Asiago

Asiago

Writer: Alex

Participants: Alex, Clare

Items: Milk, Flax as Linen

The Mad Millie hard cheese kit came with this recipe for Asiago. Having checked against other recipes (Carroll, CheeseTV) there are some specific discrepancies which are not reflected in either of these batches (having found them after making the cheese).

Discrepancies:

According to some sources (CheeseTV, various websites) asiago is a brined cheese which is waxed. This recipe does not require you to do either.

Asiago is a town in the Vicenza  province of Italy. It is a protected Designation of Origin cheese, which means only true asiago cheese can be produced there. It is a high alpine pastured cheese, originally produced using sheep milk.

Asiago is an unpressed hard cheese, which means that it can be moulded into a number of shapes. It is often used as a substitute for parmesan because of its similar sharp taste, and it's aging time is much quicker (3months compared with parmesans 2years). The flavour of Asiago is indicated through the colour of the wax; Clear or White = mild (1-2 months), Brown = medium (2-6 months) and Black = aged (6-12 months).

Equipment Large pot or water bath Slotted spoon Metal whisk Cheese thermometer Fine muslin cheese cloth (or linen) Cheese mould Cheese mat

Ingredients 6Lt pasteurised, unhomogenised cows milk 1/4 packet of Thermophilic starter culture 2 tablets of rennet (vegetarian in this case) 1/4 cup of unchlorinated spring water 3ml calcium chloride 1 tbsp of cheese salt

Method

• slowly heat milk to 32^oC (around 30mins)
• add calcium chloride
• add starter culture and stir slowly from top to bottom for 1 minute
• cover and leave to rest for 30minutes
• dilute the rennet in the spring water making sure it is thoroughly dispersed
• maintaining a temperature of 32^oC, add rennet to milk
• stir slowly for 1minute
• maintaining a temperature of 32^oC, cover and sit for 1hour (or until a clean break)
• cut the curd into 5mm cubes
• stir with a metal whisk to make sure the curds break into even sized pieces
• heat slowly to 38^oC over 30minutes
• let the curd rest at 38^oC for 40 minutes
• line your cheese mould with the muslin
• gently scoop the curd into the mould using a slotted spoon to remove as much whey as possible
• press firmly into the mould with your hands
• cover with muslin and leave to drain overnight (16hours)
• gently remove the cheese from the mould and undress
• salt top and bottom surfaces and place cheese on cheese mat
• keep at 16^oC turning the cheese every other day
• if mould forms, wipe the surface with a piece of muslin dipped in the brine solution
• a rind should form in 3-4weeks
• keep turning the cheese every other day until mature (2-4months)

Specific Photos

Large round aged and waxed

Moulded heart aged and waxed

The failed round. You can see where the mould worked its way into the pitting around the edges.

Notes

• The initial temperature was easily achieved, however we had trouble with the second rise where the temperature stubbornly stayed at 42^oC.
• The first batch of asiago was very soggy and I ended up salting it twice to help draw out the liquid. It needed to sit on a cheese mat over a tray to collect the excess moisture for a week and a half.
• When the discrepancies between this recipe and others was discovered it was decided that we would wax this cheese as the others call for. At that point it was too late to brine the cheese as the rind was already in the process of forming anyway. In any future attempts at this cheese I will look at including the brining process.
• Whilst the setting milk was overheated, the temperature was still in the working range for the thermophilic starter. So there should be little impact on the final product. 
• Two sets of Asiago were made. The first was firmly pressed into the mould, the second not as firmly. The second set of cheese (one heart shaped and one round) were a nightmare to keep clean and eventually the second round simply failed due to the amount of mould growth. Because the round wasn't as firmly pressed into the mould, the sides had ragged edges which allowed mould to grow and made it very, very difficult to properly clean. This failed round has been saved to be used as part of the cheese glue process because the mould should not pose too much of a problem, unless you eat paste...

Bra cheese

Bra (Tenero)

Writer: Alex

Participants: Alex

Items: Milk, Flax as Linen

The Mad Millie hard cheese kit came with this recipe for Bra. Having checked against other recipes (Carroll, CheeseTV) and it seems a fairly standard.

The type of Bra cheese is named for the length of time it ages. Bra Duro is aged 6 or more months, whilst Bra Tenero is aged between 2-3months. This cheese will be a Bra Tenero. Mad Millie says that this cheese originates from Bra Cuneo a town in Italy and comments from the town itself on the cheese are "it has always been made here, we have never made other types of cheeses."

Equipment Large pot or water bath Slotted spoon Cheese thermometer Cheese press Fine muslin cheese cloth (or linen) Cheese mat large bowl

Ingredients 5Lt low fat pasteurised, unhomogenised cows milk 1Lt pasteurised, unhomogenised goats milk 1/4 packet of Thermophilic starter culture 2 tablets of rennet (vegetarian in this case) 1/4 cup of unchlorinated spring water 3ml calcium chloride 1-2Lt 25% brine solution

Method

• slowly heat milk to 33^oC (around 30mins)
• add calcium chloride
• add starter culture and stir slowly from top to bottom for 1 minute
• cover and leave to ripen for 40minutes, keeping at 33^oC
• dilute the rennet in the spring water making sure it is thoroughly dispersed
• add rennet to milk and stir for 1 minute
• leave the milk to set for 45mins (or until a clean break) at 33^oC
• cut the curd into 5mm cubes using a whisk if required
• slowly raise the temperature to 38^oC over 30minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk making sure the curds stay in 5mm cubes
• line your cheese press with the muslin
• drain as much whey as possible
• gently scoop the curd into the press using a slotted spoon to remove as much whey as possible
• cover with muslin and insert the follower
• press at 5kg for 10minutes
• remove the cheese from press and undress
• using your hands crumble the curd into small pieces in a bowl
• reline your press with the muslin and repack the curd
• cover with muslin and insert the follower
• press at 8kg for 15minutes
• remove the cheese from press and undress
• using your hands crumble the curd into small pieces in a bowl
• reline your press with the muslin and repack the curd
• cover with muslin and insert the follower
• press at 20kg for 24hours
• fill a corrosion resistant bowl with the 25% brine solution
• remove the cheese from the press and undress
• place the cheese in the brine solution for 24hours, flipping ever 6hours for even coverage
• remove from brine and pat dry with paper towel or clean muslin
• place cheese on cheese mat and keep at 10-16^oC
• turn the cheese daily for 2 weeks
• if mould forms, wipe the surface with a piece of muslin dipped in the brine solution
• turn the cheese and wipe with brine once a week until mature (2-12 months)

Specific Photos

 

Aging with a thick rind. You can see the results of crumbling the curd.

Notes

• The recipe calls for low fat milk, or to skim the cream off regular unhomogenised milk. I skimmed the milk removing 1/3 of the cream as suggested.
• This is a mixed milk recipe, but can be made with only cow’s milk or with sheep’s milk instead of goats. Goat’s milk was added to this version.
• The goat’s milk made quite a difference to the curd. Making it finer and slightly more delicate as other recipes suggest.
• Crumbling the curd between pressings was interesting. In the short time of pressing it became quite firm and was difficult to break apart. The second time even more so. The crumbling also seems to have reduced the size of the cheese compared to other cheese with the same quantity of milk. 
• I am very disappointed with myself for not getting any photos of the crumbling process.

Haloumi

Haloumi

Writer: Alex

Participants: Alex

Items: Milk, Flax as Linen

Haloumi is a Cypriot pickled cheese. This one comes from the Ricki Carroll Home Cheese Making Book, and is very similar to other recipes I have seen.

The pickling process means that haloumi keeps for quite some time regardless of the temperature. This allows it to be easily stored and used in hot weather regions, such as Cyprus where it was first made. It has a high melting point, which makes it wonderful for frying in a pan.

Traditionally haloumi was made with sheep milk. As mentioned previously under the Hard Goats Cheese entry sourcing sheep milk is problematic. There are a number of modern recipes made with cows milk.

A number of sources indicate haloumi has been produced in Cyprus since the medieval Byzantium period around 395-11911AD. Florio Bustron mentions halloumi specifically in 1554AD.

Equipment Large pot or water bath Slotted spoon Cheese thermometer Colander Fine muslin cheese cloth (or linen) Large bowl Cheese press

Ingredients 6Lt unhomogenised cows milk 1 tablet of rennet 3/4 a packet of Mesophilic starter 100g cheese salt 3ml calcium chloride 1/4 cup of unchlorinated water Brine: 900g of cheese salt 4Lt cold water

Method

• slowly heat milk to 30^oC (around 30 minutes)
• add calcium chloride and gently stir for 1 minute
• add starter culture and stir slowly from top to bottom for 1 minute
• dilute rennet in unchlorinated water and add to milk
• cover and leave to ripen at 30^oC for 45 minutes
• When you achieve a clean break, cut the curd into 1/2 inch cubes
• slowly increase the temperature to 40oC (2o every 5 minutes) stirring gently to the curd does not matt.
• maintain 40oC for 20 minutes
• line your colander with the muslin
• gently scoop the curd into the muslin using a slotted spoon, reserving the whey
• line your cheese press with muslin
• transfer the curd from the colander to the cheese press
• cover with muslin, add the follower and press for 1 hour at 13kg
• remove the cheese, undress, flip and redress.
• put back into the press (with muslin and follower) for 1/2 hour at 22kg
• remove from press and undress
• cut the cheese into 3inch cubes
• heat the reserved whey to 80-90^oC
• place the curd in the whey and soak for 1 hour
• when the curd is the look of poached chicken remove and strain into a colander
• allow to cool for 20 minutes
• sprinkle the curd with 100g of salt and further cool for 2-4 hours
• combine 900g of salt and 4Lt of cold water to make brine
• add the cheese to the brine
• cheese will keep up to 60 days.

Specific Photos

Reserving the whey for cooking the pressed cheese in

Final product in brine and fried for taste testing. Yum!

Notes

• Temperature control is not my friend. Initially rose to 38^oC during ripening because I did not close the curtain (the sun was at the right/wrong angle and kept warming the pot). I finally noticed and managed to get the temperature back to 32^oC, which was still a little high but much better.
• The original recipe calls for 1/2 a tablet of rennet. After letting the milk ripen for 1.25 hours without it setting I decided to add the other half of the tablet (most of my other recipes as well as the instructions on the rennet tablet packet say that 1 tablet should be used for 4Lt of milk). After doing this, it took an additional 25 minutes to ripen to a clean break.
• The final pressing of the cheese calls for 22kg. My little press is only marked to 20kg, so I guesstimated where 22kg would be.
• Haloumi is both a salted and brined cheese, which can make the final product quite salty in taste.
• The brine that this recipe calls for is the same ratios as the brine for soaking the Gouda and other hard cheeses. I am a little perplexed as to why it calls for a cold brine infusion, rather than make it the day before and allow it to cool overnight, but followed the instructions anyway. Next time I think I will make the brine the day before to save the tediousness of making it cold (took an hour to infuse). 
• Tasting the cheese in the end was very salty, which was expected. We fried a batch without washing/rinsing and also fried a batch rinsed. The rinsed batch was certainly less salty, and I would think that letting it soak in clean water for a half hour before frying would reduce the salt content considerably again.

Hard Goats Cheese

Hard Goats Cheese

Writer: Alex

Participants: Alex, Clare

Items: Milk, Flax as Linen

Farmhouse Recipes by Mary Blackie is the source for this recipe. Having checked against other cheese recipes (Carroll, Mendelson) and it follows a fairly standard/expected order.

Goat or sheep milk cheese would have been amongst the first cheese made (as discussed). This hard version represents the period when goats/sheep cheese was the primary manufactured product after rennet had been discovered.

There was a wish to try this recipe as both sheep and goat milk versions, however sourcing sheep milk is difficult. There is a sheep farm which sells sheep milk near Murrumbateman, however it was out of season for this pentathlon item timeframe. Goat’s milk is available off the shelf in the supermarket all year round.

Equipment Large pot or water bath Slotted spoon Cheese thermometer Cheese press Fine muslin cheese cloth (or linen) Cheese mat Cheese wax

Ingredients 3Lt pasteurised, unhomogenised goats milk 1/8 packet of Thermophilic starter culture 1 tablet of rennet (vegetarian in this case) 1/4 cup of unchlorinated spring water 1.5ml calcium chloride 2 tbsp cheese salt

Method

• slowly heat milk to 32^oC (around 30mins)
• add calcium chloride
• add starter culture and stir slowly from top to bottom for 1 minute
• dilute the rennet in the spring water making sure it is thoroughly dispersed
• add rennet to milk
• cover and sit for 40mins (or until a clean break)
• cut the curd into 1-inch cubes
• let the curd rest for 10-15 minutes
• slowly raise the temperature to 38^oC (about 25 minutes), stirring constantly
• remove from heat and drain as much whey as possible
• let the curd rest again for 10-15 minutes
• drain any whey that has formed
• add cheese salt and gently stir
• line your cheese press with the muslin
• gently scoop the curd into the press using a slotted spoon to remove as much whey as possible
• cover with muslin and insert the follower
• press at 7kg for 24hours
• remove the cheese from the press and undress
• place cheese on cheese mat and keep at 16^oC
• turn the cheese daily until a rind is formed
• if mould forms, wipe the surface with a piece of muslin dipped in the brine solution
• once the rind has formed wax the cheese
• turn the cheese every other day until mature (1-2 months)

Specific Photos

 

Cleaning the excess from around the edges for a clean round

 

Colour comparison to the Bra (mixed goat and cow milk) and to the Asiago (cow milk)

Notes

• Several books and recipes mention to be very careful of goats milk curd as it is very delicate.
• The curd took a little longer to form than the recipe suggested and the curd was definitely very delicate and distinctly different to the cows milk cheeses. It broke much more easily when stirred or disturbed.
• We ended up over heating the setting milk to about 45^oC. The curd still formed but I suspect that it was not as clean a curd as would have formed if the temperature was correctly adjusted. The end curd was soggy and broke up into very fine pieces. This made the pressing a little difficult as it tended to bulge out the side of the muslin slightly.
• Whilst the setting milk was overheated, the temperature is still in the working range for the thermophilic starter. 
• This cheese is very white in comparison to the cows milk cheeses (which are more yellow).