Malvarosa recipe?

[janesmilk]

Hello,
I am looking to make something similar to a Malvarosa cheese. I have sheeps milk and in my opinion the cheese tastes like a combination of pecorino and provelone. My best guess would be to follow a provelone recipe using my typical pecorino cultures, brine first and rub with dry salt in the 60 day ageing period. Any ideas here? Im also curious about the "flour" that is on the cheese at the point of sale. Does anyone know if this is flour or something else and wheter or not it is added at the time of sale or if it is part of the ageing process?

Thanks!

[linuxboy]

This is not a provolone IIRC. It's a regular meso cooked cheese, like Machego. But the Guierra (sp) sheep make it unique.

You make it like Manchego, not like a pasta filata. The flour I always thought was residue from being cured in cheesecloth? I've only tried this one a few times, memory is a little fuzzy.

[janesmilk]

Thanks Pav. Everything that I have read about it lead me to the same conclusion that you mentioned, a manchego type recipe. I made an aged provelone once that had a similar texture, a little bit dry and somewhat salty, so I thought I could perhaps get a similar result. Ill go the manchego route though. My last batch of manchego was very strong ( almost tasted like I used lipase in it) , any tips on making a sweeter cheese? Im guessing washing the curd would, but wondering if there is anything else I could do.
Thanks!

[linuxboy]

If it's too piquant, then you really have to watch the milk handling and use ultra fresh milk while all those fat globules are still in tact.

And of course, washing helps. You can also try to reduce the water content and have a drier cheese, and age a little cooler... say 48-50F.

Beyond that, it's breed and diet.

For the culture, you could try Danisco's Kazu to create a milder flavor profile, or use undefined strains, like what you find in Probat, or in one of the DL gouda-type mixes.