Little Green Cheese

Cheese making at home with Gavin Webber the Cheeseman

LGC 027 – Kosher Cheese with Dovid Wheeler

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Today we learn about Kosher cheese from Dovid Wheeler in Israel.  I first started corresponding with Dovid about a year or so ago, and he sent through the Tzafatit recipe that I posted back in January this year.

During the episode, Dovid describes the cheeses that he makes at home, successes, challenges, and some issues that he has had with the milk that he sources.

If you want more information about Kosher cheese making, the great news is that Dovid blogs over at Koshercurds.com where you can find a wealth of information on the topic.

Dovid Wheeler

Links mentioned during this episode;

Also, a big shout out to Sami for the kind words of thanks and encouragement at the end of the episode.

So curd nerds, if you think you have a cheese making story to tell, drop me an email. I would love to have you on the show as my next guest.

If you wish to receive the show on your portable apple device each time I release an episode, you can subscribe via iTunes. You can also subscribe via Stitcher radio below for android devices.

So, until next time curd nerds, remember to Keep Calm and Make Cheese!

Tzafatit Update

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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
Method
  1. 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.
  2. Hold the heat for 40 minutes without moving pot.  It set a curd immediately
  3. Cut the curd into 1/2 cm or 3/8 inch cubes, then let it rest for 10 minutes
  4. Stir the curds slowly for 15 minutes
  5. Drain the whey until it is at the curd line
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Let sit for 12 hours draining.
  9. Put in Fridge  It was refrigerated at 7am Pacific Standard Time; I plan on making a taste tonight when I return from work.
Tzafatit curd before placing in mould

 

In the 5 inch mould
Cassidy’s Tasting notes:
I have done a tasting; the best I can say it is very similar to some of the fresh Mexican type cheese we can easily buy here in San Diego:

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.

Tzafatit update
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?

Making Tzafatit

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The other day, I received a unique cheese recipe from a reader who lives in Israel.  +DovidWheeler sent through the instructions on how to make Tzafatit, which is a traditional cheese from his part of the world dating back.

Unfortunately, it is way too hot here in Melbourne Australia for me to make this cheese.  With daytime temperatures peaking at about 43° C and night time currently at around 32° C, it is not the time nor place to experiment with a new cheese.  However, I am looking forward to getting back into cheese making after the weather cools down (maybe in a few months!) and having a go at this cheese.

Anyway, here is Dovid’s email which he gave me permission to share with you all.

Hello Gavin,

I don’t think that you have done this one yet. It is the only true cheese that has been recorded from Israel. It has been around since about 2000 years after the second temple. It is called Tzafatit (Cheese from Tzfat)

It is a soft and salt cheese. Tastes great with Watermelon.

Originally made with either sheep/goat milk, but tastes wonderful with store-bought milk as well.

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)
  • 2 tsp Vinegar
  • 4 drops liquid rennet in 2 Tbsp  Water
  • 3 Tbsp Cheese Salt

Method

  1. Heat milk to 37° C or 99° F.   Add Culture, Calcium Chloride, Vinegar and Rennet and stir while adding each ingredient
  2. Hold the heat for 40 minutes without moving pot
  3. Cut the curd into 1/2 cm or 3/8 inch cubes, then let it rest for 10 minutes
  4. Stir the curds slowly for 15 minutes
  5. Drain the whey until it is at the curd line
  6. Add the salt and mix through for around 2 minutes
  7. Place in small cheese hoops and flip every 15 minutes for the first hour.
  8. Let sit for 12 hours draining.
  9. Put in Fridge
  10. Next day – EAT 🙂

If anyone gets the chance to make this in the next few days, I would love a photo of your creation and will post it up with this post.  I cannot seem to find one on the net.

Happy cheese making!

Little Green Workshops