Make cheese at home.

Boil milk, add acid, drain and press — fresh paneer in under an hour of work.

Hands-on 25 min · waiting 1 h 30 min

Gentle heat and a little acid make soft, sweet curds in about 30 minutes.

Hands-on 20 min · waiting 40 min

A fresh, crumbly, salted rennet cheese — the first step into rennet.

Hands-on 1 h · waiting 2 h 30 min

A slow culture set, gently cooked and washed curds, dressed with cream.

Hands-on 1 h 15 min · waiting 6 h

Salted yoghurt strained thick — see the Fermentation Lab entry and the site's labneh recipe.

Citric acid replaces culture so the curd is ready to stretch in about half an hour.

Hands-on 35 min · waiting 10 min

A rennet curd drained, cubed, salted and aged in brine in the fridge.

Hands-on 1 h 15 min · waiting 1 day 2 h · ageing At least 1–2 weeks in brine in the fridge (commercial PDO feta: 2+ months)

Cultured cream and milk set overnight and drained thick.

Hands-on 20 min · waiting 1 day

Pressed rennet curd poached in its own whey, folded with mint and brined.

Hands-on 1 h 30 min · waiting 2 h

A full day's make with cheddaring, milling and pressing, then months of ageing.

Hands-on 5 h · waiting 1 day · ageing 3–12 months (or more)

Washed curd pressed under whey, brined and waxed, then aged.

Hands-on 3 h · waiting 18 h · ageing 1–6 months (longer for aged gouda)

Ladled curds grow a white bloom in a humid box and ripen over weeks.

Hands-on 2 h · waiting 1 day · ageing About 2 weeks to bloom + 2–6 weeks to ripen

Loose, unpressed curd with Penicillium roqueforti, pierced to grow blue veins.

Hands-on 2 h 30 min · waiting 1 day · ageing 2–4 months (pierce at about 3–4 weeks)