you kill it, you’re good?
I almost always kill my cultures, btw.
It’s not quite as tart as cream cheese. I’d say it’s more like ricotta. And no, with this particular culture you have to keep buying more. Good thing, I always kill mine too hee hee.
Oh, this is GREAT!! I love learning how to make cheeses and things from scratch. 🙂
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i used to live in zaire and rwanda (missionary) and we had to make everything from scratch if we wanted it. i used to make something like this all the itme–we used to call it yogurt cheese. delicious. thanks for posting.
oh yeah, forgot to mention…happy saturday SITS sharefest!!
So happy I stumbled upon your blog. I have had homemade cheese on my to do list for an eternity.
Happy SITS Saturday Sharefest. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!