Making Artisan Cheese (26 page)

There is nothing as refreshing as making fresh mozzarella and consuming it the same day—no commercial brand can compare with the tenderness and fresh flavor of this homemade cheese.

Once you achieve the proper pH, cut the curd mass into ½" (about 1 cm) cubes, drain off any excess whey, and place the curds into 4 cups (450 ml) of water that is heated to 170°F (77°C). Using wooden spoons, work the curds into balls by pressing them together. Once you have a ball the size you want (typically, about the size of a tangerine), take it out and work it with your hands, stretching the curds apart and folding them over themselves. The curds are going to be hot, so you may want to wear latex or rubber gloves during this step.

You’ll want to knead the cheese several times to get a full, soft texture. If you need to, put the cheese back into the water to warm it up so that it can be stretched further. Once you are satisfied with the size, shape, and texture of your cheese, immediately dunk it into cold brine solution. Be certain that your brine solution is cold, because you want to cool off the cheese as fast as possible; the longer the cheese stays warm, the tougher it becomes. Let the cheese soak in the brine solution for one hour. After soaking, it’s ready!

Yield: 1 pound (450 g)

Artisan Advice

Traditionally, Mozzarella was made with water buffalo’s milk, but most people have never tasted this kind of Mozzarella because almost all the Mozzarella produced in North America is made with cow’s milk. Water buffalo’s milk has a dense, creamy consistency.

Provolone

Provolone is a Southern Italian cheese that can be thought of as Mozzarella’s older brother. There are two versions of Provolone: piccante, which is aged longer and has a sharper bite, and dolce, with a milder flavor. Let the cheese age for four to six months to get the full benefit of the flavor.

INGREDIENTS

1 gallon (3.8 L) whole milk

8 ounces (220 g) thermophilic mother culture, or
teaspoon (about 1 ml) direct-set thermophilic culture

¼ teaspoon (about 2 g) lipase powder, dissolved in ¼ cup (60 ml) cool water

½ teaspoon liquid rennet, or ½ tablet of dry rennet dissolved in ¼ cup (60 ml) cool, unchlorinated water

Brine solution (see
page 86
)

TECHNIQUES

For illustrated steps and tools, see Intermediate Cheese-Making Techniques,
page 82
.

PROCEDURE

Heat the milk to 86°F (30°C), then add the starter culture. Cover and allow the milk to ripen for thirty minutes at the target temperature. Take a pH reading: the pH should be 6.0 to 7.0. When the proper pH level is reached, stir in the lipase, and let it sit for an additional ten minutes at the target temperature.

Stir in the rennet for one minute, and let the milk rest for thirty minutes at the target temperature. Take another pH reading, with a target of 6.5. If the mixture has not reached the 6.5 pH level, check in 10 minute intervals. Test for a clean break, then cut the curds.

Cut the curds into ¼" (6 mm) cubes, and allow them to rest for ten minutes at the target temperature (86°F [30°C]). Maintaining the target temperature, gently stir the curds for ten minutes. Gently heat the curds to 102°F (39°C); this should take thirty minutes. Continue to stir to keep the curds from matting. Once you reach the target temperature, stir for an additional ten minutes, and then let the curds rest for five minutes, maintaining the target temperature.

Drain off one-third of the whey using a sanitized measuring cup, and take a pH reading. If the whey has a pH of 6.0, let the curds rest for an additional five minutes at 102°F (39°C). If the pH is not 6.0, continue to stir until the proper reading is achieved.

Set a pot of water on the stove, and heat to 170°F (77°C). You will need this to mold the cheese. In addition, you will need a bowl of cool water for the stretching.

Form the curd into one continuous block, and place it in an 8" x 8" (20 x 20 cm) pan. Let the curd sit for ten minutes at room temperature. Cut the cheese block into ½" (about 1 cm)-wide blocks, and stack them on top of each other. Turn the stack every fifteen minutes, and test for a pH reading of 5.0. Continue turning and flipping the blocks of curds until a pH of 5.0 is reached.

Place one small piece of cheese into 170°F (77°C) water for thirty seconds. If it can easily stretch 2" (5 cm) without breaking, the cheese is ready to mold.

Using a wooden spoon, scoop out the balls from the stacks of curd and dip them into hot water. Let them sit in the water for one minute, then remove the curds from the water and place them in a bowl. Stretch the curds with your spoon or with your hands. The curds will be hot, so wear latex or rubber gloves to protect your hands.

Once the balls have achieved a smooth texture and an elastic consistency, immerse them in cool water, keeping them there until you are ready to brine your cheese.

Immerse the cheese in room-temperature brine solution for two hours. Remove the cheese from the brine, pat dry, and tie kitchen twine around the balls. Hang the balls in a cool area or in your refrigerator at 50°F (10°C) at 85 percent humidity for three weeks. If a sharper-flavored cheese is desired, continue to hang at 45°F (7°C) for an additional two to twelve months.

Yield: 1 pound (450 g)

Artisan Advice

Reserve the protein-rich, watery whey as it drains from cheese as it is being pressed. If used when fresh, it is the key ingredient in many delicious cheeses, including ricotta, gjetost, and myseost, whose recipes are provided in this chapter.

Ricotta

Ricotta, meaning "recooked" in Italian, is made with whey left over from the process of creating another cheese. While purists insist on using fresh whey only, fresh milk can be added to increase the recipe’s yield.

Ricotta is made from whey drained from other cheeses. In Italian, the word for ricotta means “recooked.”

INGREDIENTS

2 gallons (7.6 L) whey (please note that the whey must be fresh—no more than three hours old)

1 quart (0.9 L) whole milk (optional; add milk if a greater yield is desired)

¼ cup (60 ml) vinegar

Salt

TECHNIQUES

For illustrated steps and tools, see Intermediate Cheese-Making Techniques,
page 82
.

PROCEDURE

Pour the whey into a large pot, and heat it to 200°F (93°C). Add the vinegar, and stir. You will see small curd particles rise to the surface. Ladle the curds into a cheese-cloth-lined colander, and set aside to drain over a catch bowl. When the curds are cool to the touch, tie the corners of the cloth into a ball, wrap the ends around a wooden spoon, and rest the ends of the wooden spoon on the edges of your sink, allowing the curds to drain.

After a few hours the cheese should stop draining, at which time you can salt to taste. Package the cheese in an airtight container and refrigerate. Ricotta will stay fresh for five days in the refrigerator.

Yield: 2 pounds (900 g

Gjetost and Myseost

Here is another use for your leftover whey. Deep brown with pronounced caramel flavors, gjetost is made with goat’s milk whey, whereas myseost is made with cow’s milk whey. These cheeses are very popular in the Scandinavian countries, where they are often served as a breakfast cheese, melted on top of toasted bread. Making these cheeses takes time, so plan ahead; you don’t want to find yourself up at four in the morning finishing up the cheeses.

INGREDIENTS

1 gallon (3.8 L) fresh whey (not more than two hours old)

1 cup (235 ml) heavy cream

TECHNIQUES

For illustrated steps, see Intermediate Cheese-Making Techniques,
page 82
.

PROCEDURE

Pour the whey into a large pot. Leave plenty of room at the top to prevent it from boiling over. Add the cream, and slowly bring to a boil. Once at a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer, and skim off the foam that has formed on the top of the pot. Set it aside in a bowl in the refrigerator. Boil down the whey, stirring occasionally so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. When the whey has reduced to about 80 percent of its volume, add the reserved foam, and stir. Continue to reduce, whisking to keep the cheese smooth.

Once the mixture has the consistency of fudge, pour it into a metal bowl or pan, and place it into a water bath to cool. Continue to stir in the container to remove any lumps. When it has started to firm up, put it in an airtight container and refrigerate to set. Cool in refrigerator at about 40°F (4°C) and at 90 percent humidity. Gjetost and myseost will stay fresh in the refrigerator for three weeks, and it should be firm enough to slice.

CHAPTER FIVE
Advanced Cheese Making: The Mold- and Bacteria-Ripened Cheeses

The cheeses in this chapter present a unique set of circumstances that will challenge the basic cheese maker. Although many of these techniques are similar to those in the previous chapter, they do have some additional twists because of the precarious nature of the ripening process. That said, some of the world’s greatest cheeses are mold- and bacteria-ripened cheeses, and it is well worth the effort of making them yourself.