This is my first attempt at this cheese so I will not be posting the recipe until I know how it turns out. You will have to wait three months until it matures for the taste test post. It is only the second type of washed curd cheese I have made other than Gouda.
The recipe I used was from Tim Smith’s Making Artisan Cheese, and was Cabra al Vino (which is Spanish for Goats Wine), except I have used cow’s milk, changed the recipe somewhat, and the type of wine. Essentially I created Drunken Cow Cheese!
I opted for a sweet red instead of the normal dry red used for this cheese. I used a Crimson Cabernet by Banrock Station, which is a light fruity red, hoping that it will impart a certain sweetness to the cheese.
The cheese soaks in the wine for 24 hours initially, then a 6 hour air drying, then another 24 hours in the wine bath.
When it is removed, and dried for another 24 hours, it looks like this. It has a lovely purple colour.
It was not suggested in the recipe, but I pieced the cheese about 14 times as I would with a blue, to let some of the wine infuse into the core of the round. I am hoping for a marbling effect, but time will tell.
It is being stored at 12°C @ 80% humidity, for three months. I have to turn it daily for the first two weeks, and if mould forms (which I am hoping it won’t), I have to wipe it with a brine solution. I have found from experience that my wine fridge does not stay humid enough, so I may end up waxing it at the four week mark to ensure that it keeps moist.
Fingers crossed it will be a very nice cheese. It smells delicious already, but I have always been partial to a nice drop of red wine!
Has anyone tasted this type of cheese before? I have to admit that I have not, so it is a big experiment for me.
Hi Gavin.
I made a French farm cheese last year, which I put in red grape skins, after that was made wine from them. The cheeses were in the wine shells in 2 months. It did not go well, the shells got moldy and the cheese was almost dissolved inside the shells.
It was my first attempt and I was sorry it went so bad, so I have not tried it again, but might feel like it's pretty exciting with the combination of wine-and cheese.
Excuse my english, I'm from Denmark.
I have a great passion for making cheese. I hold courses in the manufacture of cheese and Danes love to learn how to make your own cheese.
Regards to all cheesemakers on this lovely blog… Aase
I have tasted a similar cheese in Ireland, and absolutely loved it, From what i could work out the curds were be soaked in wine before being pressed,the cheese was beautifully marbled, i tried soaking some curds in a good irish whisky, turned out to be a beautiful cheese. Leah
Oh wow, it looks fantastic. I can't wait to see the end result.
I too am excited. Still turning it every day so far for the first two weeks.
Gav
Hi Gavin,
Thanks for a great blog. I recently did a course on camembert and although we were asked to bring our own un-homogenised milk we were lucky enough to be supplied with real milk from a local dairy. I had an absolute ball at the course and came home not only with a camembert but ricotta, mascarpone and quark (quarg) too. I was interested to read that you use homogenised milk with the addition of calcium chloride in your cheesemaking. Is there a set ratio of calcium chloride to milk that you use? And do you recommend a milk with a certain butterfat percentage? As much as I would like to use milk from a dairy it would be a lot more convenient just to grab it from the supermarket.
Cheers Kate
Hi Kate,
I use half a teaspoon of CaCl per 8 litres of homogenised milk. The richer the milk the better. If you can get milk with a butter fat over 3.8%, then you will get a great cheese.
Gav
Thanks Gav. Shall have a go with my triple cream brie that I have been waiting to try.
I have made this cheese using Debra Amrein-Boyes' recipe. I really like it. I have not made it with 100% goat milk (a bit too expensive), but I have made it using up to 50% goat milk. We like this cheese a lot. The best performer in terms of wine (of course, among those I have used) was Protocolo Red. My favorite was the one where I used 50% goat milk, but my husband preferred a less goat-y version (25% goat). Good luck!
Thanks for sharing Simon. Sounds like a nice variant.
Gav