Cheesemaking Recipe of the Month
Cheese Recipe - Havarti
Havarti is a semi-soft Danish cheese named after the experimental farm on which it was first made in the mid 1800's.
Havarti is a simple, washed-rind cheese with irregular holes throughout.
I have made this version with the addition of chopped dill.
There is also a version with caraway seeds.
Havarti is named after the farm in Denmark where Hanne Nielsen first made it.
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We have had another fabulous year here, helping people all over the world and sharing in their cheese making adventures. Please keep sending us your stories and photos, we will try to use them all! I have been swamped with cheese making workshops for the beginner and Jim has been expanding on the subject to the point of a fine artist. Our new cheese making papers seem to be a big hit and our pH meter has received rave reviews. Remember the holiday season is here and our Mozzarella & Ricotta Kit have been a huge success in the gift giving sector. Many thanks for your continued support and love of cheese!
In Peace,
Ricki, the cheese queen
Cheese Tips for Ewe
Cheeseclothsticking to the cheese
Q ... Last night I made a batch of alpine-style cheese, and after a short time in the press I found that the cheesecloth was sticking to the cheese. Anyone know what might cause this to happen?
A ... This can be a problem with this type of cheese due to serious acid production in the mold causing the curd to shrink and thus incorporating the cloth .. Best solution is to wet the cloth in weak brine .. This added salt should slow acid production a bit near the rind and solve this problem.. also ..too much pressure to start with and not turning soon enoughcould cause this. If you do have this problem the best approach is to scrape the cloth slightly before pulling it off the rind where it is sticking .. you do not want to tear the rind.
Texture is great, mild sharpness.. smooth... But it has an odd aftertaste.
Q ... I Just sliced open my first cheese, a jack-style cheese. Texture is great, mild sharpness.. smooth... But it has an odd aftertaste. Almost a plastic taste. I used the powdered milk & cream method - made a 1 pounder of cheese, and used 30 lbs to press, using clean cloth to line a mold made from PVC. Used some starter bought locally but labeled from you folks, and rennet. After that, I dried it for 3 days, and waxed it up. We aged it 6 weeks. Any clue as to this off flavor? I use the same type of milk making cottage and ricotta, and cream cheese, no off flavors.
A ... I am afraid the 'odd after taste. Almost a plastic taste' isfrom your PVC molds .. We really do not advise using them ... No dairy inspector will allow their use ... Since you are working with an acidic material, leaching of unknowns is very possible here. If this was a new mold this would be especially so. Since you are not using a mold for the other cheeses, this does point to the mold as culprit.
I'm allergic to penicillin. Should I not eat Brie?
Q ... I raise dairy goats and have been making all my dairy products for some years now. I'm intrigued by Brie. But, I'm allergic to penicillin. Should I not eat Brie? The Brie in the grocery stores do not carry a warning. Thank you
A ... Good news for you .. A lot of research has been done on both the blue and white pen molds for ripening cheese and the findings are that there is no relationship between these and the medicinal penicillin. If you are interested in reading more you will find info in Frank Kosikowskis book 'Cheese and Fermented Milk Foods'.
Chlorinated Water Can Kill Ripening Cultures
Q. I tried to make camblu and everything went fine except the surface molds which never grew at all. I bought the penicillium and geotrichum from you and I stored them properly and used them exactly as per the instructions.
I hydrated the molds with filtered water from my fridge dispenser. Could the chlorine have killed the molds or could the molds have been bad? Since I was using two molds it seems unlikely that both molds were bad, but I can't figure out what went wrong.
A. Chlorinated water is always a problem when working with molds and bacteria. Think about the fact that it is normally put in drinking water to kill things.
The other factor could be that the final cheese was dried too much for the mold to grow well. The aging space could also be too dry. Mold needs a good amount of moisture in order to thrive.
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