Time to say cheese

Shilpa Gupta of Tttapas clears the airs for us Philadelphia Cheese is like Xerox The product is synonymous with cream cheese Guptarsquos is concentrated yogurt sans any trace of liquid whey or the creamShilpa GuptaWith house gatherings being the flavour of the season fresh cheese platters along with crackers dips and fruits are making their presence felt at dinner tables Last week Gupta sent us a tooprettytodismantle offering of a truffle oil cream cheese coated with mushroom dust and a cranberry and jalapentildeo flavour dusted with pistachio nibs Half a boule she explains is equal to your daily requirement of yogurt or milkldquoFollow the process of making hung curd and attempt a first round of draining the whey in a muslin cloth or a cheese cloth Then you add salt and hang it for another round Add flavour and set it in the boule mould ldquoIn the lockdown I made a dill cream cheese for friends and they egged me on to do more Fresh cheeses are fun innovative and a great party starterrdquo says GuptaCall 7208151262 for Casa Del Cheese and 9321995616 for TtapasLog on to casadelcheese and tttapas on InstagramTips to work with cream cheeseFounder of Casa Del Cheese Dhvani Desai whose bestseller cheeses include Greekstyle feta gooey buttery farmers cheese and even Gruyere shares tips on working with cream cheese gtgt Cream cheese is great for stuffing as well as for spreads Avoid using butter as it can get too richgtgt Cream cheese is a milder creamier hung curd which is on the tangier side and requires more salt Never pair it with a tart ingredient Balance the creaminess with grapes and watermelon or crispy and crunchy texturesgtgt Store it in an airtight container in a refrigerator set between 0 to 4 degrees C in the chiller Itrsquos shelf life depends on this temperatureCooking with cream cheeseZucchini rollups Cut zucchini in long strips Oil it on both sides with extra virgin olive oil Grill it on a nonstick pan on a high heat Once grilled sprinkle salt pepper and oregano After it has cooled down add a dollop of cream cheese roll it up and stick a tooth pick inRecipe by Dhvani DesaiHoney pistachio cheese bouleIngredientsgtgt 1 litre of 337 milkgtgt 34 tsp honeygtgt 50 gm unsalted pistachiosgtgt 14 tsp saltMethodRepeat steps till refrigeration as mentioned in the recipe below Grind the pistachios by hand into a grainy coarse mince Untie and encase the boule in the pistachios Serve with salted crackers or warm buttered breadRecipes by Shilpa GuptaBlack pepper and garlic cream cheeseIngredientsgtgt 1 litre 337 fat milkgtgt 1 clove garlic crushed gtgt 14 tsp salt gtgt 12 tsp freshly ground black pepperMethodSet as curd the same way we make our everyday dahi Refrigerate for at least six hours Tie in a muslin cloth tightly and let the liquid drain out for one and a half hours Refrigerate over a strainer for eight to 10 hours Untie and mix the salt half the pepper and the garlic into the curd Place the mix back in the muslin and roll up into a small ball Retie and refrigerate again for six hours Untie and encase the boule in the leftover ground pepper