My First Halloumi

[Al Lewis]

Well the wife wanted some of this so I dug up the recipe from Mary Karlin's Artisan Cheese Making at Home and decided to have a try.  I managed to pick up a gallon of goats milk from Trader Joe's.  Decided to mix that with a gallon of PH cow's milk as that is listed as an alternative milk and my mold was too large for a 1 gallon make.  The finished cheese is cut into squares do it made total sense to use my square Tallegio mold.

[Al Lewis]

With the milks mixed in the pot, along with the teaspoon of CaCl, I heated the milk to 90° F over 20 minutes.  Once the milk reached temperature I added the teaspoon of rennet let the milk sit, undisturbed, for 45 minutes.  At that point I had a clean break in the curd.

[Al Lewis]

With the clean break achieved I cut the curd into 3/4" pieces and allowed it to sit for 5 minutes maintaining the 90° F temperature.

[Al Lewis]

The next step calls for bringing the curds to 104° F over a 15 minute period without stirring.  Once you reach the 104° F it calls for you to gently stir the curds for 20 minutes with a rubber spatula.  I used silicone.  After stirring allow the curd to rest, maintaining the temperature, and allow them to sink to the bottom of the pot.

[Al Lewis]

At this point you should drain off enough whey to expose the top of the curd, be sure and keep this, and spoon the curd into a butter muslin prepared colander layering the curd with dried mint.  Allow the curd to drain in the colander for 15 minutes collecting the whey for later use.

[Al Lewis]

Now place the curd into the mold and press for 3 hours using an 8 pound weight.  Flip and press for another 3 hours with an 8 pound weight.  I filled a gallon milk jug with the whey and used it to press with.

[Al Lewis]

Now you need to put the whey back into a pot and heat it to 190° F.  Do not allow it to boil.  Remove the cheese from the mold and cut into squares.  I ended up with 9 squares from this 2 gallon make using the Tallegio mold.

[Al Lewis]

Once the whey reaches the target temperature you place the blocks into the hot whey and allow it to cook for 30-35 minutes.  The blocks will initially sink but then rise to the top as they cook.

[Al Lewis]

Once cooked move the squares to an area where they can cool down and air dry, to the touch.  Should take about 45 minutes.  While waiting mix 26 ounces of salt with a gallon of water and cool it to 55° F.  I made mine ahead of time and put it in the cave.  The cheese blocks can now be placed into a non-corrosive container filled with the cool brine.  They will keep in there for up to 2 months.

[Stinky]

If you followed the recipe this should be delightfully salty in that you can't put it on anything and if you do it almost kills you it's that salty.

[TimT]

I don't even bother with the amounts of salt the recipe calls for in my haloumi these days. I just sprinkle some on a plate after I take the hot haloumi chunks out of the whey, and when they've cooled and drained a bit I toss them about on the plate.

Not only does my recipe actually call for so much salt that when you chew on the haloumi it tastes like solidified ocean, it also says you should keep the haloumi in a brine - even more salt!

[Stinky]

I don't even bother with the amounts of salt the recipe calls for in my haloumi these days. I just sprinkle some on a plate after I take the hot haloumi chunks out of the whey, and when they've cooled and drained a bit I toss them about on the plate.

Not only does my recipe actually call for so much salt that when you chew on the haloumi it tastes like solidified ocean, it also says you should keep the haloumi in a brine - even more salt!

Ah, that's a good description... grilled ocean sandwiches.

[Danbo]

Ummmmmm... I gotta try to make Halloumi... AC4U!

[Al Lewis]

Well get yourself a square mold Danbo.  Makes the final steps a lot easier.

[Stinky]

Well get yourself a square mold Danbo.  Makes the final steps a lot easier.

Have ya ate any of it yet?