00:00Your tub of Philadelphia in your fridge costs $4.49 for 8 ounces.
00:04Today, I'm going to teach you how to make the same amount for about a dollar with milk and lemon.
00:08I've made this every Sunday with my dad for 3 months now and I am never going back.
00:12And later, I will show you the 10 second blend that makes it taste like the store tub
00:15plus the salty leftover liquid that bakes into bakery level bread.
00:19Pour 4 cups of whole milk into a heavy pot and turn the burner to medium.
00:22That is step 1 and you are already halfway done.
00:25Whole milk from Walmart.
00:26Great value is $3.68 a gallon in September 2026.
00:31So those 4 cups cost you 92 cents.
00:35Add a quarter teaspoon of salt later.
00:37Tablespoon of lemon juice now.
00:38And you are at about $1.05 total for 8 ounces.
00:42Philadelphia.
00:43Original 8 ounce brick is $4.49 at Target.
00:46$4.79 at most grocery chains.
00:49Same quantity.
00:50One quarter the price.
00:51No gargum.
00:52No locust bean gum.
00:53No anatomycin preservative.
00:54Watch what happens as that pot warms.
00:56Milk looks smooth.
00:57But it is really thousands of tiny protein bundles called casein micelles floating in water.
01:02Think of them like little wool balls with a negative charge that makes them repel each other.
01:07Heat loosens them.
01:08Acid cancels the charge.
01:09When both hit together, the balls grab each other and squeeze out water.
01:13That is curd and whey.
01:14Cheese is not manufactured.
01:16It is milk falling apart on purpose.
01:18Stir slowly while it heats and keep a thermometer in there if you have one.
01:21You want 185 degrees Fahrenheit.
01:23Just steaming with tiny bubbles around the edge.
01:26Never a rolling boil.
01:27Boiling makes rubbery curds.
01:29If you do not have a thermometer, wait till it steams hard and the surface shivers.
01:33That takes about 8 to 10 minutes on most stoves.
01:35Now squeeze in 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or plain white vinegar.
01:39Store brand lemon juice is $2.48 for a 32 ounce bottle at Walmart.
01:44So those 2 tablespoons cost 7 cents.
01:46Stir once, slowly, one full circle.
01:49Then stop and turn the heat off.
01:51Leave it alone for 10 minutes.
01:52Do not keep stirring.
01:53I know it looks like sweet soupy milk.
01:55Give it those 10 minutes.
01:56When you come back, it will look completely different.
01:58White clouds floating in thin yellowish liquid.
02:01That yellow liquid is whey.
02:03The white clouds are your cream cheese.
02:05That separation is the whole recipe.
02:07William Lawrence figured out the commercial version of this in Chester, New York in 1872.
02:12He was trying to copy a French cheese called Neuchâtel, added extra cream to the curd, and called it Philadelphia.
02:18Because Philadelphia had a reputation for top quality dairy in the 1800s.
02:23Kraft Heinz still makes it there today with milk, cream, salt, gar, and carabine gum.
02:29And Natomycin to stop mold.
02:30Line a strainer with cheesecloth and set it over a big bowl.
02:34Amazon sells a 3-pack of unbleached cotton cheesecloth for $5.99.
02:38And one sheet lasts for dozens of batches if you rinse it.
02:41No cheesecloth in the house.
02:43A clean cotton pillowcase works.
02:45A paper coffee filter works.
02:46It just drains slower.
02:48Pour the whole pot in gently.
02:50Save every drop of that whey in the bowl.
02:51Looks like dishwater.
02:52It tastes lightly salty and lemony, and it is pure protein and minerals.
02:56Let it drain 30 minutes for soft, spreadable tub style.
02:5960-90 minutes for firm, brick style.
03:01Time is texture.
03:03Half an hour leaves more moisture for bagels.
03:05An hour and a half squeezes out more whey for slicing and cheesecake.
03:08I drain mine 45 minutes because I like it to hold a peak, but still spread without tearing toast.
03:13Scoop that warm drained curd into a blender or food processor.
03:16Add a pinch of salt, about one-eighth of a teaspoon, and one tablespoon of the whey back in.
03:21Blend 10 seconds.
03:23Stop.
03:23Scrape.
03:24Blend 10 seconds again.
03:25That second blend is the Philadelphia trick.
03:27Factory blades shear the curd until the fat re-emulsifies completely smooth.
03:32Your home blender does the same thing.
03:33If it looks crumbly, add whey half a teaspoon at a time.
03:36If it looks runny, you added too much.
03:38You cannot fix runny, except by draining again.
03:41So go slow.
03:42Taste it warm.
03:42It should taste clean, milky, faintly tangy, lightly salty.
03:46Chill it two hours in a sealed container and the flavor deepens.
03:49Cold firms the butterfat and rounds off the lemon edge.
03:52That is why store tubs taste milder the next day too.
03:55A four cup batch makes almost exactly eight ounces, one full cup.
03:59It keeps seven to ten days in the fridge at 38 degrees.
04:01Use pasteurized whole milk, not raw, and wash the pot, strainer, and jar with hot soapy water.
04:07Acid plus heat kills most.
04:09Things.
04:10Cold storage handles the rest.
04:11If you are getting value here, hit subscribe.
04:13I put the extended flavor math, and members only test batches up for channel members every month.
04:18Things like smoked salmon, spread, cost breakdowns, and three store colognes side by side.
04:22That salty whey you saved is where the second payoff lives.
04:25Do not pour it down the sink.
04:27One batch gives you about three cups.
04:29Use one cup in place of water and pancake mix, bread dough, pizza dough, or mashed potatoes.
04:33The protein browns faster and the crumb stays soft for days.
04:37My sandwich loaf with one cup whey instead of water tastes like a six dollar bakery loaf.
04:42Freeze the rest in ice cube trays.
04:43Each cube is two tablespoons.
04:45Perfect to drop into smoothies or soup for extra protein without powder.
04:49Let me kill four myths, because the label makes this seem complicated, and it is not.
04:53Myth one.
04:54You need heavy cream.
04:55You do not.
04:55Philadelphia adds cream to raise fat to about 33%.
04:58Whole milk is 3.25% fat, but once you drain off three cups of watery whey, the solids left
05:04behind concentrate to about 30-32% fat.
05:07Same richness.
05:08No four dollar pint of cream needed.
05:10If you want extra decadent, replace one cup of milk with one cup of half and half.
05:13Cost goes up 60 cents.
05:15Fat goes up about 4 points.
05:17Totally optional.
05:18Myth two.
05:19You need rennet or live cultures.
05:20Hard cheeses need rennet to lock protein tightly for aging.
05:23Fresh acid cheese does not.
05:25Lemon juice drops pH to about 4.6.
05:28The exact point casein loses its charge and clumps.
05:31Vinegar does the same.
05:32Bottled lemon, fresh lemon, white distilled vinegar at $3.28 a gallon all work identically.
05:38Pickles do not need a lab.
05:39Neither does this.
05:40Myth three.
05:40The store tub is fresher, pure.
05:42Flip a Philadelphia tub over.
05:44Milk, cream, salt, plus carob bean gum, guar gum, natamycin.
05:48Those gums hold water so the tub stays firm for 90 days in a truck and on a shelf.
05:52Your version holds for 10 days because it has no gums.
05:55That is fresher by definition.
05:57The slight grain you sometimes get in homemade is just underblended curd.
06:00Blend longer, add a touch more whey, it goes away.
06:03Myth four.
06:04Any milk works.
06:04Skim fails.
06:05Ultra pasteurized often fails.
06:07Skim has no fat to give it body, so you get ricotta dust and water.
06:11Ultra pasteurized milk is heated to 280 degrees at the plant, which pre-scrambles the proteins,
06:16so they cannot clump cleanly.
06:17Buy regular pasteurized whole milk in a jug.
06:19Great value.
06:21Kirkland, Dean, any regional dairy.
06:23Check the label.
06:24If it says ultra pasteurized, put it back for cereal and grab the regular jug for cheese.
06:28Your lawn cannot read.
06:29The logo applies to bagels, too.
06:31Your bagel cannot read Philadelphia.
06:33Where to buy this without overthinking it?
06:35Milk.
06:35Any grocery store.
06:36$3.50 to $4.20 a gallon for store brand in most states.
06:42Lemon juice.
06:42Real lemon 30, 2 ounce, $2.48 at Walmart.
06:46Lasts 25 batches.
06:48Cheese cloth.
06:48Amazon high wear unbleached, 3 pack, $5.99.
06:52Or Walmart mainstays, 2 pack, $4.12 in the canning aisle.
06:55Fine mesh strainer, $8.97.
06:57Mainstays, 8 inch.
06:59You already own one for pasta.
07:00Thermometer optional.
07:01Thermo Pro instant.
07:02Read $12.99 on Amazon.
07:05Nice, but not required.
07:06Total startup.
07:07If you own nothing, is under $15.
07:09And after that, each batch is about $1.
07:11Three fast variations once you nail plain.
07:13Garlic herb that copies the $6.29 Philadelphia garden vegetable tub.
07:18Mince one small garlic clove, very fine.
07:20Chop a tablespoon of fresh dill or chives.
07:22Stir into one finished cup with an extra pinch of salt.
07:25Cost adds $18.
07:26Tastes stronger than store because the herbs are fresh, not dry dust.
07:30Whipped tub style.
07:31Add two extra tablespoons whey before the final blend and whip 30 seconds longer.
07:36You fold in air and water.
07:37Volume jumps about 20%.
07:38Spreads like soft butter.
07:40Use within five days because extra moisture shortens life by a couple days.
07:44Dense New York cheesecake base.
07:46Drain 90 minutes until crumbly dry.
07:48Blend with two tablespoons sugar per cup and one egg yolk when baking.
07:50Bakery cheesecake uses extra gum to survive freezing.
07:53Yours?
07:54Baked fresh.
07:55Needs none of it.
07:55One 8-ounce homemade batch plus half a cup sugar, plus two eggs, plus a graham crust
08:00makes a 7-inch cake that slices clean after chilling overnight.
08:04Math for a year because this is where it stops being a fun experiment.
08:07One tub a week at $4.49 is $233.48 a year.
08:14One homemade batch a week at $1.05 is $54.60 a year.
08:19You save $178.88.
08:21Two tubs a week for a family that packs lunches.
08:25Store cost $466.96.
08:28Homemade $109.20.
08:31You save $357.76.
08:34Even if milk jumps to $5 a poise gallon.
08:37Your per batch cost is $1.32.
08:40Yearly $68.64.
08:42Still $165 cheaper.
08:44The pot, stove, and 50 minutes hands on time do not change.
08:48If that saves you $180 this year and helps you make the most delicious cream cheese ever,
08:53share it with someone still buying three tubs every month.
08:55See you in the next one.
Comments