Komijnekass Verdict

Komijnekass (Cumin Cheese) was a cheese recipe that I kind of made up as I went along.  The base recipe was a farmhouse cheddar, whereby I added cumin and caraway seeds to during milling.  I made two identical wheels from this batch.

This was way back in late October last year, and I have had this cheese in the cheese fridge/cave maturing for about 3 ½ months.  I did intend on tasting it for Christmas, but time got away from me.  I only remembered that it was probably time to try this cheese when I turned all the cheeses in the cave today!  Better late than never.

So the komijnekass verdict.

De-waxing:  There was no additional whey when I opened the wax, and the outside was very moist.

Texture:  When I cut into it, I could tell that it was a little crumbly, but did not fall apart.  The seeds were evenly distributed throughout, which was a good sign.

Taste:  It had a sharp cheddar tang with nice soft cumin overtones that hit the palette after a few seconds.  You could really taste the cumin after a while which took over from the sharpness.

It was a very nice cheese, that also got a big thumbs up from my wife and son.  I vac-packed the rest after we demolished 1/8th with some crackers and wine!  I find that by vac-packing the cheese and storing it in the normal fridge at 4°C, stops the cheese from aging and it keeps for a long time with no problems at all.

For those who want to replicate this recipe, you can find it at the original post titled “Komijnekass“.  During maturation, I turned it every day for the first two weeks, then once a week after that.  I kept it at around 13°C in wax.

Bon Appetit!