Author Topic: Crumbly gjetost?  (Read 9289 times)

StinkyCheese

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Crumbly gjetost?
« on: August 27, 2012, 04:13:42 PM »
Good morning,

I made a goat milk feta cheese yesterday and decided to cook the whey into gjetost immediately.  It worked fairly well, except my end product turned out crumbly.  Any idea what made this happen?  I thought about trying to recook it and add some cream to see if that would help.  I have the feeling I need to add some cream and/or let it carmelize more?

Also - does anyone know if I can cook down cultured milk into gjetost for a larger yield?  I thought about giving that a try.  Not sure if I'd need to add both culture and rennet or ...

I should never have tried Ski Queen cheese.   :)

Thanks,
Michelle

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2012, 11:05:42 PM »
To follow up for posterity, or for only myself, I made my 2nd small batch of feta & then gjetost.  Feta turned out slightly tough curded, but better than my first batch.  Gjetost turned out much better this time - I cooked it in a heavy bottomed pan instead of double boiler, and added about 1 c. cream to 1 gallon whey (it wasn't quite a gallon of whey since I made the feta with the milk).  It didn't carmelize quite as much as I'd have liked, but it's very edible.  It took about 4 hours to boil down that amount of whey.

My crumbly gjetost from the previous batch went into a meatloaf recipe & is cooking.  :)  Should be delish.

I will probably try this again soon, I want to get feta right.  I think I need to try the flocculation test to determine timing instead of just following a recipe.

bbracken677

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2012, 12:57:29 AM »
I love feta and can't find a local supplier....the only goat's milk I can find is ultra-pasteurized and is selling for about 8 bucks a quart so I make mine out of cow's milk.

Have no idea what gjetost is...can you enlighten me?  Is that the goat's milk version of ricotta?

mjr522

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2012, 02:58:58 AM »
Gjetost is a specific kind of brunost--Norwegian for "brown cheese". Gjet = goat, so gjetost is goat cheese. Technically, it's not a cheese and falls more into the category of a fudge.  It is made by boiling all the water off leftover whey until the remaining sugars in the whey carmelize. It is sold almost exclusively by Tine, Norway's dominant (some say abusive) dairy company.  Frequently it's eaten on bread with jam of some sort on top--delicious.

I have made a number of brown cheeses and have only had some success.  The most successful one I made was from 30-minute mozzarella whey.  I have wondered if perhaps it was the best because all of the lactose was still present in the milk--as it wasn't consumed by the bacteria.  It might also have been better because I followed the step of putting the thickening whey into a blender--in previous iterations I think I either put it in the blender too early or I just tried to use a hand mixer.  Adding the cream is definitely important.

As far as I understand, you cannot add cooked-down milk in making brunost.  There's not need for culture or rennet--again, think fudge.  Thinking that way should help (presuming you know something about making fudge): the darker you want it, the longer you let it carmelize, the firmer you want it (I presume you're looking for a block, not a spread), the higher the temperature it needs to get to, etc.

I might have to try to make another brunost soon.  I brought one to work a couple weeks ago, and it is almost all gone.

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2012, 09:28:24 PM »
I took my not-carmelized gjetost today, sliced it, threw it in a pan with some butter, added a bit of cream to mix it up, and made a fried very carmelized treat out of it.  And ate the whole thing while standing by the sink.  >:D  It was not anything like traditional gjetost when prepared that way, but it was ultra rich and likable for the cheese fiend!

Thank you for the fudge making tips.  I have never made fudge, but I am surely learning about it through this process!

My first mistake was trying to make gjetost in a double boiler, and then finding out that you cannot use a double boiler because as the whey starts to concentrate, the salinity goes up and the boiling point goes up - so it will not boil at the same boiling point as water as it cooks out.  It has to get hotter than that.  I figured that out after reading a fudge making resource that says the same thing happens with fudge...  This is why my first make took about 12 hours!!

I don't know how an open brunost can possibly last for two weeks without being devoured.  I think because I don't eat any kind of processed sugars, it tastes like candy to me - verrry sweet and delicious!

Mike, if you try brunost again, PLMK how it goes.  I will try again probably over the weekend, whenever I try 'Feta, Round III, Flogged by Flocculation'.

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #5 on: September 02, 2012, 06:49:52 PM »
Holy Cow!  I am cooking a batch of gjetost out of chevre whey - and at about 75% of the way through cooking over med-low heat (level 4 on my stove), it popped twice and sent scalding ghetost flying as high as the kitchen ceiling!  Thank God no one was standing near it.  Therefore...

I HIGHLY recommend anyone new to making gjetost keep the pot covered with a splatter guard and use care when stirring.

I went ahead and added cream plus a bit of water + a pinch of baking soda.  The water is to deglaze anything that might be sticking and causing popping, and the baking soda to adjust pH up slightly to see if that helps with carmelization (it's supposed to speed up the process).

Dunno how this batch will come out, hopefully not as explosive as it has been thus far.  Cleaning cheese of the ceiling, floor, cupboards, stove and microwave is not so much fun!


mjr522

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #6 on: September 02, 2012, 07:02:01 PM »
Wow--I've never had that happen.  I'm glad no one was around to get burned (I have seen some burns during candy making, though).  I hope this one turns out well for you.  Where did you hear about the water and baking soda additions?

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2012, 03:53:59 PM »
I read about water and baking soda as additions for improving carmelization of sauces, carmelized onion, etc. and just thought I'd try it.  :)  Next time I make gjetost, I am going to try deglazing with a bit of red wine toward the end.  It might be fabulous in the final product.

BTW, I finally gave up on that batch, it was still acting weird in the pan - not simmering, then when stirred it boiled furiously...  I was afraid of another big pop.  I will not try to make gjetost from chevre whey again, will wait until I make a 'cooked' cheese.

I did save the liquid which is partially setup - it should make a mean cream of brocolli for dinner today.  It tastes really good, but is very acidic.

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2012, 10:06:55 PM »
Ok.  Another day, another gjetost.

This one from a feta cheese make, maybe from 3/4 gallon of whey or so...  I cooked it down to about 75% of it's original volume, then added 3/4 c. cream, 3/4 cup milk.  Cooked it down more.  Then when it was starting to brown, added 1/4 c. milk with a pinch of baking soda to speed browning.  Browned it more.  Deglazed with rum after there were sticky bits in the pan.  Browned it more.  And just turned it into a pan greased with coconut oil.

Really, really nice flavors and browning on this batch!  And it made a LOT, probably because I added so much milk and cream this time.

bbracken677

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #9 on: September 17, 2012, 10:22:50 PM »
Nice!  I am going to have to try that....sounds like quite a treat!

Spellogue

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #10 on: September 17, 2012, 11:13:13 PM »
I make Cajeta, a goats milk caramel sauce, with some regularity.  It's done by boiling down and carmelizing fresh goats milk to which a copious amount of sugar has been added (2 cups sugar: 2 quarts goat milk).  After the milk boils we add a pinch of baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup of water.  It's wonderful stuff.  You can make it to whatever consistency you like.  If you go to far you can thin it with a little water. It's rather foolproof.

I've been curious about gjejtost and want to try it.  It seems a bit more of a delicate process than Cajeta, but now I'll give it a go.

My daughter is the goat milk fudge maker in the family, perhaps ill enlist her help.  She makes a dark chocolate and Cajeta fudge variety that I just love.  I'll see if I can pry te recipe out of her.

mjr522

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #11 on: September 17, 2012, 11:41:31 PM »
StinkyCheese--how was the texture this time?

StinkyCheese

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #12 on: September 18, 2012, 02:26:04 AM »
BBracken - It's too much of a treat - I can stop eating it! :)

Spellogue - I would love to see the chocolate fudge recipes!  Wow - that would be amazing.  I thought about trying a peanut butter variation next time.

Mike - after adding the milk and cream, I had put it in the blender for a very short whirl and that definitely makes the texture velvety and perfect.  It doesn't take much time in the blender. 

This batch is a bit more creamy than my previous attempts and is softer.  It sets up nicely in the fridge, tho.

Cheers!
Michelle

mjr522

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Re: Crumbly gjetost?
« Reply #13 on: September 18, 2012, 02:59:24 AM »
Good--I'm glad it worked out so well this time.  I still haven't made another brunost since I've only been makig washed curd cheeses--and after diluting the whey multiple times, I'm just not willing to boil off all that extra water.