Easy Homemade Cheese: Maple Yogurt Cheese

Do you like the idea of making cheese at home but are a bit intimidated to start?  Try  this easy homemade cheese: maple yogurt cheese.  Using homemade or store bought yogurt, you can enjoy homemade cheese today! 

For more simple kitchen tutorials be sure to check out our book, The Do It Yourself Homestead.  If you’d like to see a sample from our Homestead Kitchen chapter, simply email me at Tessa@homesteadlady.com.  To learn more about the book, click below:

Easy Dairy Ferments for Starters

If you’re really interested in learning how to make cheeses, yogurt and other cultured dairy products then you’ll love this recipe.  Sometimes we have a hard time tackling a project as big as “make cheese” on our to-do list.  Don’t get frustrated, just start smaller with yogurt cheese.

You may also try this tutorial for making cultured cream (like sour cream) sometime soon –  click here.

Make Yogurt

The first thing to do is to learn to make a quality yogurt that you really like.  If you’re interested in cultured dairy, you may have already mastered this skill.  If not, here are a few quality homemade yogurt recipes:

• Here’s a simple vanilla yogurt recipe from Reformation Acres – this will make your maple yogurt cheese even tastier
• For a raw milk yogurt recipe, here’s one from Nourished Kitchen – raw is actually what I recommend, but any quality yogurt will work to make yogurt cheese
• If you have an Instant Pot, here’s a good recipe from click here

You can also simply buy yogurt at the store.  I don’t care for the additives found in most brand yogurts but I will buy the best I can find when I need to.  Noosa is a new favorite at our house – simply delicious and healthy!

Make Maple Yogurt Cheese

Culturing (the hanging process described below) can take anywhere from six hours to overnight.  So, plan accordingly.  The actual mixing of the maple yogurt cheese takes seconds.

Print Recipe

Maple Yogurt Cheese

Make your favorite homemade yogurt and turn it into this delectable maple yogurt cheese in three easy steps!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dessert cheese, homemade cheese

Serving Suggestion: 5 people

Author: Tessa Zundel

Ingredients

• 1/2 Gallon Homemade Yogurt
• 1/4 -1/2 Cup Dark Maple Syrup
• Pinch Sea Salt

Instructions

1. Place a cheesecloth over a strainer suspended over a bowl.  Pour your homemade yogurt into the cheesecloth.

   
   

2. Tie up the ends of your cheesecloth and suspend your yogurt over the bowl for eight hours or overnight.

3. Remove from cheesecloth and place your yogurt cheese into a bowl with the maple syrup and sea salt.  Mix thoroughly.

Recipe Notes

This makes an excellent breakfast cheese spread over fruit or toast.  

In warm weather, you may want to culture the yogurt for the six to eight hour period, as opposed to overnight.  Experiment with how strong you like the flavor of your yogurt cheese.  The longer you let the yogurt sit (culture) suspended, the stronger the flavor will be - especially when the ambient temperature is warm.

You can also make this yogurt cheese savory with another pinch of salt and some dried basil.

Make More Homemade Cheeses

When you’re ready, please consider reading The Art of Natural Cheesemaking, by David Asher.  I have several cheese making books, and this is my favorite for straight forward recipes that I feel like I can actually accomplish.

Here’s our review of that book – click here.

For another simple homemade cheese, please try making feta at home – click here to learn to do that.

Yogurt straining picture gratefully attributed to this WikiMedia user.