Author Topic: Fromage frais? Fromage blanc? American Neufchatel? What do I call this?  (Read 4053 times)

WovenMeadows

  • Guest
Trying to get clear on what differences, if any, there are between these types of cheese, and thus what to best call what I'm making:

Warming (or rather cooling, as I'm usually pasteurizing our raw) whole cow's milk to about 86 F, adding a meso starter, adding about 3 drops of rennet per gallon, and letting set about a day. Drain a bit of whey off the top, then put the soft curd into muslin to drain. Yields about 1/4 of the initial milk volume. Fresh, milky, just a bit tart soft, creamy cheese.

I've been sharing with friends, saying something along the lines of "It's like cream cheese, sort of. Or Chevre, but cow's milk." "Fromage frais", "fromage blanc," "quark" are not familiar names to we Americans. Nor is it a good comparison to American Neufchatel or Light Cream Cheese, as the commercial products to my knowledge also tend to have emulsifiers or the like added.

What is best to call this cheese?


MrsKK

  • Guest
American Neufchatel...fresh made.  It's great, isn't it?

WovenMeadows

  • Guest
It's wonderful. As we are also trying to put a creamery in our farm, I'm also thinking in terms of marketing and what best to call it, for consumer friendliness!

MrsKK

  • Guest
You really are making Neufchatel, American style.  Very few home-made products are the same as the store-bought ones are, but the names are still the same.

cheeseslovesu

  • Guest
Re: Fromage frais? Fromage blanc? American Neufchatel? What do I call this?
« Reply #4 on: August 05, 2013, 12:38:50 PM »
We called this Quark in our cheese factory, the Germans and Austrians loved it and said it was exactly as they would make at home but more expensive. We sold it 250g for $5 Australian dollars.
The supermarket cream cheese in Australia is awful. Our home made Quark was a fantastic product to use in cooking, the best cheese cakes!

Chicken man

  • Guest
Re: Fromage frais? Fromage blanc? American Neufchatel? What do I call this?
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2014, 12:14:41 PM »
Hi Cheeselovesu..
I wonder if you would be willing to share your recipe..?
For this I would be grateful!!
Ian

cheeseslovesu

  • Guest
Re: Fromage frais? Fromage blanc? American Neufchatel? What do I call this?
« Reply #6 on: September 06, 2014, 12:30:40 PM »
Sure can:
warm 10 litres non homogenised milk to 25C no hotter. sorinkle 1/8th tspn mesophilic starter (any) let sit for 5 mins then a big stir in for a minute. You can wait an hour before you add the rennet but we didn't.
Add 4 drops of non animal single strength rennet. No more or you will get a tough curd...trust me!
cover and leave 18 - 24 hours at room temp no cooler than 20C (I do live in Australia..). If the temp drops overnight then keep warm in a water bath (the water bath no hotter than 30C)
Next day (should be 4.5pH or less) gently scoop out the whey and curd into large drainage hoop like a big ricotta basket. You will need a few baskets but it does drop a fair bit.
Package after 6 hours or longer depending on the end result you are after. We used to hoop out in the morning in a big stainless steel conical colander catching the whey over a 15 litre bucket and package last thing before we went home.
Good luck and happy cheesing

Chicken man

  • Guest
Re: Fromage frais? Fromage blanc? American Neufchatel? What do I call this?
« Reply #7 on: September 06, 2014, 01:14:37 PM »
Hey..thanks for that!!
I made this cheese several years ago...when I first started cheesemaking and I lost the recipe..was the one and only time I made it but it was an amazing cheese..(no geo or candidam)
Cheers
Ian :D