• About
  • Contact Me

Little Green Cheese

Cheese making at home with Gavin Webber the Cheeseman

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Cheese Courses
  • Cheese eBooks
  • Podcast
  • Videos
  • Cheese Making Kits
  • Support Me!
  • Live!
You are here: Home / Recipes / How to Make Tilsit – Washed Rind Cheese

How to Make Tilsit – Washed Rind Cheese

27/02/2017 By Gavin Webber 1 Comment

Tilsit is a semi-hard cheese made from cows milk that develops a rind with the aid of Brevibacterium linens (the aroma producing bacteria) during the ripening phase. It can be made from either raw milk or pasteurised milk. It is washed with a brine solution during maturation to encourage the light red smear on the rind.

 

This recipe is the traditional one that originates from East Prussia and not the Swiss version of the same name.

TILSIT

INGREDIENTS

  • 10 Litres (10 quarts) whole milk (about 3.8% fat)
  • Heaped 1/8 teaspoon (dash) Thermophilic Culture (MOT92)
  • 1/32 teaspoon (Smidgen) Brevibacterium Linens
  • 2.5ml (½ tsp) liquid rennet IMCU 190, diluted in ¼ cup non-chlorinated water.
  • 2.5ml (½ tsp) Calcium Chloride, diluted in ¼ cup non-chlorinated water.
  • Cool saturated brine solution (18%).
  • Simple Brine for washing rind

EQUIPMENT

  • Cheese drying mat or Bamboo mat
  • Dairy Thermometer
  • Stainless Steel Stirring Spoon
  • Mini measuring spoons (for cultures)
  • 165mm cheese mould with follower
  • Ripening box

METHOD

ADDING INGREDIENTS

  1. Sanitise all equipment.
  2. Warm your milk to 35°C (95°F), stirring gently whilst bringing up to temperature.  Turn off the heat.
  3. Sprinkle culture and B. Linens over the surface of the milk and allow to rehydrate for 5 minutes.  Stir thoroughly in an up and down motion without breaking the surface of the milk.  Cover and allow to ripen for 30 minutes at the target temperature.
  4. Add the Calcium Chloride solution and mix well.
  5. Add the rennet solution to the milk and mix thoroughly using the same up and down motion for no more than 1 minute.  Cover and allow to set for 50 minutes.
  6. Check for a clean break.  If necessary, leave for another 10 minutes then check again.

CUTTING AND Stirring THE CURD

  1. Cut the curds into 1.25 cm (½ inch) cubes.  When the curd is cut, cover and allow to heal for 5 minutes.
  2. Slowly increase the heat to 43°C (110°F) over 40 minutes, stirring to prevent matting.  Cover and stand for 10 minutes.

DRAINING AND PRESSING

  1. Using a ladle, ladle the curds in the unlined 165mm mould.  Place the follower on top.  Place the mould back into the pot to keep the curds warm.
  2. Flip the mould every 15 minutes for the first hour.  Don’t remove the cheese from the mould during the first hour.
  3. After the first hour, flip the cheese out of the mould, then replace back into the mould, every 2 hours for 6 hours.  This will help firm up the cheese and form a smooth rind.
  4. Leave the cheese in the pot overnight.

BRINING and Air Drying

  1. Next morning, remove cheese from the mould.  Place in the saturated brine solution for 12 hours, turning over once at 6 hours.
  2. Remove from the brine and place on a cheese mat in a ripening box.  Place the lid on diagonally so the cheese can still breath at room temperature for 1 day.  Turn once during the 24 hours.

AFFINAGE (AKA MATURING)

  1. After air drying, you will find the cheese a little bit tacky.  Ripen at 13°C (55°F) and 90% humidity, turning daily for even ripening during the first week.
  2. After the first week, begin to wash the rind twice weekly with a simple brine solution (1 cup cooled boiled water + 2 teaspoons salt).
  3. You will notice that this cheese starts to yellow then turn slightly orange as you continue to mature it.  Keep washed twice weekly for 2 months for a mild flavour and up to 6 months for a stronger flavour.

 

This cheese is simply amazing!  Well worth the wait.

Tilsit

You can pick up supplies for Tilsit cheese at our shop https://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au. I recommend the Italian Cheese Kit with the addition of Brevibacterium Linens, as it contains most cultures, supplies, and equipment you’ll need to make this cheese.

Little Green Workshops

Will this article help someone you know? If so help them out by sharing now!

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Filed Under: Recipes, Video Tutorial

← LGC057 – Flat Camembert and How To Fix It LGC058 – Starter Culture Substitutes →

About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber is passionate about home cheese making. He loves to make cheese in his spare time and shares the techniques, videos, podcasts, and recipes with his fellow curd nerds!

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    17/05/2021 at 02:24

    Hi Gavin! In the recipe it’s written 12 hours for the brine, how many hours do I need to leave the curd in the brine per kg of curd? Thanks a lot!

    Reply

Leave a comment for the Cheese Maker!Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Us via Social

FacebooktwitterpinterestrssyoutubeinstagramFacebooktwitterpinterestrssyoutubeinstagram

Cheese Making Kits

Cheeseman.tv Merchandise

Stay Fresh Cheese Bags Mug
0:00
1:0:07
  • LGC103 - Dan Leighton, from Extinct Cheeses to Medieval Re-enactments
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts

Archives

Tags

Aging Blue Brine Caerphilly Camembert Cheese Cave Cheese Press Colby Cream Cheese Curd Cutter Curds Drunken Cow eBook Emmentaler Equipment Farmhouse Cheddar Feta Gavin Halloumi Jarlsberg Kits Monterey Jack Mould Ripened Cheese Moulds Mozzarella Parmesan Parmigiano Reggiano Podcast Queso Fresco Raw Milk Rennet Ricotta Romano Romano Pepato Salt Sanitisation Starter Cultures Stilton Storage Technique Tzafatit Video Tutorial Waxing Whey Ricotta Workshops

Subscribe to Cheese Podcast

Apple PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSS

Subscribe to Cheeseman.TV

Podcast Reviews

  • Number One Cheese Podcast
    October 14, 2023 by Gene 321 from Australia

    Inspirational, motivational, incredible knowledge of cheese history and production, a great teacher with a twist of Aussie humor and an all round nice guy who knows his cheese. I’ve been listening to Gavin for many years now and gained so much knowledge and inspiration from just listening to his podcasts. If you’re interested in cheese, Gavin is your man.

  • I am so hooked on cheese making now.
    July 25, 2023 by Bennyssimoo from New Zealand

    Thank you Gavin. I feel like I know you as if you were my neighbor and you really got me lost in cheese now

  • Love it. Keep it up!
    February 12, 2022 by Corknip from Denmark

    Excellent podcast. Started the home making adventure last month and have been catching up on all the past episodes and YouTube videos. it is a gold mine of shared knowledge. Thank you!

  • So funny!!!!
    June 15, 2020 by purple quaqamale from United States

    Little green cheese is so funny

  • Great podcasts
    June 14, 2020 by Chrissy Curd Nurd from Australia

    I’ve just started cheese making at home,Gavin ‘s podcasts are so informative. I also watch his you tube tutorials. Thanks for your great work!!

  • An excellent guide to artisan cheese!
    January 14, 2020 by N.K.13 from Australia

    I recently became aware of Gavin’s lovely YouTube channel and podcast and it’s been incredible. His competence and comprehensive explanations leave you craving more. Much like a good cheese! Cheers Gavin!

  • Perfect for Cheesemakers of all levels!
    December 3, 2018 by Viki Leeasa from Thailand

    I love that this podcast does not just have helpful tips and tricks on cheese making, but also stories and news from the cheese world, as well as nice little anecdotes from the host.A big fan from Thailand!

  • If you think you want to make cheese, listen to this!
    November 30, 2018 by paulsaw from United States

    Gavin Webber’s Little Green Cheese is By Far the best podcast I have ever heard! A truly informative and quality production!

  • Great program
    October 9, 2018 by p37dg9q14 from United States

    Very informative and enjoyable podcast. I started at episode 1 and currently listening to 25. I’ll be giving cheesemaking a go in the next week. Mike J from Oceanside CA

  • Great podcast
    September 13, 2018 by nicole_elias from Australia

    I have a long commute to and from work and have worked my way through the back catalogue of these podcasts. Enjoyed every one of them and hope for many more to come. Thanks Gavin! Keep up the great work. Cheers, Nicole

Little Green Workshops

Copyright © 2025 · Gavin Webber