Adding Dried Fruit (Cranberry, Mango, etc) To Cheese?

[Cheese Head]

I've seen several fruit flavoured cheeses in stores with semi-dried (like raisins) cranberries, cherries or mangos.

We have some of these in our food cupboard as we already use them in baking and on salads. Found this dairy industry health article on Cranberry's.

Questions:

• I presume these semi-dried are better than fresh in cheese making as fresh would have too much moisture and could rot?
• At what stage of cheese making would you add them in?
• Mango pieces can be huge, what size cut or tear into, 0.5 cm/0.25 inch?
• Would you partially rehydrate by boiling in a little water first?
• How impart flavour into overall cheese rather than just around the fruit, use water from above?
• Any other fruit ideas?

[Tea]

I don't know Cheese Head.  I have been wondering this myself.  I am wondering if softening them first in a little hot water, then maybe adding some of the water to the whey before draining.  If adding to a cream cheese, I would just add the softened fruit.  How big the piece, I think would be a personal preference, but I wouldn't think anything bigger then say 1/2 - 3/4 inch, otherwise it could get a little chewy.
Just my thoughts.

[bec1986]

im going to look into this as well, there is a cheese i absolutley love that is a soft cream cheese with assorted fruits and has poppy seeds around the outside or crushed nuts. apricot and rum with the poppy seeds is my all time favourite. its in the fridge in the deli and is vacuum sealed. it comes in about 200-250gm packets and cost up to $8 a pop!!
the cheese is obviously sweetened and even vacuum seald and refrigerated it only has a use by of a few weeks so i think it will be a make and eat cheese. bum's getting larger just thinking about it lol.