From Milk to Magic: Cooking Classes at Cherry Grove Farm

Have you ever wondered how to make paneer, ricotta or mozzarella from scratch? Try one of the upcoming classes at Cherry Grove Farm. They are a great opportunity to learn a new skill.

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Where is Cherry Grove Farm?

Cherry Grove Farm is located at 3200 Lawrenceville Rd, Lawrence Township, NJ 08648.

When did the farm start?

The farm began in 2002 on land that was owned by the Hamill family. The farm started with animals such as beef cattle, pigs, sheep and laying hens. It started having dairy cattle in 2005. These are primarily used for their farmstead cheesemaking model made from cattle that can freely graze on its 200 acres.

What can you find at the farm?

The farm has different animals that you can see such as goats, cows and chickens. There is a farm store that sells things such as cheeses made on the farm as well as beef and pork. The farm also has some events during the year as well as cooking classes. When my daughter was younger she loved going to the Cow Parade event at the farm. I found out that if you call ahead to the farm you may be able to find out when the cows are being milked to watch that. When the farm is making cheese there is a window in the store from where you can watch this process.

Our Experience in the Paneer Class

We just attended a Paneer Making Class at the farm. I was born in New Delhi so paneer has always been a big part of my diet. Our family currently cooks it in various dishes once a week. As a kid my mom often made paneer at home, but I had never tried making it myself. I was curious to see what the process entailed.

The class began with the vivacious Sandeep Agarwal. He showed us many spices they used in their cooking that I was familiar with such as turmeric and cumin seeds. I also saw some that I had not used yet such as fennugreek leaves and laurel bay leaves. Soon his wife Nalini Agarwal started to work her magic by helping everyone make paneer out of milk and vinegar.

There were eight of us in the class and there were four portable burners that we were sharing. Each of us had a large pot into which we poured a gallon of milk. After that we had to keep the milk at the right temperature while stirring occasionally. Once it was bubbling the proper amount we had to quickly add two ounces of premeasured vinegar. We had to keep stirring with it on medium heat while pouring the vinegar slowly. We did this until the curds floated to the top of the milk.

Then we had to pour the pot into a strainer with a cheese cloth that was over another pot. The curds were left at the top with the whey at the bottom (this was used for the pigs on the farm and some people took this home for recipes such as pancakes). We had to wrap the cheese cloth up and then put plates on top of it. After about an hour it magically turned into paneer! The curds had somehow come together to form a round block.

While we were waiting for our paneer to be made we were treated to some mango lassi that Nalini had made. This is always one of my favorite drinks. We also watched Nalini cook kadai paneer and rice. While we were watching, Trish (the educator at the farm) brought out a cheese tray with tasty cheeses that had been made at Cherry Grove Farm!

Once Nalini had finished cooking we all ate a tasty meal of her food along with some naan. Afterwards each of us were able to leave with half a round block of paneer as well as a folder with a shahi paneer recipe to try at home. We were also given a ten percent discount at the farm store. We bought some ground beef to take home.

Other Interesting Facts That we Learned

• Paneer is made up mostly of casein proteins. The leftover water from making paneer is whey.

• The heat helps to denature the proteins and the vinegar helps the casein clump together into curds by lowering the pH of the milk. The casein is insoluble in acidic conditions whereas the whey is water soluble.

• Whey is great to feed to pigs, cats or dogs. It can also be used in recipes such as when making pancakes or soups. It contains lactose, whey proteins, vitamins and minerals.

• Whole milk usually contains about 3 to 4% fat. Cream contains 30% fat. Butter contains about 80% fat. Ghee contains almost 100% fat.

• Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.

What are other recipes that can be made at home?

Recipes we often make at home include matar paneer, paneer capsicum, and palak paneer. This is an easy palak paneer recipe that I invented which is easy to replicate since it has some cooking shortcuts. We made it with our paneer that we took home from the class. If you don’t already have a masala dabba at home it can be useful to get if you are planning on making multiple recipes. We put the spices we use most often inside of ours.

Palak Paneer

Ingredients:

Paneer (Make your own paneer after taking this class! You can use the amount of paneer that is made from half a gallon of milk for this recipe. If using frozen paneer we usually use about a third of the Haldiram’s Frozen Paneer 2 lb bag.)

SeaBrook Farms Creamed Spinach (three 9 oz packs/ getting this exact brand matters for the taste of this recipe/ this brand is available at ShopRite)

(For all of these teaspoon measurements listed below they are measured with the teaspoon that came with our masala dabba.)

1 teaspoon of ghee

1 teaspoon of garam masala

2 teaspoons of cumin powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1/3 teaspoon of red chili powder

1 tomato, diced (If you like a lot of tomato feel free to add two!)

1 onion, diced (I usually use a red onion or sweet onion.)

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 inch piece of ginger, minced

Recipe:

1) Start to defrost each of your creamed spinach packs in the microwave. (I cut a slit in the top of each one and put it on a plate and put it in the microwave for four minutes.)

2) Coat an 11 inch frying pan with olive oil or avocado oil. (I use a cooking spray bottle to do this.)

Turn the heat to medium (We have an electric stove and I put the heat between 5 and 6.)

3) Add the cut onions. Let fry for four to five minutes until more clear. Then add the ginger and garlic to fry for a minute.

4) Pour a little more oil on one part of your pan. Add the garam masala, cumin powder and salt. Let them fry for a minute till they look more cooked but they should not burn.

5) Add tomatoes to the pan.

6) Now add fresh paneer that is cut into cubes or your frozen paneer to the pan. Mix everything together with a spatula. Now add your packs of creamed spinach to your frying pan. Add your teaspoon of ghee.

7) Put the lid on and cover while it is being cooked.

8) Stir occasionally. Usually it takes about ten more minutes to be done.

9) Serve with naan. I usually like the Deep Garlic Naan that is frozen and sold in most Indian stores. It can easily be warmed up in the oven. If you already know how to make dal and chaval you can serve your palak paneer with that as well. It also tastes good with toast and butter. I also like to have it with some chopped fresh sweet onion that has been soaked in fresh lemon juice with some fresh dhania leaves.

Other Places to Check Out Nearby

Lawrenceville has one of my favorite Indian stores called Star Big Bazaar. This is a great place to pick up some essentials needed for making Indian food.

Lawrenceville also has the Gingered Peach which has lots of tasty treats. My favorites are the Trenton Volcano Roll and the Petite Queen.

If you like libraries also check out the events for the Lawrence Branch library. They often have great events for kids and adults since this is the Headquarters for the Mercer County Library System. We have gone to fun things such as a Candyland event, guitar lesson, New Year’s Eve party and more.

Hamilton is also not far away. You can check out some of the spots I like there in this article: Hamilton Hot Spots.

Where to Stay

Here is a map of places in the area where you may want to stay:

We met the proprietor of the Inn at Glencairn during the class. Her B&B was on the same road as the farm.

Upcoming Cooking Classes at the Farm

Mozzarella from Scratch

Dates and Times: May 10, 2025 at 2:00 pm & May 17, 2025 at 2:00 pm

Sign up here: Mozzarella from Scratch

Mozzarella Stretch with Burrata

Dates & Times: April 26, 2025 at 12:00 pm/ May 4, 2025 at 11:00 am/ May 18, 2025 at 2:00 pm/ June 8, 2025 at 2:00 pm

Sign up here: Mozzarella Stretch with Burrata

Truffles and Tarts

Dates and Times: May 9, 2025 at 3:00 pm

Sign up here: Truffles and Tarts

Ricotta Making and Meal

Dates and Times: April 27, 2025 at 11:00 am and May 27, 2025 at 11:00 am

Sign up here: Ricotta Making and Meal

Mozzarella Stretch for Families

Dates & Times: April 13, 2025 at 11:00 am

Sign up here: Mozzarella Stretch for Families

Want to have your own private cheese class? Find out information here.

What is Pure Indian Foods?

The couple that led our class are actually part of their company called Pure Indian Foods that has been in India since 1889! They sell organic products such as ghee and spices. They sometimes do other things at the farm such as Farm to Table Dinners. Their products are sold on Amazon as well as in Mom’s Organic Stores, Whole Foods, Whole Earth Center and at Cherry Grove Farm.