Author Topic: Hello from Maryland and Bergkase recipe  (Read 1380 times)

machrochirus

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Hello from Maryland and Bergkase recipe
« on: August 23, 2013, 09:23:36 PM »
Hello All,

Just joined, Doug from Maryland, but grew and call Wisconsin (the American Cheese Capital) home.  I've started making cheese, started with feta, very good.  Looking for a good bergkase recipe, miss this cheese from our German trips. 

Thanks,

Doug.

margaretsmall

  • Guest
Re: Hello from Maryland and Bergkase recipe
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2013, 10:18:59 PM »
According to Wikipedia, that font of all knowledge bergkase is a generic term for German alpine cheeses, including fontina, gruyere, etc.
here's a recipe from another website. Pretty standard alpine instructions I think.

Allgäu mountain cheese is produced from morning and evening milk. The evening milk is left standing overnight then skimmed in the morning and the morning milk added and mixed. Then the milk is warmed to 30 -32 °C with cultures and rennet added. Starting after about half an hour, the milk thickens and is then cut into pea to hazelnut sized curds with the cheese harp. This preliminary cheese making stage lasts around 30 to 40 minutes. Afterwards, depending on the amount of milk and the degree of ripening, it is reheated over about ½ hour up to 50 °C then stirred for 20 to 40 minutes. Finally, the cheese is removed from the kettle in a cloth and pressed over a whole day with an increasing pressure of from 5 to 8 kg per kg cheese, whereby it is also turned three times. On the following morning the cheese is immersed in a 20% brine bath for at least one day. Subsequently it is cellar-matured for two months at 16 °C during which time the cheese round is washed with brine and turned two to three times per week. After maturing for a month at 12 °C the cheese has reached the correct maturity for consumption. Minimum age for Allgäu mountain cheese is four months.