COOKING CHEESE.
🔗 Let's start with the most difficult thing - cheese, because wine needs berries, which will appear in the fall,
and inexpensive milk has already appeared.
What is homemade cheese? It is of two types:
1.) The usual popular homemade cheese that grandmothers sell in the markets.
and 2). Actually real cheese with holes, not inferior in quality to the store, and sometimes even superior to it. It will be about him.
The advantages of home-made cheese over store-bought:
- the cost price is 25-30%, less than the store cost, excluding the return.
- taking into account the competent use of skim milk (a very valuable raw material for the production of homemade kvass and baked goods),
homemade cheese before the store is beyond competition. After you learn how to do it, you may have only one question:
Why didn't I know about this before?
Recipe 1.
To make 1 kg of cheese you need:
- 7.5 liters of country (not store) milk.
- Pepsin (in powder, about 0.3 g). Pure pepsin (powder) is sometimes sold in pharmacies, but I do not recommend looking for it without dating.
It is easier to buy acidin-pepsin also in a pharmacy, it is more expensive at cost, but easier to find. Acidin-pepsin requires 7-9 tablets per 1 kg.
- Enamel (at worst, plastic for food) bucket or saucepan.
- Colander or strainer.
- Water thermometer.
- 2 Pieces of clean white cotton cloth (for example, from those that sew sheets) measuring 50 * 50cm - one, and a larger one for filtration - the other.
- Capacity for cheese. It can be a tin or plastic can, a small saucepan. In general, anything you want to fit 1 kg of cheese there.
- Press (preferably). A very simple and effective press can be made by yourself, for this you only need 6 linear m of any bar. For those who wish I will post a description.
- A substitute for the press for the first time can be made from two buckets or pots, so that one bucket (pan) freely fits into the other. Put the workpiece in a large pan on the bottom
cheese (in a container), and press down on top with a smaller bucket, after pouring water there for weight.
Step 1. We buy 7.5-9 liters of home (village) milk and one package of acid-pepsin. Less milk is possible, but then the quality will suffer, since fermentation requires a critical mass of at least 700 g of product.
Step 2. Dissolve 9 tablets of acidin-pepsin in half a glass of cold water, and stir until completely dissolved.
Step 3. Pour these half-glass into milk at room temperature. (it can be cold, but then the process will be delayed). The main thing is not to be warm. Mix very well for at least 5 minutes !!! spoon with a long handle.For this purpose, I cut a wooden spatula out of an ordinary piece of wood.
Step 4. We wait 1-4 hours until it thickens. The time depends on the temperature of the milk and the quality of the preparation. After thickening (folding the mass) with a long knife, right in the dish, we cut the mass first vertically, then tilting the knife horizontally. As a result, you need to get pieces of 3-4 cm in size.
Step 5. Pour water with a temperature of 38-40 degrees into an ordinary bath, put our bucket of future cheese there, and stir (very gently and gently!) Every 20-30 minutes.
Step 6. Maintaining the temperature of the water in the bath at about 38-40 degrees, after 2-3 hours our cheese turns from a delicate structure into a structure resembling rubber. As soon as this has happened, and during tasting it begins to grind on the teeth like rubber - you can say to yourself that the job is almost done, and proceed to the final stages.
Step 7. We put a sieve or colander on an empty bucket (pan), line it with a large piece of our cloth, and pour out the contents of the first bucket.
Step 8. After the return has completely drained and the mass has cooled to room temperature, we wrap our mass with a second dry clean piece of cloth, put it in a container for cheese, lightly sprinkle it with salt on top, put a piston on top in the form of a saucer or a mug, on which -or elevation (ordinary glass) and put under the press. In a primitive version, the press will be as follows: we put a container with cheese on the bottom of a large bucket, and put a small bucket on top, filling this small bucket
water by half.
Step 9. After 4-5 hours, drain the water from the cheese container, take it out, and wrap it again with cloth or the same piece, but better with a new dry one. And (attention!) - on top of the cloth, and on the bottom of the cheese container, pour salt to taste. We put it under the press again, but this time we pour the maximum amount of water for the weight into a small bucket, or it is better to press down on top with an additional load
... The shelf life of the cheese depends on the weight of the cargo - the larger the cargo, the lower the moisture content in the product, and, accordingly, the longer the shelf life will be.
Step 10. After a day of standing under a press at room temperature, or 2-3 days in a cool place, we take out the finished product.
Step 11. The product is almost ready to eat right away, but has not yet been fermented like real cheese. For fermentation, it is necessary to remove the matter, and put it naked on a plate, previously covered with a clean cloth, and in a cool place. Turning over every 3-4 days, we wait for the crust to form and the cheese ripening within one to two weeks.
Step 12. Optionally, this step is for those who want to preserve cheese for long-term storage. To do this, melt 3-4 paraffin candles in a water bath, and firstly lower one half of the cheese head into hot paraffin, then the other. The cheese should be covered with paraffin reliably, without gaps and air spaces. Only cheese after a good press is suitable for this procedure. In our case, when using an ordinary bucket as a press, the cheese is not subject to long-term storage.
Note: You have probably often seen such inscriptions on store cheeses: cheddar, mazzarella, Dutch, etc.
So, for the most part, these brands differ in nothing more than the time and conditions of cheese ripening. The longer the ripening time, the more valuable the cheese is.
The next recipe will tell you how to make a super-delicate cheese that is not inferior in quality to the famous "Hochland", which is sold for 350 rubles. per kg. We will have it at 130.
Z. Y. Added: do not forget to insert a "piston" on top of the cheese container to compress the product, it can be an ordinary saucer or a wooden or other circle that will slide freely in the cheese container, and on top we put some kind of elevation, it can be an ordinary glass.
we made cheese. But we have almost a bucket of skimmers left!
Very healthy and tasty kvass.
It is very easy to do. In the return that remained in the bucket (pan), pour 3-4 grams of dry yeast, add sugar at the rate of 0.5 - 1 tbsp.spoon per liter, and wait 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Then we filter, pour it into plastic containers, screw it with lids - and into the refrigerator.
After a day and within a week, kvass is ready for consumption. The same kvass can be used not only for drinking, but also for making dough.
Attention!!!
This kvass, like any other, contains alcohol. The content is insignificant, but nevertheless, children are recommended to use it in the evening, after a walk, when concentration is not needed.
And of course, if you plan to use this kvass by young children, then before pouring the yeast, the return must be pasteurized or brought to a boil, then cooled to 30-35 degrees, - the rest is the same.
"Acidin-pepsin" - what kind of chemistry is this? Maybe, well, him, such cheese?
Pepsin is a common enzyme that curdles milk. It is isolated from the stomachs of pigs and calves. Acidin-pepsin - the same pepsin, only with the addition of 3/4 acidin. Hydrolysis, acidin releases hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid in certain quantities is harmless, since it is part of the gastric juice, and in this case the concentration is so low that it can be neglected.
Z. Y. Any cheese is made using pepsin. There is simply no other way. Even cheese in mountain villages is made with pepsin, but instead of a pure preparation, dried salted pieces of stomachs from lambs are added for fermentation. You can, by the way, in this way extract pepsin, who does not like pharmacy.
Yogurt. With a gut feeling that it is not good to condemn, nevertheless,
when from time to time I see some housewives stuffing bags in stores with all kinds of yogurts, I can’t help myself. But I reassure myself that this is a simple bewilderment that has turned into an ordinary reflex.
Indeed, after all, an elementary calculation shows that 1 liter of, for example, ordinary yogurt costs about 70 rubles in the store, and yogurt of high-quality starter culture (actimel, almagel, rastishka, etc.) - and all 200-300 (half of this amount is a container).
But the net time spent making yogurt at home is no more than the time spent on the next trip to the store.
So: yogurt. It is simply indecent to talk about the benefits of this drink, because everyone knows this. What is the difference between different types of yoghurt - actimel, almagel, rastishka? They differ only in one (not counting additives): the type of leaven (culture). But a pure culture of good yoghurt is almost impossible to obtain at home, the composition and manufacturing technology of some types of yoghurt cultures is kept in the strictest confidence and protected by copyright certificates. And every yoghurt plant very carefully nurtures and nurtures the regularly prescribed several grams of sourdough, multiplying them under strict temperature and other conditions.
But there is a way out. The stick contained in any yogurt has one remarkable ability: it happily multiplies in ordinary milk in our home without losing its properties.
Namely: if you used any name of yogurt as a starter, then you will get it at the exit.
To do this, it is only necessary to comply with three simple requirements for the process:
1. Cleanliness
2. Cleanliness
3. Cleanliness
To prepare a drink, you can use e-mail. yogurt makers, but you can not use.
In the second case, you will need an ordinary enamel pan or glass jar.
Step 1. We choose the freshest yogurt in the store (by date of production), preferably without fruit or other additives. The closer the production date, the more active the yogurt stick. For comparison:
after 12 days of storage, the activity of the yoghurt decreases on average by 2 times, after another twelve - by another two, etc. Yoghurt should be taken 5-10% of the future volume. For example, if you need three liters of yogurt, we buy 150-300g. Better to take more expensive, you do not need to save on sourdough. At the same time we will buy milk.
Step 2. Pour milk into an enamel pan, bring to a temperature of 70-90 degrees.and pasteurize over low heat for 30-50 minutes. with the lid closed. If the milk is pasteurized in a single original packaging, you can skip this step.
Step 3. Cool down to 37-39 degrees. You can easily check the temperature by dropping it on the inside of your wrist.
If we don't feel anything, the temperature is 36 degrees. If we feel "cold" we need to warm it up. But it is better to slightly overheat by 1-2 degrees.
Step 4. Either in the same dish, or pouring into a sterilized and dry jar, add 5-10% of our volume, store-bought yogurt (ie 1/20 - 1/10 part), you can stir it with a scalded and dried metal spoon.
Step 5. Wrap it up with a clean dry towel, then a plastic bag, then something else. The goal is to create a thermos.
Step 6. We leave it closer to the warmth, no higher than 36 degrees, but you can leave it at normal room temperature for 5-10 hours (depending on the temperature, the cooler, the longer). If the product is overexposed, it will be sour, but if the acid is small, it will go away in the refrigerator. The aging time and acidity to taste are determined empirically.
Step 7. We release from the thermos, and if the product is homogeneous, not viscous and without extraneous watery inclusions, we pour some part for future starter culture into a clean sterilized glass jar, and close it tightly with a clean lid.
This can be done 2-4 times, then the activity of the stick weakens, and you need to buy a new portion.
Step 8. Put in the refrigerator to thicken, after a few hours the yogurt is ready.
Various additives - jam, etc. can be added just before use. Vanillin can (and should) be added in advance.
The acidity of the yogurt will increase as it is stored.
I remind you that the main thing is sterility and cleanliness. If watery blotches appear, it's okay, this is also yogurt, only with a regular fermented milk stick, you can use it.
When preparing a product, you must not talk over the dishes, since even a tiny part of saliva can spoil
the purity of the leaven. If the product turns out to be stringy, it means that a staphylococcus stick has been hit.
Again, it's okay, but in this case it is better to process the product into cottage cheese. It is necessary to heat in a water bath to 40-45 degrees (without stirring !!!),
and while maintaining this temperature, wait for folding. You will get a very tasty cottage cheese.
1. Drink "I tried it once, I want it now".- mix yogurt with jam (to taste), you can add vanillin.
- if the drink is thick, eat with spoons.
2. Drink "Effervescent for adults".
- prepare yeast starter. To do this, add 1/4 of the jam, yeast to a glass of warm water, put in a warm place.
- Add 1 \ 7 - 1 \ 20 part of the jam to warm water, pour our starter culture, mix well, cover with gauze or a towel on top, leave for a day or two. This is the first fermentation.
- Strain, pour into plastic bins, (filling no more than 80%!), Tighten the lids tightly and put in the refrigerator
for two to five days (depending on the amount of sugar), and the drink is ready.
Note: the drink is highly carbonated, so you need to open it carefully.
For the same purpose, store only in a cool place (refrigerator). If the bins do not squeeze to the touch at all, the gas can be slightly released.
The strength of the drink and the amount of gas depend on the amount of sugar (in our case, jam), but the amount of jam should not exceed 25% of the volume of water,
because at a strength of more than 13% yeast dies.
3. Homemade ice cream. (Adjusted) Whipped yoghurt ice cream. Step 1. Dissolve gelatin in half a glass of cold water. The amount of gelatin is determined experimentally, since it depends on its quality, now sometimes it comes across generally "non-working". You can try the same amount as for making jelly.
It is better to take natural gelatin, it is written on the package.
Step 2. After the gelatin swells well, mix with 150-300g.jam (to taste), then heat to 60-80 degrees and (if time permits) with constant stirring.
Step 3. Cool to room temperature (if there is a desire and need - rub through a sieve), add citric or ascorbic acid, put in the refrigerator (not in the freezer!) For cooling.
Step 4. Remove from the refrigerator, add 1-3 parts of cold non-acidic yogurt, beat with a mixer, and immediately pour into small molds. These can be small plastic (or better metal or foil) cups.
For this purpose, you can ask at any outlet for a couple of plastic packages from under chocolate eggs, they still throw them away (only it is better to take branded German kinders, there the plastic is really food grade)
Step 5. If you want a popsicle - quickly stick on top of the holder. These can be pieces of wooden skewers, cut plastic straws, at worst, matches without heads.
Step 6. Without tightening, put in the freezer for at least 4-6 hours to harden.
Ice cream "Creamy berry" Everything is almost the same, only take cream instead of yogurt.
In this case, cream is added at Step 2 during heating, and here, to increase the fat content and density (ice cream), you can add 10-15 percent of butter. Step 4 is eliminated as you no longer need to add yogurt.
Note: Actually there are endless numbers of ice cream recipes if you know the basic principles.
What you need to know to make ice cream. 1. The main thing in ice cream is overrun (the reciprocal of weight). In a home mixer, you won't get good overruns, but you can get an acceptable one. The milk proteins are whipped and stability (strength) is achieved by adding a stabilizer (eg gelatin) to the dairy products (cream). Sometimes egg white is also added to improve overrun. In fruit and berry cream, you can substitute lecithin. The fat content of the ice cream is regulated by the addition of butter (fatty ice cream is also called ice cream).
2. Beat the mass only cold, preferably from +3 to +10, and pour it immediately after beating, and immediately quickly place it in the freezer.
3. Pour into small or shallow molds, and cook at a time no more than 0.5-1 kg of product per home freezer.
4. The temperature in the freezer should be no higher than -18 degrees C. (that is, -18 and below), but preferably -22-25.
For comparison: in industrial hardening chambers the temperature is from -28 to -38 deg.
5. Under no circumstances open the freezer during ice cream hardening ahead of time! Otherwise, the cold will immediately come out, and the ice cream will shrink.
Just in case, about factory ice cream: Nowadays, natural ingredients are practically not added, as you can see by reading the composition on the package. And the harmlessness of chemical dyes, flavors and stabilizers is a big question.
see continuation ...
