Should you have a spare litre of milk, then this recipe is definitely worth

the reward – just over 200g of fresh cottage cheese or paneer.

Ingredients:
1L whole or semi-skimmed milk
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp salt

Rinse a large non-reactive saucepan with cold water and then drain. The
reason I do this is because I find that the milk doesn't adhere to the
bottom of the pan quite as tightly and it is much easier to clean
afterwards!

Bring the milk to the boil in the saucepan. Remove from the heat. Add the
lemon juice and salt. Stir well. Set aside.

After about 5 minutes, the milk will begin to separate into curds and whey
(a watery liquid), although it may take longer than 5 minutes.

Once the curds have completely separated from the whey, strain through
a sieve, reserving the whey.

Don't pour the acid whey down the drain. There are lots of things you can
use it for, from making a tart and refreshing lemonade or adding it to your
bread dough, to making ricotta cheese or using it in a marinade. Jill of
The Prairie Homestead has lots of ideas on using up leftover whey to
inspire you.

Rinse under a cold tap to cool the curd. Push down to squeeze out as
much water as possible. Your cottage cheese is now ready to eat.

Making paneer takes the cheese-making process one step further. Once
you have squeezed out the excess water, put the curds in a clean cotton
tea-towel or muslin cheesecloth. Twist and squeeze the cloth to remove
excess liquid. Put the cloth over a sieve and leave for 3 to 4 hours to drain
further.

Put the cloth and curds on a plate or chopping board. Top with another
plate or board. Add heavy weights, (tins of beans will work). The weights
pressing down compress the cheese and squeeze out those final drops of
liquid. You will be left with a firm cream cheese.