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!

Paneer Round-Up!

We came, we curdled, we strained, we pressed and we conquered!
Conquered the cheese known as paneer that is.
This month three brave souls learned that there is nothing to fear in making this simple cheese at home, in fact - we might even do it again.

Andreas of Delta Kitchen joined us this month with his picture perfect paneer.
"This seemed to be a logical step to take the fun of bread making to the next level. The Cheese Challenge for February was to make Paneer from scratch, which was very easy and straightforward. I put the paneer into a soup plate to prevent flooding the fridge during the overnight rest, but the paneer just firmed up without rendering a drop of whey.
The finished paneer will hold it's shape through the fry and simmer to make a spicy kashmiri dish which goes well with some basmati rice."
Check out his cheesy adventure here.

Simmered Kashmiri Paneer at Delta Kitchen

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My friend Foodycat from across the pond knows a thing or two about Indian food
"I followed the recipe from Mirch Masala, reposted on Forging Fromage, but I also watched this fantastic YouTube tutorial from Show Me The Curry. It was all ridiculously straightforward, but from the ladies at Show Me The Curry I took the idea of suspending the curds in a jug, to let the weight of the curds themselves help drain them, and the jug catches the whey, Nifty, huh?"
"My paneer held together well as I coated the slices well in cornflour, and submitted patiently to being turned in the frying pan. Despite the slightly custardier texture when it was finished, it still had a bit of the chewiness and bite that commercial paneer has."
Check out Foodycat's cheesy adventures here.

Foodycat's Chili Paneer
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And over at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, I made the Cumin Paneer and gave my paneer an extra day to firm up in the fridge.
"I am much too absent-minded to watch over a pot of milk. I use my slow cooker on high, lidded, with a probe thermometer in it - alarm set for 190f. It takes longer but you don't have to think about it."
"I let mine sit 2 days, and then pressed it even further between two cutting boards for a few moments, with me sitting on top!"
Check out my cheesy adventures here.

Natashya's Palak Paneer
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There you have it! Three adventurous souls and three delicious dishes. Tomorrow we'll be posting March's challenge and Heather should be back from vacation in a couple of weeks.
Thanks so much for joining us, in the kitchen or in spirit.
May all your dreams be cheesy ones.

C'mon Here and Make Paneer!

February's Cheesy Challenge is to make Paneer!

This is another simple cheese, requiring no specialty ingredients, and made characteristically firm by pressing overnight. The firmness of the cheese makes it a good candidate for frying and it is a feature in many Indian dishes.

Use any recipe you like to make Paneer - this recipe from Mirch Marsala our lovely guest cheese-poster, or one of the ones below, or any you might have at home.

Paneer
200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes

4 quarts whole milk
4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, approx.

1. Sterilize all equipment. In a large stainless-steel pot over low heat, slowly bring milk to a boil, stirring gently to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

2. Add lemon juice. Stir for 5 minutes or until milk begins to curdle and the solids rise to the top. If it does not curdle, add another 2 tbsp lemon juice and continue stirring.

3. Pour contents of pot into a cloth-lined colander. Let curds drain. Rinse curds with cold running water, then twist them in the cloth to remove as much of the water as possible.

4 Twist the cloth tightly around the cheese and place on a plate. Cover with another plate and place a 2-lb. (1 kg) weight on top. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Unwrap cheese and place in a small bowl. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Variation:

Cumin Paneer

4 quarts whole milk
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp salt
4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, approx.

1. Sterilize all equipment. In a large stainless-steel pot over low heat, combine milk, cumin seeds and salt. Slowly bring to a boil; boil for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently the whole time to prevent scorching. Remove from heat.

2. Add lemon juice. Continue to stir milk until milk curdles and the solids rise to the top. If it does not curdle, add another 2 tbsp lemon juice and continue stirring.

3. Pour contents of pot into a cloth-lined colander. Twist curds in the cloth to remove as much of the moisture as possible.

4. Twist the cloth tightly around the cheese and place on a plate. Cover with another plate and place a 2-lb. weight on top. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

5. Unwrap cheese and place in a small bowl. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Both recipes deliver about a 10% yield. You will notice that the cumin variation has a longer fridge life - that is because of the salt.
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Well, what are you waiting for? Get into the kitchen and make some Paneer! Use whatever recipe you like and try creating a fabulous dish like Saag Paneer or Palak Paneer with the cheese.

*Email your cheese-filled adventures by the last day of the month to forgingfromage at live dot com.

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.

Featured Forger: Mirch Masala makes Paneer

Yesterday I came across a fabulous home cheese making post over at Mirch Masala...and the incredibly talented Superchef was kind enough to allow me to share it here at Forging Fromage!
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Paneer / Cottage Cheese, the most versatile ingredient in Indian, especially vegetarian cooking is easily available in all Indian grocery stores. So, why bother making it at home??! Well, there are a couple of good reasons, at least for me. First of all, the ones that you get in stores has this rubbery texture to it. Even though you can live with it, the homemade paneer has a different fresh texture and taste and absorbs the flavour better than the store bought ones. Now especially with paneer, which doesn't have any particular taste to it, this is a very important factor. Second is the cost factor – you will easily spend 6-7 bucks for a block of paneer where as a similar quantity can be made at home with about a gallon of milk which is anywhere between 2-3 $. I know, I know its not a HUGE difference. But don't you feel good when you get better quality and better tasting product for lesser price and the best thing is the satisfaction of making paneer at home! Hope at least some of you agree with me :)You will need:
1/2 gallon 2% milk – whole milk will be better
2 oz (1/4 cup) distilled white vinegar ( you can use equal amount lime/lemon juice also)

A heavy bottomed pan
a colander
cheese cloth, to strain
heavy pans/canned food/other heavy things as weightsHeat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan/cast iron pan on medium heat. Keep stirring so that the milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Just when the milk starts steaming and just before it comes to a boil, add the vinegar to it. The milk will curdle and you will see something like whats shown in the photo below.Now strain this on a cheese cloth spread over a colander. If you want you can collect the whey (the liquid part) for later use. Wait for sometime till the water drains out completely and then take out the cheese cloth. Place a plate or a chopping board in the sink, place the cheesecloth folded on top it. Place another plate and put some cans of food or a heavy pan on top of it as weights. After about an hour – hour and a half, remove the plates and weights and take out the block of paneer. Chop into small pieces and store or store as it is in the refrigerator for later use. Here are some recipes using paneer :

Paneer Makhani / Paneer Butter Masala – An Easier Version
Paneer Butter Masala on a Pizza
Palak Paneer
Paneer Pulao
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Um, yeah...awesome, right!? Thanks so much for sharing your Paneer making method with us, Manju! And believe me, if you don't visit Mirch Masala already...you will get lost in this fabulous world of spices n' more!!

Our Cheese Dairy-filled Adventure for the month of December is...

We figured since everybody is dealing with a little seasonal/holiday madness this time of year, it best to take it easy again. We chose Créme Fraîche this month...although it's not cheese, it is a dairy product, and we've decided to broaden our focus a bit to include other dairy gems such as this! Créme Fraîche translates to Fresh Cream. Are you familiar with it? It's thick, tangy and perfectly decadent! "It originated before the days of pasteurization, when refrigeration and fast transportation weren't available. The cream collected bacteria and fermented before it was able to make its way from French dairy farms to the markets. The French developed a taste for it and still enjoy the flavor today."* Um, me too. With an average of somewhere between 30-60% butterfat, is there any question why? I'm going to provide a recipe again, in hopes that we'll have a couple more people join us in our adventure this month...you don't have to use this recipe...but it's here if you need it! And who couldn't use a good container of this gorgeous cream to drizzle on their fish, poultry, vegetable and fruit on their holiday table? Finish a pan sauce with a blob for extra creamy richness. Throw in some herbs for savory dishes...or mix in some honey and vanilla to go with fruit! Top a baked potato or an omelet with a dab. Give it a go...you will be pleased!

Créme Fraîche
from The Home Creamery by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley (see sidebar to get your own copy)

1-2 Tbs. cultured Buttermilk
2 c. (1 pint) heavy cream do not use ultra-pasteurized (needs that good bacteria!)

1. Combine buttermilk and cream in medium saucepan and heat only to tepid (not more than 85 degrees F). Pour mixture into a clean pint jar. Cover partially and let stand at room temp (between 65-75 degrees F) for 8-24 hours or until thickened. Don't be scared of leaving it out...it is an essential step and so worth it. I've made it before. Really.

2. Stir and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before using. The cream will continue to thicken and develop flavor in fridge. It will keep for ~2 weeks.

We look forward to seeing your Créme Fraîche and what you've done with it this month! Once you've posted...or made and pictured...email us with a link or picture/text you'd like to be included in the roundup (by the end of the month). Forge!

*source The Home Creamery

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!