Skim 4 cups cream from fresh, cold raw milk and add to half gallon jar.
Add 4 cups fresh, cold raw milk to jar.
Stir in one packet mesophillic starter culture, continue to stir gently for 10 seconds with a non-metallic spoon.
Cover jar with lid and let sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours (after 18 hours I think the sour cream gets a little too sour).
After 12-18 hours, gently skim cream into a bowl or jar and refrigerate. If it seems a little runny, you can allow it to continue to culture, but it will thicken slightly more once chilled.
Allow the milk to set for 12-24 additional hours (for a total of 24-44 hours).
You should start to see curds and whey, a clear separation of milk solids and yellowish-green liquid. Gently pour curds and whey into a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and place in the refrigerator to strain. Allow whey to strain out for 6-12 hours, or until desired consistency/thickness is reached (I have allowed it to strain for an entire 24 more hours for a nice thick cream cheese, it’s pretty hard to mess up!).
For a smoother cream cheese, allow as much whey to drip out as possible, then pulse the cream cheese a few times in a food processor, or place in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip until smooth and fluffy (see flavoring options below).