Little Green Cheese

Cheese making at home with Gavin Webber the Cheeseman

Jarlsberg Cheese Taste Test

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Jarlsberg would have to be one of the most exciting cheeses to make at home.  Why,  I hear you ask?

Well, it’s because you can see it visibly growing, or swelling as it matures.  As the eyes develop, the cheese paste expands because of the CO² created by the Propionic Shermanii.  This, in turn, makes the entire cheese wheel expand.

Jarlsberg Cheese

It may also force the wax coating of the cheese to split, so you need to keep and eye on it and reseal when necessary.

So what did my Jarlsberg taste like?

I think it was one of the best cheeses of this type that I have ever made.  I was so proud that I posted this Jarlsberg cheese taste test on Cheeseman.tv

So there you have it.  Did you like the official taste testers?

You can pick up supplies for Jarlsberg at our shop https://www.littlegreenworkshops.com.au. I recommend the Italian Cheese kit, with the addition of Propionic Shermanii as it contains most things you need to make this cheese.

Little Green Workshops

Making Havarti Cheese

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Havarti is a popular Danish cheese that has a mild paste and flexible texture, making it the perfect cheese for people who haven’t developed a taste for strong-tasting cheese.  So lets start making Havarti cheese!

It is a washed curd cheese which reduces acid development and it can sometimes form eyes during maturation.

Havarti

Makes about 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs)

Ingredients

Equipment

Method

  1. Sanitise all of your equipment.
  2. Heat milk to 32°C/90°F.  Turn off heat.
  3. Sprinkle Aromatic Mesophilic starter culture over surface of milk and allow to rehydrate for a few minutes.  Stir culture through milk using an up and down motion for 1 minute.  Cover and allow to ripen for 30 minutes, maintaining the target temperature.
  4. Add Calcium Chloride and mix thoroughly.
  5. Add Rennet solution and stir for 1 minute.  Cover and allow to set for 50 minutes.
  6. Check for a clean break.  If necessary, wait another 5 minutes then test again.
  7. Cut the curd into 1.25 cm/ ½ inch cubes.  Gently stir for 10 minutes.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  8. Using a sieve and ladle, remove about 4.5 litres of whey, down to the level of the curd.  Gently stir the curd for a few minutes to break up the curd mass.
  9. Replace the whey with an equal amount of water heated to 77°C/170°F.  The overall temperature should reduce to 38°C/100°F.  If the temperature is too high, add some cool water to adjust.  If the curd has matted together, break it up with your clean hands.
  10. Add the cheese salt to the pot, stir thoroughly.  Stir for 30 minutes at 38°C/100°F to prevent the curds from matting.
  11. Allow the curds to settle for 10 minutes.  They should mat into one big mass.
  12. Pour the curds and whey into a cheesecloth lined colander.  Break up curds into chunks to release some more whey.
  13. Line your mould with cheesecloth and fill with curds.
  14. Fold one corner of the cheesecloth over the mould and top with a follower.  Press at 5kg (11lbs) for 20 minutes.
  15. Remove from press and mould, turn the cheese, redress, and press at 13kg (30lbs) for 8 hours.
  16. Remove cheese from press, unwrap and place on a cheese mat in a ripening box.  Cover and ripen at 12°C/54°F @ 90% humidity for 4 weeks.
  17. Turn cheese daily for first week, draining any whey that collects in the bottom.  Turn every second day for the next three weeks.  If mould starts to grow, then wipe with a cloth dipped in brine and gently remove the growth.
  18. The cheese tends to flatten a little over the ripening period as it is so moist.  This is fine and perfectly okay.
  19. Wax the cheese in 2 to 3 coats of cheese wax and ripen for a further 2 weeks at 12°C/54°F @ 90% humidity. Eat and enjoy!
Havarti Cheese
Havarti Cheese after 4 weeks ripening.

Havarti is delicious and smooth, with a light creamy texture.  Delicious for young palates or people who haven’t developed the taste for stronger hard cheeses.

I hope you enjoyed making Havarti cheese.  For other cheese making video tutorials, check out my cheese making YouTube Channel, cheeseman.tv

Bloomy Ricotta

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This cheese was a fortuitous accident!  By mistake I made a Bloomy Ricotta.

About seven weeks ago, I made normal whey ricotta from the leftover whey from two cheeses, Camembert and Queso Fresco.

Bloomy Ricotta
Bloomy Ricotta

The starter culture that I used for both was Sacco MO36R, and I added Penicillium Candidum to make the Camembert.

Once I finished making both the Camembert and Queso Fresco, I heated the remaining whey to 92°C (197.6°F) and recovered the Ricotta with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar.  I drained using butter muslin, and added 2 teaspoons of salt to the cheese.

For those of you after the whey ricotta video tutorial; https://youtu.be/1fdYZ8T45JE

Anyway, it was too salty, so I left it in the kitchen fridge and forgot about it for 7 weeks until my wife found it and questioned me about it.

It appears that the whey still had enough P. Candidum left in it to breed in the conditions that I stored it.  I kept the Ricotta in an airtight container in the kitchen fridge at 4°C (39.2°F).

Here’s the quick video I put together to show you this creation.

 

I believe that the additional salt helped preserve the cheese better for longer.  Normally I would only add 1 teaspoon of salt to Ricotta made from 6 litres (1½ gal) of whey, but got distracted and over salted.

I am actually surprised that the P. Candidum imparted a lot of flavour into the cheese and somehow reduced the overall saltiness.  It could be my tounge playing tricks on me, but this was certainly an improvement on the original Ricotta!

So all these little events led to the creation of my Bloomy Ricotta.  Blooming marvelous I say!

If you are after supplies to recreate this cheese, please visit Little Green Workshops.

Little Green Workshops

Little Green Workshops