Author Topic: Saffron-Infused Hispanico  (Read 6231 times)

Offline Boofer

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Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« on: July 28, 2013, 08:02:24 PM »
Following my earlier effort and inspiration from the "Saffron-Infused Manchego" in Mary Karlin's "Artisan Cheese Making At Home", I made this as the first of three cheeses yesterday.

First, the name: "Hispanico", because this is made with cow's milk, not sheep's milk ("Manchego").

Initial pH: 6.65

2 gallons Cozy Vale Creamery whole raw milk
2 gallons Twin Brooks whole creamline milk
4 cubes MA4001 MC (that's all I had...normally my 4 gallon make would be 8 cubes)
1/16 tsp calf lipase
1/2 tsp saffron threads
1/2 tsp CACL
1/16 tsp Renco dry calf rennet

Floc factor: 2.5
floc'd in 15 minutes
whey-brined for 12 hours, flipping at the half-way point.

after brining, weighed in at 2160 grams.

now out to air-dry for a day or two before going into the cave.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #1 on: September 05, 2013, 10:30:46 PM »
With the PLA & Geo13 (3% brine) washing regimen, the cheese is settling in and doing quite well.

A light slurry film adheres to the rind post-washing. No foreign incursions so far...thank goodness. :)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2013, 11:26:55 AM »
Boofer, I am SO confused!  I never knew Hispanica cheese got PLA and Geo washes!  Won't that stinkify it?   :o
Are you going for a hard rind in the end?

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2013, 01:04:08 PM »
My goal with the wash is to protect the rind from "outside interests". I have stopped washing and now just rub (and brush occasionally) the rind to tamp down any growth. No, not looking to stinkify the cheese.

Ultimately the rind will be dry and hopefully not too hard. Once the rind has shown that it can leave home and not get mugged, I will probably wash off any residual linens. 8)

And, for the record, it's Hispanico. This is a masculine-gendered cheese. Harrumph! ;)

Confusion...Be Gone!!

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2013, 06:47:53 PM »
Oh of COURSE it's "Hispanico" and very macho.  You can tell by the B. linens smell just how masculine it is.   :o  I'm so sorry for my  mistake. 

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #5 on: January 26, 2014, 05:33:01 AM »
This cheese has reached its sixth month. Upon opening the vacuum bag the lipase character wafted its way to my nostrils. There is slight moisture in the bag but it doesn't appear to have affected the rind.

The texture of the cheese is firm but not hard. There are a few gas and mechanical holes throughout the cheese. Although whole saffron threads were added, there is very little saffron apparent. It looks like most of the saffron contributed to the overall color.

There is a good level of salt in the cheese. The lipase character is there but is not overpowering, which is what I was striving to achieve.

I'm anxious to try this melted over tomato slices on sourdough or some other crusty bread, toasted.

I cut this 4 pound wonder into eight pieces and vacuum-sealed them. They will continue to slowly age in the big fridge.

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

Offline Schnecken Slayer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #6 on: January 26, 2014, 05:55:22 AM »
So the Hispanico is a higher fat cheese and is not a cooked curd?

I made a saffron infused manchego last november and added a lot more saffron than the recipe called for!
The saffron is still very mild and the cheese has a lovely golden colour.

Well done on your hispanico!  O0 very cheese worthy!

-Bill
One day I will add something here...

Geodyne

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2014, 07:28:52 AM »
This looks marvelous. Creamier in the photos, than you'd expect from a semi-hard grating cheese.

A cheese for getting the balances right. It makes me wonder what the saffron and peppercorn romanoes are doing in their vac bags.

Offline Tiarella

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2014, 01:08:57 PM »

I'm anxious to try this melted over tomato slices on sourdough or some other crusty bread, toasted.
-Boofer-

Oh, no!  Usually I'm not hungry until a few hours after waking but this sentence woke up my stomach and it protested being empty!  :-\  Now I have to feed it and I don't  have any cheese and the tomatoes are long gone.  I am in deep trouble with my stomach now. 

A cheese to you for a lovely, careful make of cheese and irresistible description of the long-awaited opening.

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2014, 04:31:29 PM »
So the Hispanico is a higher fat cheese and is not a cooked curd?
Yes it is cooked. I didn't include all of the make detail...it's a follow-on to my previous effort.

a semi-hard grating cheese.
Definitely not that. As you can see, this is a sliceable table cheese.

I had trouble posting this entry yesterday. I tried multiple times, but every time I clicked on the "POST" button it would just hang. I even got a message from the forum software saying I had already posted this, but when I checked, it had not been recorded. Ordinarily, when I snap pics of an event like this, I will process the pics (shrinking them, brightening them, etc.) and put the processed pics (suitable for posting) into a new folder under the cheese style. Unless I want the viewer to see the detail of a cheese, there's little need to have a native resolution photo (4608 x 3456 -- 5.65 mb). A pic that is full dimension can be zoomed into by clicking on the photo and maximizing the resulting small window that pops up. There should be a little "+" magnifier which can be clicked to further zoom into the detail.

There are two pics that were reduced in size and two that I tried to post with resolution right out of the camera. When I shrunk the third pic, then the posting went through okay. For some reason, the forum software refused to post the two native resolution pics.

Thanks for the cheeses and encouragement. :)

-Boofer-
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.

JeffHamm

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2014, 07:23:12 PM »
Great looking result Boofer!  A cheese to you.  All my lipase added cheeses are hard, for grating.  I plan on making one with just a touch, as a table cheese like this one.  Right now, I'm making a Cheshire, which, as I look at my watch, I realise is past the floc indicated cutting time by a few minutes.  Oops!

- Jeff

Geodyne

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2014, 08:14:16 PM »
I'd love to see how your cheshire went, Jeff. I made one myself on Saturday.

Spoons

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2014, 08:37:41 PM »
Very nice cheese Boofer! Hispanico is certainly on my "to try" list thanks to your hispanico posts  :) A cheese for you!

JeffHamm

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #13 on: January 27, 2014, 06:21:53 AM »
Hi Geo,

The make seems to have went well.  I've started a thread on it in the cheddar board, so I won't hijack this thread any further.

- Jeff

Offline Boofer

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Re: Saffron-Infused Hispanico
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2014, 02:32:02 PM »
Great looking result Boofer!  A cheese to you.  All my lipase added cheeses are hard, for grating.  I plan on making one with just a touch, as a table cheese like this one.  Right now, I'm making a Cheshire, which, as I look at my watch, I realise is past the floc indicated cutting time by a few minutes.  Oops!

- Jeff
I have yet to make a hard grating cheese. Perhaps this will be the year for it. Lots of room in the caves at this point. I did inadvertently make a Swiss wannabe early on in 2009, but then it wasn't supposed to be a hard, grating cheese. :(

This cheese conforms to the standard described in Jim Wallace's treatise:
"Curado is a semi-firm cheese aged for three to six months with a sweet and nutty flavor. It melts well and is often used in quesadillas."

Thanks for the cheeses guys. Ah, encouragement! :D

-Boofer-
« Last Edit: January 27, 2014, 03:06:34 PM by Boofer »
Let's ferment something!
Bread, beer, wine, cheese...it's all good.