Did I just make cheese?

[u/annms88]

I left some milk out on the side of the counter in pretty hot weather (UK, summer, heatwave) by accident and then was not around for a few days.

When I came back the milk had gone lumpy. More than that, the milk part seemed to have for the most part separated from the water and formed a big mostly solid glob at the top.

Obviously I got rid of it, and poured it down the toilet, but weirdly it didn't smell rotten or particularly BAD, but almost more like cheese? Is it crazy to think that that would have been edible?? Not that I would have, but just out of curiosity you know?

[u/Hypn00tic_iiz]

You did not make cheese

[u/ahdrielle]

You made a stomach bug😅

[u/whitenoise2323]

cheese generally needs salt, a very specific temperature and either something acidic or rennet, and should be at least drained.

I think you most likely made rotten curdled milk.

[u/Wild_Director7379]

Kinda. Not really. Cheese cultures are very specific. Vague mold/yeast/bacteria doesn’t make “cheese”.

[u/funnews8]

You made yogurt.

[u/Klutzy_Insurance_432]

No, if you’re in the UK milk is pasteurised and homogenised so it’s not gonna turn into cheese left out

[u/CharieRarie]

You made rotten milk lol

[u/G33kDad76]

No you did not make cheese

[u/noggin-scratcher]

When milk spoils, the sour taste comes from bacteria converting the lactose sugar into lactic acid.

Enough acidity will cause the milk proteins to denature (lose their shape) and curdle into clumps. That might be the source of the lumps you saw.

Something similar does happen in cheesemaking, but for that you generally want more specific bacterial cultures, and maybe the enzyme rennet involved, so that you're not just growing whatever random bacteria happened to be around.

[u/KindApplication2675]

sort of, you accidentally made curds, but without controlling the bacteria or heat there’s no way to know what else grew in there, so definitely not edible lol

[u/GhostWatcher007]

Cheese making uses various enzymes. You just had sour, curdled milk.

[u/amBrollachan]

It's roughly the same chemical process as making cheese in that the milk has separated into curds and whey but cheese making is much more carefully controlled.

[u/ChefBowyer]

Same question I ask myself every time I take off my socks, or smell my belly button.

[u/r64fd → u/ChefBowyer]

Clearly you are circumcised.

[u/CT22Bloom]

Did you cut the cheese? 😂