Paneer is an Indian cheese often used in vegetarian dishes with a mild taste and firm texture. It is easy to make at home with milk, acid, and salt.

Paneer is made by boiling and stirring whole milk in a pot, turning off the heat, letting it cool for a few minutes, and adding a dash of acid to make the milk curdle.

After letting it rest and straining the whey, the milk is weighed down to give it shape before refrigeration. The result is a spongy, white cheese with a sugary, nutty taste.

While heat and acid firm up this cheese, adding a pinch of calcium chloride — a whitish salt — before coagulation will improve the cheese yield, making it compact and sliceable.

Making paneer is a great way to avoid food waste if you have extra milk (ideally full-fat and raw) and an acid like lemon juice. It will last for a week or two.