How to Make Paneer Cubes at Home

Fresh cow's milk cheeses are some of the easiest to make. Cottage cheese, ricotta, farmer's cheese and paneer, to name a few, all use the same cheese-making method: coagulating milk with a food acid. For example, paneer, an Indian cheese cut into cubes and used in kormas and curries, is almost identical to ricotta, farmer's and cottage cheese, except it doesn't contain salt and the curds are pressed into a wheel. Once you know how to make paneer, you can make just about any cheese at home by using different acids, introducing a beneficial bacteria, adding salt or aging it.

Things You'll Need

Candy thermometer
Heavy-bottomed pot
Whole milk (not UHT-pasteurized)
Freshly squeezed lemon juice or distilled white vinegar
Slotted spoon
Fine-mesh sieve

Cheesecloth
Bowl
Food-storage container
Rimmed plates
Kitchen knife

Instructions

Attach a candy thermometer to a heavy-bottomed pot and add whole milk to it. Pasteurized whole milk works best, but you can use two percent. You can't, however, use Ultra High Temperature, or UHT-pasteurized, milk, because it won't separate and coagulate.
Place the pot over on the stove over medium heat. Check the temperature regularly as it slowly climbs. Adjust the heat as needed so the milk reaches a final temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit and turn the burner off. If you have an electric burner, take the pot off of it.
Pour freshly squeezed lemon juice or distilled white vinegar in the milk and gently stir it a few times using a slotted spoon. Use a proportion of 1/2 cup of acid for every gallon of milk.
Set the milk aside until the solids coagulate and separate from the whey, about 10 minutes. Stir the milk to check if all the milk separated. If not, add an additional tablespoon of acid and give it about five more minutes.
Line a fine-mesh sieve with a couple layers of cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Lift the largest curds from the pot of milk with the slotted spoon and place them in the strainer.
Pour the rest of the whey and coagulated milk in the sieve. Let the cheese drain for about 10 minutes.
Bring the corners of the cheesecloth together and use the wringing method to squeeze the remaining whey from the cheese.

Wringing is a technique used in dairy production in which you bring the corners of the cheesecloth together and twist the dairy product, in this case cheese, to wring out the water.
Transfer the whey to a food-storage container and reserve it for another use, if desired.
Place the cheesecloth-wrapped ball of paneer on a rimmed plate and place another plate on top of it. Press the paneer until it measures 1 inch thick.
Place about a pound or two of weight on top of the plate and let it sit for two to three hours. A few unopened cans of food work well for pressing.
Pour off the liquid from the plate and unwrap the paneer. Cut the paneer in half horizontally with a kitchen knife.
Place the two halves of the paneer cut-side down on the work surface. Score the top each half at 1/2-inch intervals crosswise and then lengthwise using a kitchen knife to create a grid pattern.
Cut the paneer into 1/2-inch cubes using the grid pattern you scored on it as a guide. Store the paneer cubs in an airtight food-storage container until ready to use. You can keep paneer for about three days in the refrigerator.

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