Homemade Fresh Minas Cheese Recipe

The popular Minas cheese has been considered a Brazilian Cultural Heritage since 2008 by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan). It is the result of an ancient Portuguese technique of curdling fresh milk. You can make your own homemade fresh Minas cheese easily according to this Specialfood article, see the step by step below!

Ingredients for making homemade fresh Minas cheese:

 2 liters of milk

 1 tablespoon of liquid rennet

 3 tablespoons of salt

 50 milliliters of warm water

 2 cheese molds

How to make homemade fresh Minas cheese:

Prepare your homemade Minas cheese by dissolving 1 tablespoon of salt and rennet in warm water, in a stainless steel container or glass that can accommodate a little more than 2 liters.

In a saucepan, heat the milk slightly, until it reaches a temperature of 33 to 35°C, and add it to the water. Mix and set aside to form a smooth, firm and compact curd (similar to gelatin), which will take about 1 hour.

Tip: If you don't have a thermometer, dip your finger in the milk: the temperature should be neither too hot nor too cold.

The third step of homemade Minas cheese consists of, with a knife, making slow, vertical and horizontal cuts, as in the image, to the bottom of the container. Shake the container slightly, so that the curd mass comes off, and let it rest for another 30 minutes.

Now remove the curdled milk with a skimmer and place it in the cheese tin, pressing down firmly each time you add a new layer of rennet. Retain the serum in another container.

Tip: The whey can be used in place of the liquid rennet the next time you make Minas cheese at home.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt over the curds in the molds, and let it drain for 4 hours, covered with a cloth. After this time, turn the rennet, which should be more consistent, and also sprinkle this side with 1 tablespoon of salt. Let it drain for another 4 hours.

After this time, finally unmold your homemade fresh mine cheese and it will be ready to be consumed. Try it and let us know what you think of this recipe!

If you liked the homemade Fresh Minas Cheese recipe, we suggest you enter our Cheese Recipes category. You can also visit a list of the best Brazilian recipes.

Tips:

To measure the temperature of milk use a thermometer, preferably a dairy/cooling thermometer.

Use the whey from this cheese to make more of the same cheese or, for example, ricotta cheese.

In preparing this cheese, prefer to use quality milk and a good taste. You may be interested to read about the mush recipe / guava ice cream recipe/ chayote benefits blogpost/ kiwi jam recipe/ golden honey recipe.