Komijnekaas

Komijnekaas or in English, Cumin Cheese, is very popular in the Netherlands where this type of cheese was first made.

Normally it is made with semi-skimmed milk with 5% buttermilk added to it, as well as the obvious cumin seeds.  So without being too fancy, I decided to make my own variety of komijnekaas using my basic farmhouse cheddar recipe as the base. Usually the Dutch use Gouda as the base for this cheese, but from experience, my Gouda does not taste very nice, so I went with a cheese that I knew was very nice.

I made the cheese as normal in my 14 litre pot with 13.7 litres of milk.  As I was heating up the milk to 33C I added 5ml of calcium chloride mixed with half a cup of water, as I was using homogenised milk.  In a smaller saucepan I bought 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds to the boil in 3/4 cup of water.  Once boiling, I simmered for 15 minutes, then strained the seeds and kept the water.  When the milk reached the target temp of 33C, I added the cumin water which was a nice yellow/brown colour.

I then proceed to make the cheese as normal until milling.  After the 2 tablespoons salt was added to the milled cheese, I added the cumin/caraway seeds and mixed well, then pressed as per my normal recipe into two 1kg moulds.

This is what it looks like now that it is out of the mould and air drying for the next week.

As I have mentioned before, herbs and spices can add such a different perspective to an ordinary cheese and turn it into something extraordinary!

I am so looking forward to tasting my creation in two months time.

Cheese Loves Herbs and Spices

I have been making herb flavoured cheese since back in 2009.  I find that a good cheese becomes a great one with the addition of a few simple herbs or spices.  Here are a few examples.

Here is a Wensleydale with Sage that I recently made.

All I do is pick some Sage from the garden, dry it on a tray in the oven at 120C (230F) for 5 minutes.  They shrivel a little, but you only spread a single layer once you put in half the milled curds into your mould.  The flavour that it imparts to the cheese is amazing.  Here is the finished product.

Another of my favourites is Pyrenees with green peppercorns.  All you have to do is add 1 tablespoon of green peppercorns to half a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes.  Strain the water, cool it down, and add it to the milk before the culture.  Add the peppercorns during milling or before putting the curds in the mould.

The cheese has a sharp flavour enhanced by the soft green peppercorns.

If you like chilli, then Pepper Jack is another spicy cheese you could try.  Same method as Monteray Jack, but add 1 teaspoon of dry chilli flakes to half a cup of water and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add water before culture and chilli flakes at milling.

This cheese goes great with crackers and an ice cold Cerveza!

Lastly my all time favourite, Farmhouse Cheddar with red peppercorns.  I used the Farmhouse Cheddar recipe from Ricki Carroll's Home cheesemaking book and added red peppercorns as per my normal method.

The combination was simply fantastic and is a great match with a glass of red wine.

This Friday, I will be attempting a variation on the Farmhouse Cheddar, this time with cumin seeds.  Same method of preparation, same Farmhouse Cheddar recipe.  I have tasted Edam with cumin before and was very impressed.  I think I will only add a teaspoon of seeds to the water, as I don't want the flavour to be too overbearing.  I will report back after the taste test in a few months!

So, in conclusion, the addition of extra ingredients can literally spice up your cheese and add that certain something that you may have been craving for.  I highly recommend giving it a try. You will thank yourself for it!