Piacentinu Ennese - Jersey style

[scasnerkay]

I know I haven't posted much lately, but I just had to put up this one! I can't stop eating this cheese!!!
I made this 5 months ago, and noticed today that fluid had collected in the vacuum sealed bag. Of course I had to cut it open and try it!
The recipe is my take on the directions from cheesemaking.com, with my own pH targets.
Look for the spreadsheet attachment by the image!

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Congratulation on a lovely looking cheese.
This is one I hadn't noticed on the Cheesemaking.com website, but on revisiting the site I have found it.
A cheese to you to celebrate your success.

[valley ranch]

Greetings Susan, That cheese has a good look about it. Sunnyvale, we're in a valley not far from Tahoe.
Have a good day.

Richard

[awakephd]

Susan, what are the dark bits in the cheese? I looked at the recipe, and may have missed it -- I see saffron added, and wondered if maybe it was whole peppercorns or something like that, but not seeing it.

In any case, it does look lovely - I assume it is the saffron that has given it such a beautiful color? What sort of taste profile does it have - more like an alpine, or ??

[Duntov]

Just beautiful.  AC4U!

[scasnerkay]

Tasting notes... Mouth feel is very smooth and creamy, not as firm as an alpine style. Sort of like a gouda with mild nutty sweetness. I can taste the saffron, but have trouble identifying how. Mildly smokey? The whole black peppercorns and a nice  contrast to the sweetness.
I have sealed part of the cheese back up, but I don't think I will store it for long. At 5 months that is perhaps long enough!

[Kern]

I've studied your recipe and have a question:  After about 45 minutes of hooping the cheese was "cooked" before brining.  Did this cooking take place with the cheese in the hoops so that the shape was held during cooking?

[Kern]

Congratulation on a lovely looking cheese.
This is one I hadn't noticed on the Cheesemaking.com website, but on revisiting the site I have found it.
A cheese to you to celebrate your success.

Where did you find it?  I don't see it anywhere on the cheesemaking.com website.

[Andrew Marshallsay]

Where did you find it?  I don't see it anywhere on the cheesemaking.com website.

It is called "Sicilian Cheese with Saffron and Black Pepper".

[scasnerkay]

Yes I did leave the cheese in the form while it was resting in the hot whey! Also while it was resting and waiting for the pH to get to the correct point. As normally happens, the rind was much more firm and stable after brining.

[Kern]

Where did you find it?  I don't see it anywhere on the cheesemaking.com website.

It is called "Sicilian Cheese with Saffron and Black Pepper".

Ah ha!  I knew my Italian was getting a little creaky.  So, Piacentinu Ennese translates to Sicilian Cheese with Saffron and Black Pepper.  I remember that now!  ;)

[valley ranch]

Nota:


Some say:




Piacentinu Ennese appears officially for the first time in a text of Sixteenth century, attributed to the famous Latin historian Gallo, who described the characteristics and the productive processes of a cheese made with saffron.

Instead, according to a romantic local legend handed down during the years, Ruggero il Normanno, King of Sicily, watching his sad wife, ordered to a local dairymen to realize a therapeutic cheese. After some different experiments, the dairymen decided to add a small amount of saffron to sheep milk, creating a cheese with an unusual yellow color and with important energizing and antidepressant properties, at that time attributed to the Crocus sativus.

Regarding the origin of its name, as we can easily suppose, "Ennese" refers to the place of origin of this curious cheese, while there are many theories about the term "Piacentinu". According to some hypothesis, it could be linked to the particular pleasantness of this cheese, while other theories link the term to the adjective "crying", referring to the small spots that color the internal part, similar to teardrops.

Formaggi Siciliani~Sicilian Cheese~Cheeses.





Suasn, sei Italiana

[scasnerkay]

No Valley Ranch - not Italian! But I did live there for a short time about 40 years ago! I will dust off some brain cells and take Italian language class starting in 2 weeks though!

[valley ranch]

Susan, You mentioned: the correct pH~are you using a pH meter?

Richard

[scasnerkay]

Richard, I do use a pH meter. Aside from the good folks on this forum, I learned to make cheese all on my own. Getting a pH meter was a big help because then I knew what a certain stage should look like. My early efforts were often over acidified. I usually measure for a target at draining, and for salting or brining. The scientist in me appreciates the numbers.