SC - Re: SC- feast options was rant

[Jenne Heise]

ChannonM at aol.com wrote:
> 
> A suggestion was to see if it separated when dragging a spatula
> through it. It did, but was not as solid as I envisioned it would be.

That is probably just a perceptual thing. The semi-hard, "squeaky" curds
some people think of when in Dairy Thought Mode is the result of cooking
curds, a process used in some cheesemaking, but not all. The closest
textural approximation of what to look for (that I can think of) is
barely set gelatin or aspic, the kind you then spoon over meat dishes,
pates and such as a glaze before it sets fully. Yes, you can slip a
spatula through it and it does separate (I usually just jiggle the pot
and see if I can see a clear space between the milk and the side of the
pot), but it doesn't, at this stage, form a  curd sufficiently solid to
hold itself up without support from a container. It still acts very much
like a liquid. I don't know about the stringy reference, that usually
comes later, AFAIK. What you've described, though, sounds like viable
cheese to me, if in the early stages.   
 
> I drained it anyway, thinking I had cooked it and set it too fast. I let the
> curds drain a few hours. The curds drained well enough so I added 1.5 tsp
> salt, mixed it and I then lined a large empty soup can with holes punched in
> it with cheese cloth and poured in about 2 cups of curd. I placed the can's
> top as a follower and placed a large can of beans on top. I made two such
> contraptions of cheese.
> 
> This was left to press overnight sitting on top of a baking rack over a tray.
> Some soft cheese pressed out of the can in little blobs. I then took the
> cheese from 1 of the presses out and tasted it, looked at it and generally
> thought about it. Well, it was a taste between cottage and cream cheese, but
> without the dryness of cottage curds. It was fairly smooth in texture, with a
> hint of a rind. Seemed too wet to me, and the only flavour was from the salt.
> Kinda insipid. :)

This, too, shall pass. If you were able to remove it from the mold at
this stage of the game, I'd say you're on your way. Much of the flavor
component will come as it ripens, and the texture will also change as
the casein is broken down and stirred up by bacterial action. 
 
> I added a second can on the other cheese contraption, and will let it press
> longer.

Sounds like a plan. Do Not... as in, do not, succumb to the temptation
to add too much weight in the early stages (even period authors are very
clear on this); unlike your little problem with curds shooting out the
holes, what you'll be left with (in addition to the aforementioned
shooting) will be dry and unpleasant. I would guess that you'll end up
with little wheels, each just shy of eight ounces, and you probably want
a minimum ripening period of about ten days for wheels that size. That'd
be for a not-really-sharp, creamy cheese like, say, Tomme, or York. In
short, slipcote.  

Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com