I love the cheese making community we have here. When I posted the Tzafatit recipe a few days ago, soon there after I received a voice mail from Cassidy Rowland who lives in San Diego, California USA. I will play her message during the next podcast episode.
She took the instructions and made the cheese as per the instructions. Brilliant work, so here is a Tzafatit update. Here are her notes (in red).
Tzafatit
INGREDIENTS
- 3 Litres Whole (Full Cream) Milk or 3 quarts.
- 3 large granules (3 ml I think) of Calcium Chloride in 2 tsp water (or equiv
of liquid) - Mesophilic Culture (small amount) I used 1 smidgen of Aroma B
- 2 tsp Vinegar
- 4 drops liquid rennet in 2 Tbsp Water
- 3 Tbsp Cheese Salt
- Heat milk to 37° C or 99° F. Add Culture, Calcium Chloride, Vinegar and Rennet and stir while adding each ingredient I added the culture first, let it rehydrate for 2 minutes before stirring it in and then added the rest of the ingredients.
- Hold the heat for 40 minutes without moving pot. It set a curd immediately
- Cut the curd into 1/2 cm or 3/8 inch cubes, then let it rest for 10 minutes
- Stir the curds slowly for 15 minutes
- Drain the whey until it is at the curd line
- Add the salt and mix through for around 2 minutes. I tasted at this point – it seemed very salty; I don’t know what the ratio should be but on first taste I venture only 1 tablespoon rather than 3.
- Place in small cheese hoops and flip every 15 minutes for the first hour. After the 2nd flip, the cheese was still rather loose and fragile with a piece breaking off despite careful handling. When
it was still fragile after the 3rd flip, I added a 2.5 lb weight on top of my mould for the rest of the draining. - Let sit for 12 hours draining.
- Put in Fridge It was refrigerated at 7am Pacific Standard Time; I plan on making a taste tonight when I return from work.
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| Tzafatit curd before placing in mould |
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| In the 5 inch mould |
It is very mild, really almost bland, and not as salty as my first taste last night. In my opinion, it is not an interesting cheese, more a cheese to grate/crumble to mix into a burrito or other food, not something to have on its own. Should others have a different outcome than I have, I would be very interested in the differences in cultures, etc. Grist for the mill, as one might say.
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| Unmoulded Tzafatit cheese. The crack is still visible |
Gavin’s notes:
Great work Cassidy, and thanks for giving this recipe a go. Sounds very much like Queso blanco, but maybe a little bit saltier if you add the 3 Tbspns. When it cools down here, I am going to use smaller width Camembert moulds and see if that makes a difference. +Dovid Wheeler do you have any tips?
I was wondering when the culture would have any opportunity to grow but I see that Dovid is suggesting that the culture be added before heat is applied to the milk. I tend to use kefir as my culture and plan on making a batch of this with kefir. I wonder if it might make any sense to simply allow the cheese to drain from a cheese cloth bag under its own weight rather than using a form. And so perhaps simply milling and turning the contents every 15 minutes for the first hour and then allowing the bag to drain undisturbed for 12 hours.
Hey Gavin, glad to see that the cheese was posted. Cassidy, this cheese is pretty salty. It is more like a soft feta cheese. The 3TBLS of salt will add a much more depth to the cheese. I use sea salt, but then I live about 2.5 hours from the dead sea. The cheese is not to be pressed at all. It will be loose, but by turning every 15 minutes for the first hour it it will be nice and hold shape within the hour. I am not sure what type of hoop you are using, but I would use either a hoop for either a fresh goat cheese or take a 4 yogurt containers and drill holes all over them. The curds will fill 3 1 cup yogurt containers, and you will use the 4th to transfer the curds from 1 cup to another while draining every 15 minutes for the first hour. I don't know the culture that you used. I would try using 2 TBLS of fresh yogurt instead. add all the ingredients (except the rennet) at the beginning while warming the milk, Then add rennet and follow the directions. It does remind me of a Quaso Blanco as well, but much more taste. It is not nice cooked foods except an omelette from my experience. It should not crumble at all. Would love to hear from you when do it again (if you do it again). Warm regards Dovid