[Sca-cooks] Cheese Question

[Sue Clemenger]

I use about 1/4 to 1/3 cup vinegar for a whole gallon of milk.  I cannot
"taste" the vinegar in the finished product, which, if you let it hang
overnight, makes a nice, firm curd--almost like a loaf of cheese.  The
original recipe says it's useful for cooking, stir-frying, etc. because
it doesn't melt, but I haven't yet tried it in that fashion.
I've thought (when I have time, which *isn't* right now!) of trying
other liquids to see if I can get a similar curd.  ISTR some period
recipes that precipitate the curd with ale.....
--maire

Generys ferch Ednuyed wrote:
> 
> This was on the Medieval Encampments list a few weeks ago. Basically, you
> just take whole milk, or half-and-half (I haven't tried half and half, but
> it ought to produce more cheese than straight milk...), and heat it on the
> stove until it gets to about 160-180 degrees.  Remove from the heat, and add
> lemon juice or vinegar until it separates - for 1/2 gallon of milk
> yesterday, I used about 1/4 cup of lemon juice, but don't be afraid of
> adding too much - it drains away with the whey.  You'll **see** when you've
> added enough - the separation will be dramatic.  Once it separates, drain it
> through a muslin-lined colander (don't use cheesecloth, this is a rather
> small-curd cheese and you lose a lot in the weave of the cheesecloth if you
> do).  Let drain for a while, squeezing it in the muslin once it cools enough
> to handle.  You get a creamy cheese, with a distinct "lemony" flavor and a
> somewhat grainy texture.  Not sure how it tastes if you do it with
> vinegar...though I've been told the vinegar version can taste a little odd
> to the modern palate.
> 
> For those of you who like Andalusian, this tastes WONDERFUL when you use it
> as the base cheese for the "Zabarbada" in Duke Cariadoc's
> Miscellany...though personally when I made this I cut back on the onions and
> cilantro a LOT.
> 
> Generys
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: sca-cooks-bounces at ansteorra.org [mailto:sca-cooks-
> > bounces at ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Barbara Benson
> > Sent: Saturday, June 21, 2003 7:03 PM
> > To: Cooks within the SCA
> >
> > That sounds wonderful, could you be more specific in the technique that
> > you
> > are referring to. I have never tried to make cheese (it is on the GREAT
> > LIST
> > OF THINGS TO LEARN, but I haven' gotten to it yet;)
> >
> > Glad Tidings,
> > Serena
> >
> >
> > > Generys> I agree that it would be a soft cheese. you could always take
> > that
> > > literally, however, and do the "cream separated with lemon juice or
> > vinegar
> > > and drained" trick (I've been playing with this lately. it's yummy
> > stuff,
> > > and really easy, and best of all, much cheaper than decent farmers
> > cheese.)
> >
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> 
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