JANUARY 22, 2023
As part of an ongoing initiative to find cost-effective ways to keep all my dogs in chews, for a less than $10, I made my own take on yak cheese and everyone said “YES, MOM, THIS IS IT!”
How to make fake yak cheese chews with easily sourced ingredients.
Video Link: https://fb.watch/o2AZtWwwB-/
Scalable recipe:
- 1 gallon skim milk
- 1/2 cup of acid (lime/lemon juice, white vinegar)
- ~1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt (optional)
1. Slowly heat milk to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir frequently so you don’t burn the bottom.
2. Remove from heat and add acid and salt. Stir.
2. [The curds will separate from the whey.] As a matter of principle, I let my curds cook for a few minutes to ensure they’ve released alllll their liquid.]
3. Strain the curds into a cheesecloth-lined colander, chinois, or anything else with holes. Alternatively, you can hang the cheese over your sink to drip.
4. I prefer to press it. The more liquid you get out, the harder the cheese. I used a bag of pennies with (2) 10# dumbbells on top and pressed for about 8 hours.
5/6/7. Cut it into strips and bake or dehydrate until they’re fully dried out — only a couple short days of waiting.
- Dehydrator @160 for ~2.5 days.
- Oven @170 for ~1.5 days
In Crazy Town it isn’t practical to make anything by the small batch as the 1x recipe doesn’t even yield enough chews to go around. A 5x batch only cost me about $20 and relatively little effort, so the cost savings is worth the time investment. And for perspective, a single yak chew at Wegmans is over $10. Those …are for rich people.
The dish yield is much higher than with the store bought version, I’ll say, and my pot has to be washed in the bathtub, so I’ll probably not be able to do this on the daily since the bathtub dishes are on a 1-2 week delay.
I’d almost consider giving a kidney for just about anything on this list as my collection has been gifted to various fosters over time and is at an all time low. We aren’t picky and would just as much appreciate your used stuff and/or thrift finds that fit the bill.
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/6ZW2Q7VRU3FV…
XOXOXOXO
And PS don’t throw out your whey — there are approximately 1 million ways to use it.