[Sca-cooks] "Fresh" Cheese Question

[Dragon]

Elise Fleming wrote:
>Greetings!  I'm messing around with a 15th-century "tart owte of lente"
>recipe which calls for "nesshe" (fresh) cheese.  Robin, at Hampton Court,
>said to use either Cheshire or Wensleydale cheese.  However, in looking
>through the Florilegium, it would seem that these aren't "fresh" cheeses.
>Would you agree?  In one of Bear's old posts he mentions using "farmer's
>cheese" for fresh cheese, and others suggest that if that isn't available,
>to drain cottage cheese as an approximation.  I also saw that someone
>suggested using fresh mozzarella for "fresh cheese" in a recipe.  So... if
>I wanted to try another version of the "tart owte of lente", what would you
>think about using a) fresh mozzarella; b) farmer's cheese (if available);
>c) drained cottage cheese?  Has anyone made a baked cheese tart using any
>of these?
>
>I've made the tart three ways so far, using Cheshire, Wensleydale and
>Double Gloucester.  All are darned expensive.  I thought I might try Colby
>(which isn't period, but which is cheaper) because it's a little "crumbly"
>which is what someone suggested.  Any comments before I head back out to
>the grocery store??  Thanks!
---------------- End original message. ---------------------

Anything that falls into the hard or ripened cheese families is not a 
fresh cheese. These cheeses are aged.

I think Bear is giving good advice in that old post. Fresh cheeses 
would be something like a farmer's cheese or a cottage cheese. They 
are simple to make and eaten fresh, without any aging (hence the name 
"fresh" cheese).



Dragon

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