Author Topic: Sweet Cheeses (Honey & Dried Fruit) - Do They Spoil Faster  (Read 2119 times)

Offline george13

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Sweet Cheeses (Honey & Dried Fruit) - Do They Spoil Faster
« on: July 24, 2011, 10:04:21 AM »
Webmaster Edit - Following posts split off from previous thread as deserves separate topic.

By sweet cheeses (fruit & honey), do they spoil faster?  I guess once you introduce a dried fruit to the cheese, itwill re-hydrate somewhat due to the moisture in the cheese, and also any microbes or yeast  that may have dried with it originaly.  Did you ever use fresh herbs, or strictly dried, I feel that fresh chives would also shorten shelf life.  I like using fresh garlic in my cheeses, any recomendations.  Thanks
« Last Edit: August 13, 2011, 12:59:02 AM by Webmaster »

smilingcalico

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Re: Sweet Cheeses (Honey & Dried Fruit) - Do They Spoil Faster
« Reply #1 on: July 25, 2011, 01:31:25 AM »
Yes, sweet cheeses spoil faster.  We often rehydrated the fruit first in boiling water, so I'm sure that helped kill some of the molds and yeasts.  I've never used fresh herbs in cheese, only dried.  If it's personal cheese, keep going fresh.  For sale though, it's just safer to go dry.  If you choose to use fresh, at the very least, boil them for a short time.

Offline george13

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Re: Sweet Cheeses (Honey & Dried Fruit) - Do They Spoil Faster
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2011, 10:10:23 AM »
Thank you for the great insight smilingcalico, I was considering using a dry blueberry with my chevre, during trials, I rolled my cheese so that the berries would stick to the outside, another trial, I blended the berries with the cheese after my first draining phase.  The former process provides a somewhat drier end result, whereas the later absorbs moisture and the berries begin to re-hydrate within a week.  Personaly I like the blending since it's easier, and the finished product looks good.  My primary objective is safety, so I was wondering which way to go.  Also, you mention boiling for a short duration, how much time would that be?  I have tasted some cheeses that had fruit on the outside, but never bothered to read if it was somehow treated with a preservative.
Thanks again.

smilingcalico

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Re: Sweet Cheeses (Honey & Dried Fruit) - Do They Spoil Faster
« Reply #3 on: July 27, 2011, 08:21:48 PM »
On the topic of blueberries, we for a time just mixed the blueberries in dry.  Then I switched to boiling them in a small amount of water along with the honey, so it would incorporate well.  Now is also a fine time to add any other ingredients you care to boil.  20 minutes is fine.  This is pretty standard for any dry fruit cheeses.   The fruit still seems to pick up more moisture over time, this being especially true of blueberries which cheese we always let rest for two days before packaging.  At least it's what worked for us.
  As for garlic, I was thinking more of a blanch to kill stuff on the outside of the peeled garlic.  Truthfully, I've never done it, since I always used granules, but fresh does sound appetizing!