Munajuusto Egg Cheese Making Recipe

[riha]

I have been experimenting with Finnish egg cheese a few batches now. Since I'm happy with the results, I thought I'd share. This is a traditional Finnish cheese that has been made with slight variations over the country. It is a fresh cheese (no aging) and it gets fried in an oven.

Ingredients:

• 3 liters milk
• 1 liter buttermilk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp salt

Since this is very easy recipe, I usually don't plan ahead and end up using shop-bought milk. Never done this with fresh milk actually... I should.

Process:

First I put the milk into a pot with full heat. While the milk is warming, I separate egg yolks and whites, then mix the egg whites with the buttermilk.

When milk boils, I remove it from the heat. Then pour the buttermilk mixture to the hot milk stirring constantly. I let the curds separate under a lid undisturbed for 15-30 minutes. When it's finished, the whey is geenish, much like when I make paneer.

I poured the mixture into a cheesecloth lined colander, draining most of the whey. Then put it back to the pot. Mixed egg yolks and the salt with the curds. For molds I use my faithful Ikea cheesemolds lined with cloth since I like my cheeses small & round. Traditional wooden molds don't need a cloth. After ladling the curds to the molds I pat the surface flat and let the cheese drain overnight in a refrigerator.
 
The cheese is edible next morning. Many prefer munajuusto just like this. I like to fry it for extra taste and firmer texture.

I fry the cheeses in 300C oven with "grill" setting on. I don't take time, just watch for the little black spots. When there are a few, I turn the cheeses and fry the other side. The cheese can be eaten while hot, but I prefer to cool it down before consuming.

As I said, this cheese is also enjoyed without frying, perhaps even more often than with. Many recipes also don't include the step of separating the yolks and whites, they just mix the eggs with the buttermilk. I'm still not sure if there's a difference in taste this way or is it just batch to batch variation. And since this is "folk recipe", all the amounts vary hugely. Actually, the book I took this recipe from, didn't state any amounts, it just listed the ingredients and the process.

[riha]

Unfortunately our cheese plate had only two of my self-made cheeses, munajuusto and feta. But the brie, camembert, gouda and Oltermanni (Finnish cheese, I don't know to what I'd compare it to) were good also

[Cheese Head]

riha, great post and pictures, thumbs up!

Great looking cheeses and very different method using eggs, I'm going to try this quick and simple cheese this weekend!

One small question, I assume you bring it just to start of boil as rolling boil would have cooked taste?

[riha]

Yes, I bring it just to start of boil. Could try to boil for a while though, see how it affects the taste. Quick & easy cheeses are nice to experiment with.

[DeejayDebi]

Oh that looks tastey! Thanks Riha! I will try this soon also.

[justsocat]

Dear riha!
I stumbled upon the egg cheese recipes in the net two or three times before I read your post here. I passed them by with no attention because I thought it’s some kind of “not real” cheese with those eggs added. But now when I know this is the traditional Finnish cheese I do want to make it.
I just made some changes and here is what I’ve got.
Ingredients:
2 liters of raw cow’s milk
1 liter of whey (decided to use the whey instead of buttermilk cause it is always plenty of it available)
3 eggs
1 teaspoonful of salt
Procedure:
1.   Bring the milk just to start of boil and take it from the hit.
2.   While the milk is heated mix the eggs with the whey. (I don’t separate eggs with yolks and whites just because I’m lazy ).
3.   Pour the mix into the milk giving it good constant stir.
4.   Let the bowl cool down for 1.5 h. There are small flakes obtained. Much smaller than at the riha’s pictures. Flakes sink and greenish whey is upon them.
5.   As the flakes are small, pour all the whey and flakes into the cotton cloth bag and hang it to drain for 9 hrs.
6.   Salt and thoroughly mix the cheese.
7.   Put the cheese in the mold and press it with 7 kg weight during 1 h just to give it a wheel form.
8.   Sprinkle derived wheel with a salt to form some rind and place it to a refrigerator for night long. 
All those above mentioned magic passes yield next morning 540 g of cheese. I like it's look and taste. Thank you, riha! The only one problem remains riha, how to pronounce "munajuusto" in order to sound like a real Finnish cheese maker?    

[riha]

Pavel, yay for your success! I'm going to have to try the whey method as well. It has never occurred to me that one could use whey as acidifier.

If you read IPA, munajuusto is ['munaˌju:sto]. Finnish pronunciation is very simple compared to some other languages I actually was going to include the pronunciation to my first post, but apparently forgot this important detail. Good of you to remember.

[justsocat]

Riha!
Actually the whey is a good acidifier. I make one more cheese with it. It's name is "Adygeisky" but I saw a mention of this very cheese at this forum so I don't share the recipe. But I can if you want me to.
Only one important thing you have to keep in mind before you start. Only the whey left after non-rennet cheese I use this way. Because when I make those types of cheeses, the milk sits at least 24 h with starter added and pH is low enough. I just can't say what will happen if the whey from rennet cheese is used.
Thanks for IPA

[goatherdess]

About how long would a cheese like that keep? Does it have to be eaten very quickly since it has eggs in it? How many days would you have before you had to cook it?

[riha]

I actually don't know. If I haven't eaten it it means that I have forgotten about it and find it from my fridge after it has tried to become a stilton and failed.

I fry it immediately when it has drained. Naturally it also lasts longer when it has been fried. I'd venture a guess that a fresh cheese would last something like from 5 days to a week and fried version double that. Stored in a fridge naturally.

[DeejayDebi]

I actually bought some while on vacation and the package says it will keep for 9 months if unopened.

[riha]

Nine months? Wow. There's got to be some vacuum pacing and preservatives involved.

[Baby Chee]

This looks good!  I want to try it sometime.  Thanks for posting it!

[DeejayDebi]

It does contain Potasium Sorbate for a preservative and it is vac packed. I use that in some of my sausages I wonder what the percentage is for cheese? I may have to research that ...


Apparently this stuff has become so popular they can't keep it in the stores. I ate half a pack for supper last night. Good stuff!

[Baby Chee]

I'll definitely have to make some soon.  It looks incredible: some bread, a slab of meat, that... and some veggies on the side.  Living like a king.