PrincessInOz
Thanks for my avatar, Mary Jo!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2010
- Messages
- 108,007
Parmesan Cheese
Speaking of Milk......I think I mentioned that I went to learn how to make cheese from a friend of mine. Well, learn is probably the wrong word for it....watch is more appropriate. He decided we were making parmesan cheese today.
And if there is any spare milk falling from udders, ship it my way.
We started with 30 litres of milk. It's way too early in the morning for me to convert but that would be somewhere between 7 - 8 gallons of milk.
We would need a rather large pot. There were certainly enough stirrers in the kitchen that day!
To make cheese, we would need calcium chloride .to add some calcium content back to homogenized milk.
Rennet....to separate out the curds from the whey.
The correct sort of bacteria to form parmesan/hard cheese.
And Lipase. This enzyme is used to break down the fat and convert it to fatty acids. This process of converting fat to fatty acids also releases the aroma that we so associate with cheese. Lipase is what helps form the texture and sharpness in cheese. During the pasteurization process, natural lipase is destroyed; which is why we have to add it back during the cheesemaking process.
We have to add the ingredients in a certain order.....
.......and with vigorous stirring and heating to the right temperature.....
.......and leaving the milk to settle for the right amount of time.
Yeah. Lets just say that we were chatting so much and too busy on the social front that we just stuffed up at nearly every step. The only thing we got right was adding the ingredients in the right order. But feel free to read the recipe.
Eventually, youre meant to slice the curd up into small chunks.
Leave it settle some more and then strain out the solids.
We transferred the solids to a container lined with cheesecloth.
It needs to be pressed down to remove the excess water.
And after about 4 hours of social activity....er....cheesemaking, we ended up with this block.
Parmesan takes about 9 12 months of enzyme activity. So, I wont be tasting this cheese anytime soon.
But it was a really fun day!
Speaking of Milk......I think I mentioned that I went to learn how to make cheese from a friend of mine. Well, learn is probably the wrong word for it....watch is more appropriate. He decided we were making parmesan cheese today.
And if there is any spare milk falling from udders, ship it my way.
We started with 30 litres of milk. It's way too early in the morning for me to convert but that would be somewhere between 7 - 8 gallons of milk.
We would need a rather large pot. There were certainly enough stirrers in the kitchen that day!
To make cheese, we would need calcium chloride .to add some calcium content back to homogenized milk.
Rennet....to separate out the curds from the whey.
The correct sort of bacteria to form parmesan/hard cheese.
And Lipase. This enzyme is used to break down the fat and convert it to fatty acids. This process of converting fat to fatty acids also releases the aroma that we so associate with cheese. Lipase is what helps form the texture and sharpness in cheese. During the pasteurization process, natural lipase is destroyed; which is why we have to add it back during the cheesemaking process.
We have to add the ingredients in a certain order.....
.......and with vigorous stirring and heating to the right temperature.....
.......and leaving the milk to settle for the right amount of time.
Yeah. Lets just say that we were chatting so much and too busy on the social front that we just stuffed up at nearly every step. The only thing we got right was adding the ingredients in the right order. But feel free to read the recipe.
Eventually, youre meant to slice the curd up into small chunks.
Leave it settle some more and then strain out the solids.
We transferred the solids to a container lined with cheesecloth.
It needs to be pressed down to remove the excess water.
And after about 4 hours of social activity....er....cheesemaking, we ended up with this block.
Parmesan takes about 9 12 months of enzyme activity. So, I wont be tasting this cheese anytime soon.
But it was a really fun day!
