Easy Cottage Cheese
 Cottage cheese - easy as can be and kind of fun to make.  Adapted from Alton Brown... 
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1 gallon whole milk
3/4 cup vinegar
salt to taste
1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream (NOT half & half)
  1. Heat the milk in a stainless steel or enameled pot - do not use aluminum.  Heat until it reaches 120 degrees - do not let come to a boil.
  2. Remove milk from heat and slowly stir in the vinegar.  Continue stirring for about 2 minutes.  This part is FANTASTIC!!  Call the kids to watch!!!  The milk will separate into curds and whey.  Curds being the solid and whey being the liquid.  So fun to watch!
  3. Cover the pot and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes or so.  
  4. Line a colander with a clean dishcloth.  Pour in the curds and whey and let drain for 5 minutes or until all liquid is gone.
  5. Bring the cloth together around your little ball of cheese.  Rinse under cold water for about 3 minutes or until cool.  Make sure to squeeze and knead the cheese all during the rinse.  Squeeze all the liquid out that you can.  Remove from cloth and put it in a bowl.
  6. Add salt to taste.  Stir it a bit to break up any big pieces.
  7. When you are ready to eat it, add a little heavy cream to it.  This will rehydrate it a bit and give it the creamy texture you're used to from store-bought.