Limburger cheese recipe

Limburger cheese is often confused with Münster cheese, which is produced with the help of thermophilic bacteria. In a sense, Limburger is very similar to Backstein cheese (Backsteinkäse), or Latvian cheese. The most characteristic feature of all these cheeses is the process of washing/cleaning the rind with Brevia bacteria/salt solution, which gives these cheeses a characteristic aroma (smell), taste and protects against unwanted mold.

Required:

Recipe

  1. Before starting, we should disinfect all surfaces and dishes that may come into contact with milk.
  2. 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).
  3. 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.
  4. Quickly cool the milk, for example, in a cold bath to 35-36 °C (it could take 15 minutes), or heat the already pasteurized milk.
  5. After adding a rennet, start the timer to determine the flocculation point. Generally, the flocculation point for most of the cheeses is 4. That means that if the milk has thickened (forms a curd) within 12 minutes, you can move on to the next stage only after 48 minutes (12x4 = 48 minutes).

Tip: the success story of this cheese lies in the ripening. If the cheese is too moist, Geotrichum Candidum bacteria will take over and the cheese will be very bitter and may even become too soft (like Brie cheese). Cheese can also be made without these bacteria, it is not so critical, it is important to have Brevia bacteria, which is a prerequisite. The amount of this Brevia bacteria can also be adjusted depending on the desired result. Some homemakers add a very small amount (on the knife blade) of this Brevia bacteria.

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    * 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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