Mahón – Spain – Deejay’s
Ingredients:
7 gallons whole milk
½ teaspoon MM100
1/4 teaspoon kid lipase
Calcium Chloride
1-1/2 teaspoons Rennet
Heat milk to 86-88ºF.
Add cultures, Calcium Chloride, lipase and ripen for 45 minutes.
Add rennet – should be ready to cut in 40 to 60 minutes.
Cut curd into rice like pieces and rest for 5 minutes.
Cook curds stirring gently for 30 minutes or until springy.
Collect curds in cheese cloth and squeeze out excess whey.
Place curds in a square mold and press lightly with 5 pounds of weight for 15 minutes.
Flip and press again for 15 minutes.
Final press is over night with 25 pounds of weight.
Place cheese in saturated brine for 24 hours, flipping to ensure even salting.
Air dry for 2 days or until dry t the touch.
Place in cave at 45 to 50°F and 85% humidity for 1 month.
Rub cheese with olive oil and paprika.
The rind is smooth, closed, but oily, yellow or slightly orange, due to the treatment with paprika. The interior is compact, with holes of different sizes, and an ivory to bright yellow color, and brownish beige on the edges.
The taste is very particular, slightly acidic and salty, but not buttery. It can be milky and humid when fresh, and dry, strong and piquant as the aging grows.
TIERNO – a smooth cheese with a yellow/white color and thin, soft and elastic crust. A lactic aroma with a mild hint of butter and light acidic characteristics. (21-60 days).
SEMI – an unmistakably characteristic cheese with a compact rind that will vary from pale yellow (typical of young cheeses) to orange/brown if it is artisan. Firm and easy to cut, this ivory/yellow cheese will darken as it matures and features a variable number of small, unevenly distributed holes. The taste is mild, slightly salty and acidic with hints of butter and roasted hazelnuts. (2-5 months).
CURADO - A delight for cheese lovers with a firm, hard and notably less elastic texture and a reddish rind. Once in the advanced stages of maturation, this cheese becomes more brittle and flaky when cut. These cheeses have a complex and intense aroma and a salty, woody, leathery taste that lingers long in the mouth. (5 months)