[Sca-cooks] Blue Cheese
Suey
lordhunt at gmail.com
Tue Sep 4 07:37:35 PDT 2007
Stefan wrote:
> I thought blue cheese was from cow's milk.
>
>
>
in his next posting he cites his message Charles-Chees-art which states
that blue cheese is from ewe's milk.
This surprises me because the never ending issue between Roquefort and
Cabrales is who invented blue cheese. Either French pilgrims from
Roquefort on the Way of St. James learned the art of making it from the
Asturians or the Asturians learned it from them.
Cabrales, queso cabraliego, Spain’s major blue-veined cheese is made
with mixture of over 1/3 each of ewes and goats’ milk and the remaining
part is cow’s milk. It is a soft cheese spread on bread or beaten with
cider or diced and eaten alone as a snack or dessert. This is mixed as
each animal is milked. Formerly, it was put in the stomach of a recently
slaughtered goat as the rennin in its stomach contained casein. Today
special tubs are used which consist of double sides and are hallow in
the middle. Hot water is run through them, which initiates the curdling
process. The name for this cheese is derived from "cabra", goat and
Cabrales, one of the localities where it is made. It is made at mountain
farms in Asturias, mainly around Cabrales and Penamellera Alta. It is a
strong-smelling cheese with a powerful flavor. The paste is an uneven
dull white with yellow-brown patches and irregular blue-brown patches
and irregular veining. The rind is grayish-red and crusty and was
wrapped in sycamore leaves before the invention of plastic bags. As it
must be cured in humid and ventilated conditions, it is taken to the
natural caves facing north in limestone mountains of karst formation
with fissures, sinkholes and underground drainage. The process takes
about six months or more depending on the degree of maturity desired.
Today in the mountains around Cabrales and Cordiñanes (León) this
tradition continues.
Suey
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