How to make Ossetian cheese yourself: recipe, tips and secrets

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cheese lovers have been a bit sad lately. The price tag indicates simply astronomical figures for good products, and what is available to an honest person, alas, is completely tasteless. However, you should not despair. You can cook Ossetian cheese on your own, and even inexperience in cheesemaking will not become an obstacle here. A little patience and scrupulousness is all that is needed near the stove. And for very little money you get an exceptionally tasty product.

This wonderful Ossetian cheese

Many people ignore rennet cheeses, considering only hard varieties worthy. And absolutely wrong! The same Ossetian cheese (photo in the article) is not only amazingly tasty, but also extremely he althy. It contains all the essential vitamins plus the most essential minerals. Due to this, Ossetian cheese is strongly recommended by doctors to everyone who has a severe physical condition.work (or athletes), as well as people of mental labor. Cheese will be very useful for women during pregnancy, nursing mothers and the younger generation of any age. And these are a few more arguments for making Ossetian cheese at home.

The most important thing is milk

The original cheese recipe allows the use of any milk up to a mixture from different "producers" - for example, you can combine mare and cow. However, it must be natural. So UHT or sterilized product will not work. Moreover, it is worth abandoning the powder version - you will not get Ossetian cheese from it. However, like any other. The real, rustic would be ideal, but you must completely trust the animal: boiling is strictly prohibited. In urban areas, you will have to use pasteurized milk with a "floating" fat content. It has a shelf life of less than a week - exactly what is required.

The first stage of cheese making

Those who cook Ossetian cheese for the first time, let them practice on a small amount. For starters, four liters of milk is enough. In addition to it, you will need another half-liter of kefir of normal fat content and pepsin at the rate of two tablets per liter of milk. All manipulations are carried out in enameled or stainless dishes, since cooking Ossetian cheese in "aluminum" is simply unrealistic.

The milk is poured into a volumetric container and heated on the stove to 28 degrees (but not higher than 32, soIt doesn't hurt to buy a thermometer. Kefir can be heated just under hot water. Pepsin is crushed and dissolved in a stack of warm water. First, kefir is poured in and mixed, after five minutes - diluted pepsin. Milk begins to curdle almost immediately. At the same time, it must be removed from the fire, but kept warm. You can, for example, turn on the burners around the saucepan or move it to the radiator (in winter).

About an hour later, the contents of the container are divided into whey and future Ossetian cheese. The clot is separated with a knife, and the vessel is again heated on the quietest fire up to forty degrees. Literally a quarter of an hour later, the cheese blank thickens - it's time to put it in a colander.

Second stage of cheese making

When the whey has mostly drained, a load is placed on the clot. After a couple of hours, Ossetian cheese is turned over and again placed under oppression. After another hour, it is transferred to the form, again pressed down and hidden in the coolness. Under the load, the cheese should stay for a day. After that, it is rubbed with s alt (for the first time, you can take two spoons, then adjust to your liking). Experiments are welcome: sprinkling with oregano, pepper, fragrant herbs will give the cheese new flavors. It is completely ready in two days, but the degree of maturity is a matter of personal preferences. It's just that Ossetian cheese is stored in the refrigerator without compromising quality and taste for less than two weeks. If you want to stretch the pleasure, dip it in a whey brine. You get a variation on the theme of cheese, which has an almost endless shelf life.

For lovers of original recipes: ahsan

If you want to try authentic Ossetian cheese, you will have to make rennet instead of pepsin. For her, a stomach is bought - beef or mutton, it is filled up very generously with s alt, folded and set aside for a day for s alting. After that, it straightens out and dries - either over the included stove, or in a low-heated oven. When the abomasum is completely dry, a piece is cut off from it and immersed in heated and s alted whey. Ahsan will insist for a day. A sign of readiness will be turbidity and bubbles. For each liter of milk, half a glass of sourdough is taken.

Subtleties and nuances

A few rules established through trial and error will help you get great Ossetian cheese the first time.

1. If you use pepsin, wait for it to completely dissolve, otherwise it will not be fully used.
2. After adding the pepsin/sourdough and stirring, the pot does not move until fermentation begins.
3. The colander should be of the right size: with a large diameter and a small amount of milk, you will get a thin “pancake” instead of a circle.

Good luck with your experiments and bon appetit!