Cheesemaking ( wasRe: SC - Awright, so who's going to Mudthaw)

[rcmann4 at earthlink.net]

And it came to pass on 28 Feb 01, , that Philip & Susan Troy wrote:

> rcmann4 at earthlink.net wrote:
> > anything) I will bring for the A&S exhibition.  My latest hobby-horse
> > is cheesemaking, but I'm not sure if those can be displayed safely,
> > especially since I've only been making soft bag cheeses.  I don't
> > want to poison half the barony, not to mention the Royals.
> 
> My own experience is that cheese tends to broadcast its weaknesses
> loudly. Unlike, say, chicken or beef, which can smell and taste fine and
> still make you sick, bad cheese seems to tend not to get far enough past
> the nose and the taste buds to create problems. The salt often added to
> facilitate draining, and the lactic acid produced by airborne bacteria,
> act as pretty effective preservatives.

That's reassuring.  I can transport it in a cooler, of course, but I 
was concerned about the hours of unrefrigerated display.
 
> And then, of course, you might be interested in methods of preserving
> cheeses, such as rolling them in ashes, or conserving them in olive oil
> (the latter normally done only with goat's milk cheeses). 

Do you have any sources to recommend on period methods of 
cheesemaking?  I've read the Florilegium files, and your article on 
slipcoat cheese, and I've hunted for cheese recipes in many of the 
period cookbooks.  There doesn't seem to be a lot.  Digby and 
Fettiplace, "chinches" in Goud Kokery.  Also, Herrera says a little 
about adding herbs, and quotes Columella on adding pine nuts.

All the sources I've looked at basically say, "add rennet".  I have 
seen no period mention of first adding a starter, culture, or 
buttermilk to the milk.  Is that a modern innovation??

> Pleeze pleeze pleeze, make some cheeeze.

If it won't be a major health hazard, then I guess I will.  I have to 
say that my maiden effort at chevre wasn't bad.  A co-worker who 
is a cheese-lover  seconded my opinion, and that was before I told 
her I'd made it.  I just wish goat milk wasn't so darned expensive 
around here ($2.75/qt. is the best price I've found).

> Adamantius (thinking of oatcakes)

"Ooooooooooh.... oakcakes!"


Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
mka Robin Carroll-Mann
now at a new address: rcmann4 at earthlink.net