Finnish Squeaky Cheese (Leipajuusto)

Time

Ingredients

Ingredients

2-1/2 gal. raw or
pasteurized milk
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tablet of Hanson's Rennet*

Instructions

Heat milk in double boiler to 88°F (but not over 90°). Dissolve crushed rennet in 1 tbsp. of cool water; set aside. In a cup, mix dry ingredients with a small amount of the warmed milk. Add this mixture and dissolved rennet into the rest of the warmed milk. Stir well; set aside to jell. Do not disturb.

Jelling time varies from 20 to 45 minutes. Test by inserting wooden spoon into mixture. When jelled properly, the spoon should leave a clean hole.

When jelled, stir to break up curds into 1-inch chunks. Let set 5-10 minutes until whey separates from curds. Set out a 9-inch round cake pan with a thin, wet cloth draped over it. Pour jelled mixture onto cloth; gather all corners and sqeeze out as much whey as possible. Remove the cloth and firmly press mass into pan.

Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Periodically pour whey out. Broil on both sides until light golden brown. Cool on rack and let dry 1-2 hours. Refrigerate.

Author's Comments

*Available at drugstores.

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4 Recipe Reviews

Gail Frustaglio

Gail Frustaglio reviewed Finnish Squeaky Cheese (Leipajuusto) on April 10, 2003

The cheese turned out great!!Not as solid as the kind I'm used to back home (upper peninsula of Michigan) but it'll do..
thanks :o)

bpapke

bpapke reviewed Finnish Squeaky Cheese (Leipajuusto) on August 19, 2009

My Mom used to make "Squeaky Cheese" many years ago but unfortunately I never watched her make it, but I seem to remember the pan she used looked like a pizza size pan that had holes punched in the bottom of it to help remove moisture from the cheese while baking. I wish I would have paid more attention to it now.

kathyincornwall

This was a great husband/wife Sunday project. It took us all afternoon but we had fun and the finished cheese was really great and VERY squeaky!

denisemn

denisemn reviewed Finnish Squeaky Cheese (Leipajuusto) on January 6, 2011

I just made this today - it didn't set up and I had to recook it some - then flipping it was a nightmare. It stuck in places and kinda fell apart. It looks like the one pictured is cooked on a pizza stone - would that work better? I cooked it in pie tins. Though the taste is fantastic even with all the problems.