SC - cheesemaking and salted butter

[Stefan li Rous]

Admantius said:
>You also might want to experiment with using rennet. You can use that or an
>acid such as vinegar or lemon juice, but if you're going to have to go to the
>cheesemaking shop anyway...might as well give it a whirl in the hopes of a
>firmer product. It certainly won't do less than what you are already using.

I'm not sure how vinegar compares to herbs for curdling cheese, but in
"Food and Drink in Britain" Wilson says:

"Also tradtional was the employment of certainherbs to induce the curdling
of milk. In fact, herb coagulants are weaker than rennet and tend to produce
bitter flavours in the cheese." (Boorde: Dyetary (A compendyous regyment, etc)

So maybe rennet might work better.

She also mentions herbed cheese, so that is apparently period.

She also mentions that hard cheeses were the cheeses of the peasants. The
upper-classes ate the softer cheeses which were richer in cream and butter.

Someone earlier had asked about whether butter was salted in period. According
to Wilson, yes. However, like other salted items the salt was often washed
out before use. I will type in that passage later if it is of interest.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net
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