Cistercian monastery cheese

This is one of the traditional cheeses of the Cistercian monasteries. Unfortunately, we do not know its original name. This cheese looks like Port Salut cheese, which was also made by the Cistercian monasteries, but its technology is slightly different and the taste is also different.

This cheese is semi-soft, elastic, but not plastic. It is not possible to cut it into thin slices because it is too soft.

Required:

    Recipe

    Preparing (2h)
    • Before starting, we should disinfect all surfaces and dishes that may come into contact with milk.
    • Determine whether milk is suitable for making cheese. It has to go through the bactericidal phase (cold milk from the previous day usually works). If you have a PH meter, the PH level of milk should not be outside the PH 6.55–6.75 range (which is very rare).
    • Pasteurize milk: heat it to 65 °C and keep it at this temperature for 30 minutes. Can heat up to 70 °C and hold for 15 minutes.
    • Quickly cool the milk, for example, in a cold bath to 25 °C (it could take 20 minutes), or heat the already pasteurized milk.
      Processing (3h)
      • Add the cheese cultures: Lactoferm EM 1.2 grams, Micromilk Geotrichum Candidum 1.2 grams, and Micromilk Brevibacterium Linens 0.5 grams to the milk.
      • Wait 5 minutes and stir the cheese cultures into the milk.
      • Leave for 3 hours.
      • Add calcium chloride 2.5 milliliters, annatto - 8 drops and rennet 1-1.5 milliliters and stir into the milk for 30 seconds. Calcium chloride and rennet should be diluted with 50 milliliters of clean water before adding to the milk. Calcium chloride and rennet must be added separately.
      • The addition of ferment (rennet) should usually be within the PH 6.45-6.6 range. In our case it was PH 6.46.
      • After adding the rennet, the time it takes for the milk to thicken (form a single clot) should be recorded to determine the flocculation point. Usually the flocculation point for most cheeses is 3. This means that if the milk has thickened in 12 minutes, then the next step can only be taken 36 minutes after adding the rennet (12x3=36 minutes). The acceptable time for clot formation is 10-15 minutes. If it is shorter or longer, the physical properties of the cheese will change.
      • Cutting of the thickened mass takes place 30-45 minutes after adding the rennet. Cut with a 2 cm gap vertically and leave for 5 minutes.
      • After 5 minutes, cut into 1 cm cubes.
      • Leave for 5 minutes.
      • Mix slowly for 15 minutes.
      • Leave for 5 minutes.
      • Prepare 3 liters of clean drinking water at about 50C.
      • Drain 20% (3 liters) of whey (PH is already 6.30)
      • Add the same amount of water 50C to reach a total temperature of 37-39C
      • Stir continuously for 15 minutes.
      • Leave for 5 minutes.
        Pressing and salting (3h + 9h)
        • Form into molds with whey (for example in the same pot) and leave for 30 minutes together with the whey (PH 6.12).
        • Drain the whey and turn the cheese (PH 5.83).
        • Leave for 2 hours.
        • Turn the cheese and leave overnight.
        • Before brining, the cheese PH was PH 5.29.
        • Brining time is 6 hours per 1 kg of cheese in 23% brine solution 6-8C, to which a little calcium chloride was added.
        • After brining, dry with a paper towel, immediately put in a container for 3 days at 12C, 85%.
        • On the third day, dry the container and rub with 2% salt water leaving the surface of the cheese wet and so every 2 days.
        In the first few weeks, the cheese will give off a strong aroma, which some people may not like, but it should be. After 3 weeks, the surface of the cheese will already be dry and completely covered with the orange protective mold, which is formed by the Brevibacterium Linens culture. When the mold is dry, the strong aroma will diminish. You can leave the cheese in the container as it is, or wrap it in foil and keep it in there to further enhance the aroma. The cheese will be ready after 1 month.
          We look forward to your feedback!

          * Freshly milked milk has bactericidal properties for a few hours, during the so-called bactericidal phase, when bacteria suppress reproduction. Cooling the milk prolongs the bactericidal phase. If the milk is obtained in strict compliance with sanitary regulations and rapidly cooled to +40 °C, the duration of the bactericidal phase is 24 hours and more. At the same temperature bactericidal phase period, impure milk has at least two to three times shorter temperature. The duration of the unrefrigerated milk phase is, on average, 2 hours.
          (Source: http://www.ezerzeme.lv/lv/zinas/noderigi/5222/par-piena-kvalitati)

          ** The time of milk coagulation (thickening) depends on the quantity of calcium chloride and rennet. It can be adjusted for best coagulation time, which should ideally be 12 minutes. For instance, if the first time your milk has thickened after 20 minutes, then increase the next dose of enzyme.

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