# Ok - why did my homemade cheese not stick together?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-why-did-my-homemade-cheese-not-stick-together/296824>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 29, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-why-did-my-homemade-cheese-not-stick-together/296824 "2005-03-29T19:53:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-why-did-my-homemade-cheese-not-stick-together/296824/1 "2005-03-29T19:53:03Z")

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I made paneer (Indian-style cheese) using a recipe similar to [this](http://vegetarian.allrecipes.com/az/73715.asp). It tasted just fine, but it was crumbly and wouldn’t stick together. Considering I was trying to make sweetened cheese balls, the crumbly cheese did me no good and caused my boyfriend to turn his nose up at it.

What could I possibly have done wrong? Too much milk? Not enough stirring? Here it says I could add more liquid, and fix it. I didn’t try that at the time, but would that really work? It doesn’t seem like it would.

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**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-why-did-my-homemade-cheese-not-stick-together/296824/2 "2005-03-29T20:11:24Z")

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I’ve never used the buttermilk method, but I did make it a couple of times using a recipe similar to this:

> **[h2g2 - How to Make Paneer at Home - Edited Entry](https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A1143794)**
>
> How to Make Paneer at Home, from the edited h2g2, the Unconventional Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything

It was pretty crumbly, as I remember, but stuck together enough to be cut into cubes after it was flattened. I never tried any recipes that required doing anything other than cutting it up.

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**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\
**Post date:** [March 29, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-why-did-my-homemade-cheese-not-stick-together/296824/3 "2005-03-29T21:15:27Z")

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Never made cheese before, but going from the recipe you linked to and a basic knowledge of food cookery, here is my guess:

Too much water. After it strains the first time, strain it again, maybe this time without the cheesecloth. Or, place another piece of cheesecloth on top of it while it is draining and put some weight on it to squeeze out some liquid.