Assignment: Yogurt Cheese!

Hi all!!  Did you think we left you in the lurch with two semi-tough assignments (gouda & cheddar)?  Not to worry.  For those of you still a bit nervous about making your own cheese...and those who want to forge something between lengthy assignments, we promised we'd keep adding some quicker/beginner cheeses to the mix!!  And this assignment couldn't be any simpler...Yogurt Cheese.  All you need to make it is...can you guess?...yup, yogurt!  Well, yogurt and a few various odds and ends for draining and forming.  This recipe comes from my new favorite book jam it, pickle it, cure it.  Seriously, this book is my new boyfriend.  I can't get enough of it!

The books author, Karen Solomon, says "Yogurt cheese- sometimes called strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, or labneh- is a sharper alternative to cream cheese, but it has a similar consistency and thus can easily take its place atop bagels or toast, stirred into mashed potatoes, or plaing the starring role in cheesecake.  Other attributes of this cheese include its utter simplicity to make, all the health benefits of yogurt, and a tangy personality."

Yogurt Cheese
adapted slightly from jam it, pickle it, cure it by Karen Solomon

1 (32-oz.) container plain yogurt

Instructions: Line a large bowl with a clean, think cotton or linen towel, positioning the middle of the towel in the bottom of the bowl.  Pour the yogurt into its center.  Gather together all 4 corners of the fabric and twist lightly; cloudy whey should be leaking out of the bottom.  Tie the bundle up securely and hang over a large bowl or the sink.  Let hang, undisturbed for at least 8 hours or overnight.

You'll end up w/ ~12 oz. of whey in the bowl and a very thick, spreadable tangy cheese in the cloth.  Transfer cheese to small container w/ lid.  Refrigerate covered for up to 2 weeks.

Variations:
Lemon Yogurt Cheese: Add 1 tsp. kosher salt and the juice of 1/2 lemon to cheese.
Garlic Yogurt Cheese:  Add 1 clove garlic, minced, and 2 Tbs. fresh chopped dill to cheese.
Chive and Black Pepper Yogurt Cheese:  Add 2 Tbs. fresh chives and several grinds of fresh black pepper to cheese.
Cranberry and Green Onion Yogurt Cheese: Add 1/4 c. chopped dried cranberries and 1 minced green onion to cheese.

Here is Karen herself showing just how easy it is...seriously, the video is under a minute....




So, no excuses okay?  It doesn't get much easier than this...come forge with us!  Feel free to ask any questions about any cheese or process either in the comment section of that cheese assignment or by email. Since this is sooooo easy, it'll be due July 30!

*Also, we're gonna try something new.  We're going to add a linky at the bottom of each assignment post.  If you've made the cheese and posted it, please add the link to the bottom of the appropriate post.  We'll still do roundups for each assignment...this'll just make it easier to submit your cheesy adventures!  Also, please leave a comment once you've linked up so we know to head over and check out what you've done!  But, you are alway welcome to email in your link if you do not have a blog or if you can't figure out the linky.

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Andreas - Whey Bread & Yoghurt Cheese ap269s Paneer ap269s yogurt cheese girlichef~ yogurt cheese makes a good sammie Foodycat Natashyas Gouda Rebeccas Yogurt Cheese Rebeccas Gouda

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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!

Feta Roundup!

Salty, pungeant, glorious....Feta!  A month ago, I proposed a challenge...a challenge to forge Feta.  Goat's milk feta was the original plan, but many places have extremely  highly-priced goats milk (like my place...Northern Indiana)...so in the end, whether the milk came from goats, cows, sheep...the important thing was turning into that tangy delight!  Feta had some fabulous results...let's take a look, shall we?

Let's begin with a Rebecca of GrongarBlog...this is her first month forging with us, and she knocked it out of the park!  She was able to use Goats milk...she rigged up an awesome draining contraption in her cool basement, and was met with success.  She says "After it was rinsed, the taste was great: mildly goaty, slightly salty. The texture was firm while still being creamy, and not at all “squeaky” like many store-bought fetas."  I think she's a natural...just look for yourself!

Next up is my original cheesing partner-in-crime, Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies.  Natashya thought she'd have to forge using simply cows milk, "... but at the last minute hubs came home with a little of both. Goat's milk does make for lovely, tangy, and delicate cheese. Cow's milk is cheap. We compromised."  And with delicious results, I might add! Check it out...

Next up is Alicia of Foodycat.  She was also able to use goats milk for her feta, which "was a success"...brain-shaped and all wink, wink.  She says "I jumped the gun a bit - we ate the first half of the cheese a day early because I just couldn't resist. We had it in a Greek-ish salad of cucumber, tomato, avocado and red onion, dressed with oregano, basil, olive oil and white wine vinegar. It was delicious! Not too salty, not mushy, not too crumbly, with just the right hint of goaty tang."  Nice.  See....

And bringing it all home is me (Heather) of girlichef.  Now, although I proposed this challenge, I ran sorely behind.  As a matter of fact, I haven't even posted it yet because I'm in the midst of making it RIGHT THIS MINUTE!  *UPDATE~ Okay, even though I'm late to the party I like to make a fashionable entrance, I've finally linked up my Feta!  I, too, used cow milk because I wasn't ready to mortgage my house to obtain the goat milk.  I loved the final result...salty, tangy, feta-ey!!  Since I had a few people ahem who worked through the kinks before me, I used Natashya's adaptations to make mine.

 

Everybody did a fabulous job forging Feta this month...thanks so much for joining us, ladies!!  I'm looking forward to Natashya's soon-to-be-announced challenge...and don't forget, we're still working on forging Gouda!  Please feel free to forge with us...jump in!

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

Halloumi Round-Up!

We came, we saw, we halloumi-ed!
Three of us took the challenge this month, and what a challenge it was!

This cheese called for more ingenuity than the previous cheesy challenges - gaps in the recipe and the need to construct shaping, weighting, and draining methods at home meant that we were forced to think on our feet.

And think we did! Each of us came up with creative ways to form our halloumi and each of us had great success! Click on each name to read their full halloumi adventures on their blogsites.

Heather of Girlichef used foil-wrapped dumbbells to weight her cheese, and created a mould out of a colander for shaping.

And ended up with this beautiful fried halloumi with chili oil to share with her family.

~

Foodycat also used barbell weights to press her halloumi, after a wild adventure procuring cheese making supplies. She also created this ingenious draining mat.

Her results were tender, salty halloumi - perfect for pairing with pasta.

~

And over at Living in the Kitchen with Puppies, I frightened said puppies by creating a falling tower of bricks to press my cheese. After the first mishap the pups were ushered into the back bedrooms for their own safety. Cheese making can be dangerous business.

And I made some delicious fried halloumi with harissa and roasted red peppers. Yum!

~

From reading their posts, I gather mine was dryer than Foodycat's or Girlichef's. I'm not sure why, but with cheese making results can vary.

~

So, are you inspired to take a cheesy challenge? The next fabulous cheese dare will be posted tomorrow.

Stay cheesy!

Free Cheese Pairing Guide

Free Cheese Pairing Guide from Beemster! I received this cool offer via email...looks like anyone can order a free one!  Click HERE!

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!!