March's Challenge - Double your Pleasure, Double your Fun!

We are all of us getting a little winter-weary and dreaming of spring. 

And with spring comes re-organization. 

Even here at Forging Fromage!

Yes, we are expanding in our repertoires. 

Not only will we be encouraging each other in our fromage forging, but in other DIY kitchen projects such as growing, preserving, charcuterie, and fermenting as well.

This is our year forgers - we are moving forward!

This year we are witches and goddesses and earth-mamas of our kitchens. 

(And all the necessary masculine equivalents for those gents who want to play along!)

Are you ready? Great!

March's Forging Challenges:

Goat's Milk Faisselle and Spiced Orange Slices

We are making a fresh goat's milk cheese and serving it with our own (water-bath) canned orange slices. Delicious!

Goat's Milk Faisselle

Ingredients:

• 6 goat's cheese moulds
• Flat-bottomed baking dish

1 quart goat's milk
Pinch mesophilic culture
2 drops liquid rennet

1. Sterilize all equipment. In a large ss pot over medium heat, warm milk to 86°F, stirring gently to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. 
2. Sprinkle culture over surface of milk and let stand for about 5 minutes to rehydrate. Using skimmer and an up-and-down motion, gently draw culture drown into milk without breaking surface of milk. 
3. Dilute rennet in 1 tbsp col water. Add to milk and, using the same up-and-down motion, draw rennet down into milk until well blended. Cover and let set at room temp in a draft-free location for 12 hours. 
4. Place moulds in a flat-bottomed baking dish. Using skimmer, gently ladle curd into moulds, taking care not to bread up the curd. The whey will begin draining out of the holes in the moulds right away and will collect in the dish. 
5. As soon as the curd has drained down below the tops of the moulds, cover the dish and place in the refrigerator. The faisselle is ready to use ans soon as it has drained to your desired texture. The longer it drains, the firmer it will become (because the moulds are sitting in the whey, it will stay fairly moist). Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To remove, unmould onto a plate. 

Makes 6 cheeses, each 3-4 oz.

Moulds - I am going to use my couer a la creme moulds and line them with cheesecloth.


And to go with it....... A seasonal canning recipe...

Spiced Orange Slices

Ingredients:
4 large oranges
8 cups hot water
1 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup each: cider vinegar and water
¼ cup corn syrup
8 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods
4 cinnamon sticks, 3 inches long
½ tsp peppercorns

1. Combine whole unpeeled oranges, 8 cups hot water, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring  to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until fruit is tender. Drain oranges, discarding liquid, and cool. 
2. Cut oranges in half crosswise and then into very thin slices. 
3. Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, vinegar, water, corn syrup, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Stir over high heat until sugars have dissolved. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add orange slices, cover, and cook gently for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove and discard cardamom and cinnamon. 
4. Remove hot jars from canner. Remove orange slices from liquid with a slotted spoon; pack into jars. Pour liquid and whole cloves over oranges to within ½ inch or rim (headspace). Process 10 minutes for ½ pint (250ml) jars and 15 minutes for pint (500ml) jars as directed for water bath canning. 

Makes 4 half-pint (250ml) jars.

New to canning? Get the safety facts down before starting.  
Information on safe canning here.


Recipe sources:

---

1. Natashyas Spiced Orange Slices and Faisselle 2. Heather's Faisselle & Spiced OJ Slices 3. Foodycat

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October's Cheesy Challenge - Greek Island Mizithra

Greek Island Mizithra
adapted from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes

3 quarts whole milk
1 tbsp pickling (canning) or kosher salt
½ tsp liquid rennet

Sterilize all equipment.
In a large stainless steel pot, heat milk gently to 90°F, stirring gently to prevent scorching.
Remove from heat and stir in salt

Dilute rennet in ¼ cup cool water. Add to milk and, using an up-and-down motion, draw rennet down into milk until well blended. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour, or until a firm curd has formed.

Using a whisk, gently break up curd, stirring until curd pieces are approximately ½ inch in size. Let stand for 2-3 minutes. Using skimmer, stir gently for 5 minutes.

Gently pour curd into a cloth-lined colander and let drain for 1 hour. Scrape cheese into center of cloth. Gather the four corners of the cloth together and tie to create a bag. Hang the bag and let drain over a bowl or the sink for another 5 hours at room temperature. Place a colander in a bowl; place bag in the colander and let drain in the refirgerator for another 12 hours. Twist the cloth tighter from time to time to aid draining.

Remove cheese from cloth and place in a bowl. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


There you have it! October's cheesy challenge. Here is a link to the book if you wish, you can use the recipe we provided or one of your choosing. There are many variations of Mizithra.

Link up to the October linky when you have some great cheese to share!

Want to suggest recipes for Forging Fromage? Just let us know! 

email us at forgingfromage at live dot com

How are your colby and cheddar doing? Mine are still hanging out, suffering benign neglect in my beer fridge. The colby should be ready soon!

Challenge: Ricotta Salata

Our newest Cheesy Challenge is going to be Ricotta Salata.  Ricotta Salata is a sliceable cheese with a texture similar to Romano, but it is not nearly as complex...as it doesn't get better with age.  It should be eaten within a week or so.  Basically you use the curds you get from making Ricotta (loose, fresh cheese) and press and salt them.

If you've never made a basic Ricotta, well then...this is your chance to knock out two cheesy challenges at once!  As usual, you are welcome to use any recipe or method you choose...but I'll go ahead and give you one just in case you don't have one that you already like...or are just too lazy to go looking. No shame in that...it's like I'm talking to myself. I'll start with a Ricotta recipe...gotta start with the basics...and then move on to the Ricotta Salata. Lots of people who are already into making cheese make Ricotta with the whey left after making another cheese...great! Use your chosen method for making Ricotta...then skip down the the Ricotta Salata!

Ricotta Cheese

from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon

yield: 1¼ c.

8 c. whole milk

1 tsp. citric acid

¼ c. water

2 Tbs. half & half

1 tsp. kosher salt

Pour milk into saucepan.  In small bowl, dissolve citric acid in water, then add it to the milk and set over medium heat.  Stir to distribute the acid evenly.  When temperature of milk reaches 190° F (~15-20 mins.), turn off the heat.  Do not stir or disturb the milk and let sit for ~10 mins. to allow curds and whey to separate.

Gently strain solids from the liquids in a fine mesh sieve.  Don't press or squeeze at all.  Once most of liquid has dripped out, move the curds to a bowl and toss with cream and salt.

Store, covered, in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

fresh Ricotta is loose like this photo credit

NOW that you have fresh Ricotta cheese....let's turn it into Ricotta Salata!

Ricotta Salata

from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon
yield: 1 (6-8 oz) cheese

1 1/4 c. Ricotta Cheese Curds
4 tsp. kosher salt, or more if needed

Pour the cheese curds into a cheese press and press at room temperature for 3-4 hours, until solid.  Once the cheese has come together, gently coat the exterior w/ 2 tsp.of the salt (or more), then wrap in a clean kitchen towel.  Place wraped cheese on a plate, and refrigerate for 2 days.

Remove cheese from fridge, rub with 1 more tsp. salt and replace cloth with a clean cloth.  Let sit another 2 days.  Repeat once more; cheese should be quite firm.

Once it's ready to eat, brush off as much of the salt as possible, and slice from center out-as you would a pie. Enjoy immediately.

Ricotta Salata photo credit

*Okay Forgers...Cheese on!  

Link up to the current month's linky post (which can always be found via link on sidebar) once you've made it and posted on your blog!

July's Cheesy Challenge - Cloth-Banded Cheddar!

Image from MyRecipes.com

That's right, this month's cheesy challenge is Cheddar! Time to roll up our sleeves and conquer that perennial favourite - let's show cheddar who's boss!

From Wiki:
Cheddar cheese has been produced since at least 1170. A pipe roll of King Henry II from that year records the purchase of 10,420 lb at a farthing per pound (£3 per ton). One suggestion is that Romans brought the recipe to Britain from the Cantal region of France, where it was adapted. Cheddar cheese traditionally had to be made within 30 miles (48 km) of Wells Cathedral.
Cheddaring refers to an additional step in the production of Cheddar-style cheese where, after heating, the curd is kneaded with salt, then is cut into cubes to drain the whey, then stacked and turned. Strong, extra-mature Cheddar, sometimes called vintage, needs to be matured for up to 15 months. The cheese is kept at a constant temperature often requiring special facilities. As with production of other hard cheese varieties in other regions worldwide, caves provide an ideal environment for maturing cheese; still, today, some Cheddar cheese is matured in the caves at Wookey Hole and Cheddar Gorge.
The curds and whey are separated using rennet, an enzyme complex normally produced from the stomachs of new-born calves (in vegetarian cheeses, bacterial-, yeast- or mould-derived chymosin is used).

Cloth-Banded Cheddar
adapted from Making Artisan Cheese, Tim Smith

Ingredients:
2 gallons whole milk (7.6L)
1/4 tsp mesophilic direct-set culture (2mL)
1/8 tsp calcium chloride diluted in 1/4 cup cool water (60mL)
1 tsp liquid rennet (5mL) diluted in 1/4 cup cool water (60mL)
2 tbsp cheese salt (I just use pickling salt) (30mL)

Prodecdure:
Heat the milk to 86F (30C), then stir in the starter, cover, and ripen for 45 mins. Add calcium chloride. Maintain 86F (30C), add the rennet to the milk and stir for 1 minute. Cover and let it sit at 86F (30C) for forty minutes or until you can get a clean break. Make one cut with a curd knife to test for a clean break.

Maintaining the target temperature, cut the curds into 1/4 inch (6mm) cubes, and let them rest for 5 minutes. Slowly heat the curds to 100F (38C), stirring occasionally to prevent the curds from matting. This should take thirty minutes. Once you reach the target temperature, hold for an additional thirty minutes, continuing to stir. Let the curds rest for 20 minutes at the target temperature.

Drain the curds into a cheese cloth-lined colander and let them sit for 15 minutes at room temperature. You now have a large block of curd. Cut the block into 1/2 inch (about 1cm) thick strips, and lay then in an 8"x8" (20cm x 20cm) cake pan in a crisscross pattern. cover with a kitchen towel, and put the cake pan into a sink filled with 100F (38C) water, to a depth that comes just to the top of the pan. Make certain that the water does not get into the pan. Keep the curds at 100F (38C). Rotate the curds top to bottom every 15 minutes for two hours. Be sure to drain the whey from the cake pan every time you flip the curds. By the end of the two hours, your strips should be smaller and tough, with a smooth, shiny finish on the sides. Tear your curds into 1/2" (about 1cm) pieces, and put them back into the pan. Cover and let them sit in the pan in the 100F (38C) water for an additional thirty minutes. Stir the curds frequently to keep them from matting.

Blend in the salt by hand, and let the curds rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.

Pour the curds into a 2-lb (900g), cheese cloth-lined mould. Press at ten pounds for 15 minutes.

Take the cheese out of the mould, and peel off the cheese cloth. Turn the cheese over, rewrap it in the cheese cloth, and press at forty pounds for 12 hours. Repeat this procedure, and press at fifty pounds for 24 hours.

Take the cheese out of the mould, and let it air-dry on a cheese board for two to three days. Turn the cheese several times daily to allow for even drying.

Yield - 2lbs. (900g)

Banding Cheese
Cloth banding is the traditional way to form a rind on Cheddar cheese. The advantage to cloth is that the cheese can breathe more effectively than when covered in wax, and proper breathing gives the cheese a richer, fuller flavour. Cloth banding is easy to do, and it gives your cheese an authentic look.

Procedure:
Place the cheese on a clean sheet of cloth, trace the top and bottom of the cheese, and cut out four circles that are each wide enough for the cheese cloth to cover the sides of the cheese. Rub a thin coat of vegetable shortening on the cheese, covering the entire cheese. Lay the cheese cloth on the top and bottom of the cheese, adhering to the shortening. Repeat the process, layering a second coat of shortening between the two layers cloth.
Cover with the second layer of cheese cloth, and rub the fabric smooth to form a solid seal. Ripen at 55F (13C) for three to six months at 80-85% humidity, turning weekly.

Artisan Advice
The process of cheddaring occurs when the cheese maker takes the mass of drained curds, lays them out flat, cuts them into blocks, and then stacks them on top of each other. Over time, the curd blocks will shrink in size and become firm in texture as they continue to lose whey. The end result is a cheese renowned for its flaky texture and pleasantly tangy flavour.

Image from Mama Earth Organics

So! You may have noticed that this is a cheese that takes some time. I won't announce a finish date for the Cheddar at the moment, we will keep in touch in the comments and see how everyone is coming along with this challenge and decide together when we are ready to unwrap our treasures. Get started as soon as you can, so we are all cheddaring together. We will do other dairy challenges in the mean time whilst the cheddar rests.

Don't forget, we are still working on June's Gouda! Using the recipe we provided or your own, email in your gouda challenge by July 31st.

*Not too many of us have pro equipment. I personally use a slow cooker for my heating and tend to use whatever I can find for pressing. I am thinking of hitting up the Home Depot this month to see if I can find some good shapes in the plumbing supply section to make homemade moulds out of. Cheesing can be creative business.
Please let us know any tips and tricks that you have come across in your home cheese-making or if you would like to write a guest post for Forging Fromage. (Involving cheese, cheese-making, or dairy of course!)

Happy Cheesing!

Gouda AND Goat's Milk Feta...2 new cheesy adventures!

Yes, you heard me right...we are announcing 2 new adventures!  We talked it over a bit and decided that we were ready to move on to a more intermediate level in our forging.  Making fresh cheese was delicious...it was a great introduction and learning experience...but, we're ready to try our hands at something new and challenging and honestly, a bit scarey!  Wait.  You say you're just building up the courage to start cheesemaking?  You haven't taken the plunge and joined in any of our beginning forging yet?  Don't freak out!  We're still going to have a monthly beginner/fresh/easier cheesier (okay, not cheesier, just felt right) adventure, as well!  Since intermediate level cheeses can require more time to finish, we thought we'd make those "due dates" individual to each cheese while still having a simpler monthly challenge!  By the way, have you checked out our adventures in Halloumi!?

Shall we begin with our "harder" cheese?  Okey dokey...I'd like to give a warm welcome to one of my personal favorites...Gouda!  This is a recipe that I found on the internet...the one I'm going to have a go at.  Feel free to use this or any other Gouda recipe you wish.  I'm hoping I actually get the opportunity to smoke it, as well...ahhhhh, smoked gouda...how I love thee...dream of thee...  "Gouda is a yellowish Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda. The cheese is made from cow's milk that is cultured and heated up until the curds separate from the whey."*

Gouda (a semi-hard cheese) DUE: JULY 30
found at gourmetsleuth

1 gallon Milk
4 oz. 1/8 tsp.* Mesophilic Starter Culture  *see comment section!!
1/4 tab rennet (or 1/4 tsp liquid rennet)
Warm the milk to 85 F (29.5 C).

Add 4 oz of mesophilic starter culture and mix thoroughly with a whisk, the culture must be uniform throughout the milk.

Dissolve 1/4 tab rennet into 3-4 tablespoons COOL water. Hot water will DESTROY the rennet enzymes.

Slowly pour the rennet into the milk stirring constantly with a whisk.

Stir for at least 5 minutes.

Allow the milk to set for 1-2 hours until a firm curd is set and a clean break can be obtained when the curd is cut.

With a long knife, cut the curds into 1/2 inch cubes.

Allow the curds to sit for 10 minutes to firm up.

Slowly raise the temperature of the milk to 102 F (39 C). It should take as long as 45 minutes to reach this temperature. During this time, gently stir the curds every few minutes so they don’t mat together.

Once the curds reach 102 F (39 C), allow the curds to settle, then carefully remove 3 cups of whey from the top surface.

Replace the lost whey with 3 cups of 102 F (39 C) water.

Cook the curds at 102 F (39 C) for another 45 minutes. Every 15 minutes remove 3 cups of whey and replace with 102 F (39 C) water.

At the end of the process, you will have removed whey three times.

Drain the whey by pouring through a cheesecloth lined colander.

Carefully place the drained curds into your cheesecloth lined mold.

Press the cheese at about 20 lbs. (9 kg) for 45 minutes.

Remove the cheese from the press and flip it.

Press the cheese at about 40 lbs. (18 kg) for 3 hours.

Remove the cheese from the press, careful it is still very soft.

Float the cheese in a COLD brine solution** for 3 hours. Be certain to flip the cheese over every 45 minutes or so to ensure even rind development.

Pat dry the cheese, you will notice the outer surface has begun to harden.

Place the cheese in your refrigerator to age for 25 days. You will need to flip the cheese over every day or it will dry unevenly.

-If too thick a rind begins to develop, place an overturned bowl on top of the cheese, or place it in a covered container. However, continue to turn the cheese daily and do not wrap it in plastic.

-Inspect daily for mold. Should mold develop on the cheese surface, simply remove it using a paper towel dipped in white vinegar.

-At the end of 25 days you can age it further by waxing it or you may use it immediately.

-If you wax the cheese, continue to flip the cheese every 3 days or so.

** BRINE SOLUTION
Dissolve 1.5 cups of salt into one quart warm water.
Cool the brine in your freezer, some salt will precipitate out.
To use the solution, simply place it in a bowl and place your cheese into it.
After you are done with the brine, you can store it in a container in your freezer.
With each new cheese, you will need to add additional salt so that the solution is saturated.
The solution is saturated with salt when no additional salt can be dissolved no matter how long you stir.

That doesn't sound so bad.  Does it!?  I  hope you join us in taking this next step...but if not (or in addition to), our second adventure will be Goat's Milk Feta...again, use this or any recipe you choose... "Feta is a classic curd cheese in brine whose tradition dates back to Greece thousands of years ago. It is traditionally made exclusively from goat's and sheep's milk, but cow's milk varieties are readily available in some areas."*

Goat's Milk Feta (a fresh cheese) Due: June 29
from The Home Creamery
yield: ~1 lb.

1 gallon goat's milk
1/4 c. cultured buttermilk
1/2 tsp. liquid rennet
1/4 c. cool water (55-60 degrees F)
coarse salt

1. Warm the milk to 88 degrees F over low heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pot.  Check the temp. with a thermometer.  Stir in the buttermilk.  Cover and let stand for 1 hour.  Remove the pot from heat.

2.  In a small cup, dissolve the rennet in the water.  Add this mixture to the milk and stir for 30 seconds.  Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour longer to coagulate.

3.  Using a knife, cut the curds into 1" cubes.  Stir gently for 15 minutes, keeping curds at 88 degrees F. 

4.  Pour the curds carefully into a butter muslin-lines colander, tie together the ends of the muslin to make a bag, and hang in a cool room or in the refrigerator to drain for 4-6 hours.

5.  Remove the cheese from the muslin, slice the cheese ball in half, and lay the slabs of cheese in a dish that can be covered.  Sprinkle all the surfaces with coarse salt, cover, and allow to set at room temp for 24 hours.  After 24 hours, salt all the surfaces again and let the cheese rest for 2 hours.

6.  Place the cheese in a covered dish and refrigerate up to 2 weeks of freeze for future use.

BEST OF LUCK, FORGERS!!!  EMAIL US A LINK TO YOUR POST ON EITHER OF THESE BY THEIR DUE DATES AND THEN WATCH FOR THE ROUND-UPS SHORTLY FOLLOWING THOSE DATES!


*Source: CrosswordEase

Are Your Ready for April's Cheesy Challenge? Halloumi!

Photo of Grilled Halloumi Cheese - Squidoo.com

After exploring lots of easy and delicious fresh cheeses lately, we have stepped up the challenge this month - and are making Halloumi!

Halloumi - Wiki

Halloumi or haloumi (Greek χαλούμι, Turkish hellim, Arabic حلوم ḥallūm) is a traditional Cypriot cheese that is also popular in the rest of the Middle East and Greece, and is now made the world over. It is made from a mixture of goat's and sheep milk, although some halloumi can be bought that also contains cow's milk. It has a high melting point, and so can easily be fried or grilled. Halloumi is set with rennet, and is unusual in that no acid or acid-producing bacterium is used in its preparation.


Cypriot halloumi

Halloumi cheese originated in Cyprus and was initially made during the Medieval Byzantine period, subsequently gaining popularity throughout the rest of the Middle East region. Industrial halloumi contains more cow's milk than goat and sheep milk. This reduces the cost but changes the taste and the grilling properties.

The cheese is white, with a distinctive layered texture, similar to mozzarella, and has a salty flavour. It is stored in its natural juices with salt-water, and can keep for up to a year if frozen below −18 °C (0 °F) and defrosted to +4 °C (39 °F) for sale at supermarkets. It is often garnished with mint to add to the taste. Traditionally, the mint leaves were used as a preservative, the use serendipitously discovered when the fresh Halloumi was kept wrapped for freshness and flavour from the mint leaves. Hence, if you look closely, many packaged Halloumi will have bits of mint leaf on the surface of the cheese.

It is used in cooking, as it can be fried until brown without melting due to its higher-than-normal melting point, making it a good cheese for frying or grilling (such as in saganaki), as an ingredient in salads, or fried and served with vegetables. Cypriots like eating halloumi with watermelon in the warm months, and as halloumi and lountza - a combination of halloumi cheese and either a slice of smoked pork, or a soft lamb sausage.

The resistance to melting comes from the fresh curd being heated before being shaped and placed in brine.Traditional halloumi is a semicircular shape, about the size of a large wallet, weighing 220-270 g. The fat content is approximately 25% wet weight, 47% dry weight with about 17% protein. Its firm texture when cooked causes it to squeak on the teeth when being consumed.

Traditional artisan halloumi is made from unpasteurised sheep and goats milk. Many people also like halloumi that has been aged; it is much drier, much stronger and much saltier. It is easy to find this traditional product in shops. It is kept in its own brine. This cheese is very different from the milder halloumi that Western chefs use as an ingredient.

Although it is made worldwide and is of rather disputed origin due to the mixed cultures in the Levant and East Mediterranean, halloumi is currently registered as a protected Cypriot product within the US (since the 1990s) but not the EU. The delay in registering the name halloumi with the EU has been largely due to a conflict between dairy producers and sheep and goat farmers as to whether registered halloumi will contain cow’s milk or not and if so, at what ratios with sheep and goat’s milk. If it is registered as a PDO (Protected designation of origin) it will enjoy the same safeguard as 600 or so other agricultural products such as feta and parmesan cheese.

Halloumi - Making Artisan Cheese, Tim Smith

Ingredients
2 gallons whole milk
1/4 tsp mesophilic direct-set culture
1/8 tsp calcium chloride, diluted in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water
1/2 tsp liquid rennet, or 1/4 tab dry rennet diluted in 1/4 cup cool, unchlorinated water
1/2 cup cheese salt
Brine solution*
1 tsp dried mint, rehydrated in 1/2 cup boiling water

Procedure

Heat the milk in a double boiler to 86F (31C), then add the starter culture and blend for two minutes.

Maintaining the target temperature of 86F, add the rennet & calcium chloride, stir for one minute, and let rest for forty minutes, or until a clean break. To test for a clean break, use a curd knife to make one cut through the curds.

Cut curds into 1/2" (about 1cm) cubes, trying to keep them as uniform as possible.
Slowly heat curds to 104F (40C); this should take forty-five minutes. Continually stir the curds to keep them from matting. Once the curds reach target temperature, maintain the curds at that temperature for an additional twenty minutes while continuing to stir.

Drain the whey off curds into a cheese cloth-lined colander that is set in a catch bowl. Reserve the whey.

Blend mint into the drained curds with a spoon. Pour the curds into a 2-pound (900g) cheese cloth-lined mould. Fold a corner of the cheese cloth over the curds, and press at thirty pounds for one hour. Remove the cheese from the mould, and unwrap the cheese cloth. Turn over the cheese, and rewrap it with the cheese cloth. Press at forty pounds for one hour. The cheese should be firm with a spongy consistency.

Heat the reserved whey in a pan to 190F (88C). Take the cheese out of the mould, and cut it into 2" (5cm) thick strips. Put the strips into the heated whey, maintaining the target temperature for one hour.

The cheese should have a thick consistency. Drain it into the cheese cloth-lined colander, and let it rest at room temperature for twenty minutes.

Coat the cheese with 1/2 cup (145g) of cheese salt, and let it rest for two hours at room temperature.

Yield - 2 pounds (900g)

Notes
Use this or any recipe that you like for halloumi
Leave milk out of fridge for a couple of hours before starting the cheese-making.

Brine Solution
A brine is a supesaturated solution of salt and water, in which cheeses are literally bathed. (Brine solution consists of 2 pounds (905g) of salt stirred into and dissolved in 1 gallon (4.5 l) of water, heated to 190F (88C).
The types of cheeses that are usually brined are hard cheeses, such as Gouda and Emmental.
Brining occurs directly after a cheese is removed from the press. The cheese is literally dunked into this salty bath. Once in a the brine, the cheese begins to absorb salt, and the proteins begin to harden and form the rind.

This is a big one, lots of luck to all of us for mastering Halloumi!!

Brousse Round-Up!

The verdict is in - we all had a good time making Brousse!

Three brave souls played with goat's and sheep's milk this month and created mild and delicate Brousse, perfect for pairing with stronger flavours to complement it.

Andreas of Delta Kitchen found some groovy new cheese moulds online,

and used his sheep's milk Brousse to make a delicious potato cake from a Nigel Slater recipe, which were like chunky rösti with a polenta crust and oozy cheese inside. Yum!

~

Foodycat, from the blog of the same name, used her unique and trusty egg ring, bamboo steamer and cheesecloth contraption as a mould.

"Over a couple of days I ate it drizzled with truffle honey, on toast (with more honey), alongside pears poached in red wine with peppercorns and thyme, on wholewheat crackers with fig and fennel paste, and a sprinkling of red-wine infused salt, on crackers with chopped raw garlic and a sprinkling of Maldon salt."

~

I made my Brousse, over at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, in in my small coeur a la creme moulds, lined with cheesecloth.

I served it with lots of fresh herbs, which were very nice with the delicate goat's cheese, and a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt. I found the cheese, like all cheese, definitely needed salt - next time I'll add salt whether it is the recipe or not.

There we go - three great versions of this fun, delicate, and easy cheese.

Thanks everyone for participating!

March's Cheesy Challenge - Brousse!

Brousse is a fresh Provençal cheese made from goat's milk in some areas and sheep in others. It looks to be similar to a cross between chevre and ricotta. Traditionally it is eaten with honey or fresh herbs.

Photo from socialearth.org

Brousse
adapted from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes

Tools
Cloth-lined colander
4 Brousse moulds

Ingredients
1 quart goat's milk (sheep is fine too)
1/4 cup white vinegar

1. Sterilize all equipment. In a stainless steel pot over medium heat, bring milk just to the boiling point, stirring gently to prevent scotching. Remove from heat.

2. Dilute vinegar in 3/4 cups cool water and add to milk, stirring quickly with skimmer. Continue to stir milk vigorously with skimmer or a whisk until it curdles and small flakes of cheese rise to the top of the pot.

3. Using skimmer, ladle curds into a cloth-lined colander. Let drain over a bowl for 2-3 minutes. Using your hands or a spoon, fill Brousse moulds, packing curd down. Pour remaining milk through a cloth to starin out any remaining solids and add these to the moulds. Tap moulds slightly to ensure they are completely filled to the bottom.

4. Place moulds in a basket or bowl so they stand upright. Let drain for about 6 hours. Place in the refirgerator and unmould cheese as you use them. Brousse must be eaten fresh, preferably within 24 hours.* Other sources say 3-4 days is fine

Notes
I don't have Brousse moulds and have no idea where to look for them. I think moulds could be fashioned from small plastic containers, perforated, and lined with cheesecloth. I might use my small coeur a la creme moulds.

We chose this recipe as it does not require harder to find ingredients for cheesemaking - but we are interested in what you might have access to.

Can you get your hands on:
Liquid rennet?
Rennet tabs?
Starter cultures? Which kinds?

There are many cheesemaking suppliers on the web, please let us know what you have access to and any cheeses you would like to try making in the future. Also, if you have any relevant cheesemaking links for the sidebar please send them along (and note which country they are from). We want to make cheesemaking accessible to everyone!

So, is everyone ready to make Brousse this month? Fantastic!! Can't wait to see your cheesy creations and how you serve it. Our Forging Fromage email address is on the sidebar - write to us with your finished product or with any questions or information you might like to share.

Happy Cheesing!

Guest Post from Foodycat!

Foodycat has graciously allowed us to post her recent cheese adventures here on Forging Fromage. We are so impressed with her homemade cheese exploits!

I'm inspired. For a while now I have been reading on Natashya, Heather and Simona's blogs about their forays into homemade cheese making. It has all sounded amazing and wonderful and I decided that I really had to have a go at it. I ordered some supplies from Leeners, bought a couple of litres of full-fat goats milk from the supermarket and got stuck in.

I

started with these recipes, following the method for cheddar because it sounded the most achievable. I didn't have the right sized mould for making a single cheese, so I used egg rings, lined with scalded cheesecloth and set in my bamboo steamer. 2l of milk made 4 cheeses. The curds didn't set up as firmly as I was anticipating, so I abandoned the idea of pressing them into a hard cheese, and just went where I was led, into a soft goats cheese.

After 2 days draining I turned them out of their moulds, onto a fresh piece of scalded cheesecloth, and let them mature for another 4 days before we sampled one. Isn't the pattern from the bamboo steamer pretty? It was delicious. Very mild and creamy, goaty but not intensely so and with an unmistakeable "cheese" texture - it definitely wasn't yoghurt. It had grown up.

The intention was to let the other 3 cheeses mature for longer to see how the flavour developed, but sadly they developed a nasty mould and had to be chucked. Oh well - for a first attempt I was happy!

Of course, when you make cheese at home, you end up with a lot of whey. In a lot of areas (well - Stilton and Parma) a thriving dairy industry has also led to a thriving pork industry, as they whey is fed to the pigs and they grow fat and flavoursome. But I don't have a pig.

The last scoop of the goats curd (which didn't fit into the moulds) and a little of the whey went into my blood orange syrup cakes instead of yoghurt.

The rest of the whey went to make ricotta. Now, making ricotta this traditional way is very, very low yield. But since it takes no effort and it is really a bonus yield from the cheesemaking, I wasn't too bothered. Remember I started with 2l of milk, got 4 x 10cm cheeses and 200ml of goats curd for my cakes. The 1/2 cup of lovely fresh ricotta was eaten almost straight away, in this pasta with artichokes dish. It was seriously delicious, but I kept thinking that it'd be even better in summer with fresh baby courgettes substituted for the artichokes.

So THEN the whey drained from the ricotta needed a home. Oh yes - I was very keen to make this milk go as far as possible! 1/3 cup went into the syrup for the orange syrup cakes - it added a slight tang and richer flavour than a plain citrus syrup. Some went into the freezer - I hear it makes a good marinade for meat - and some went into a version of this buttermilk syrup (I say "a version" because I used twice the amount of whey as the recipe calls for buttermilk, no corn syrup and no baking soda). Then THAT syrup went into this spelt porridge, which I portioned up and took to work for breakfast.

Spelt Porridge

250g pearled spelt
250ml water
1/4 cup golden flax seed
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
375ml whey syrup
60g dried cranberries
80g dried figs, cut into quarters
100g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Combine ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently on a low heat for about 1/2 hour, stirring frequently, or until it is thick and gelatinous and the spelt is tender. Serve hot, with extra cold milk poured over. It's very filling and sustaining.

A Guest Post by Foodycat.

Mascarpone RoundUp!

We had 2 takers this month...or should I say 2 makers? Hmmm. 2 takers who were Mascarpone makers. 2 part-time bakers, they ain't no fakers, Autumn leaf rakers, who may or may not like the Lakers...and occasionally walk around nakers and are both early wakers. Sorry. So, this simple Italian-style Creamier than creamy cream cheese...Mascarpone! 2 ingredients used by 2 makers were all that were required. Just look at the end results! As you may have guessed, Natashya and I were the ones who made the cheese...and I'll include the links to our original posts so you can check out the methods we used.

Natashya's Mascarpone

girlichef's Mascarpone

Just look at these beauties that Natashya made with her mascarpone. Wowza!

And now, feast your eyes upon my lovely creation.

Oh, that's right. I'm a slacker super-busy girli with no time to use her Mascarpone. Ugh. It's in the freezer...I'll post an update in the future.

Watch for next month's adventure to be announced soon! And don't forget that if you make a cheese ball or cheese dip or something cheesy this holiday season to send us a link or picture and we'll round 'em all up in the new year!

Our Cheesy Adventure for November is.....

Yes...that is our cheese adventure for the month of November!!! This is so easy...2 ingredients!! I'm going to share the recipe that I will be using with you...it is from The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley. Feel free to use any recipe you like, though.

4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar

1. Pour the cream into the top of a large double boiler and slowly heat to 190 degrees F, stirring occasionally. Check the temperature with a thermometer.

2. Stir in the vinegar, and continue to stir until the cream begins to curdle. Remove the pan from the water, cover and let stand about 15 minutes or until the curds begin to firm.

3. Pour or ladle the curds into a butter muslin-lined strainer set over a large bowl. Let the curds cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours to continue draining and to firm.

4. Discard the liquid and transfer the mascarpone to an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. Stir well before using.

Okay, make it and blog it and send me your link by the last day in November!! Good or bad, success or failure...share with us your cheesy adventure! And remember, if the urge ever strikes to do a guest post about a particular cheesy subject here at Forging Fromage...just say the word...and it's done! Feel free to ask any questions or make comments about MASCARPONE in the comments at the end of this post...hopefully we can learn how to do it...and what not to do...together!