Author Topic: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste  (Read 7260 times)

Melbourne Cheese

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Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« on: October 29, 2011, 12:34:50 AM »
Has anyone made Haloumi without salting it or keeping it in brine?  I have made it a few times now and the decreased the amount of the salt in the brine every time but it still comes out very very salty.  Almost too salty to be nice.  I would be interested if anyone has a brine salt/water ratio that does not make the cheese taste like the ocean!

anutcanfly

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Re: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« Reply #1 on: October 29, 2011, 01:31:12 AM »
I'm having much the same problem with feta.  The only solution I can think of is to make the brine as salty as needed to age the cheese and when ready to consume it place in water or whey that's as acidic as the cheese.  Add calcium chloride same as you would for a brine, but minus the salt, and let it sit a few days until it's palatable.  I going to be trying this next week as my feta is 6 months old and ready to taste.  I'll post the result.

dttorun

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Re: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2011, 10:51:19 AM »
Yes, salt is to preserve the cheese as other foods. Less salt means shorter shelf life. Before you consume brined cheeses like feta or halloumi you need to soak in water a couple of hours or overnight. You may need to replace water a couple of times as well.
Or you can use olive oil to preserve your cheese by cutting it into cubes.
Tan

anutcanfly

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Re: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2011, 09:24:07 PM »
Yesterday I added citric acid and calcium chloride to water same as I would for brine.  I added a chunk of feta and let it sit overnight.  What a relief, worked great!  Still salty, but pleasantly so.  If I drained it and added fresh solution I could bring the salt level down further. 
 
Goat feta rocks! Age it 6 months for the best flavor!  ^-^

boothrf

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Re: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2011, 11:04:35 PM »
Hi Melbournecheese,

I live just on the outskirts of Melbourne in West Gippsland, a great dairy area.

A tip I have read for reducing the saltiness of Fetta is to soak it in milk for a while before consuming. Havn't tried it myself. I store my Fetta in a 12% brine solution and don't find it too salty, for my taste anyway. What concentration is your brine?

Happy cheesemaking,

Melbourne Cheese

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Re: Halloumi - Brine Ripened, Too Salty Taste
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2011, 09:00:08 AM »
Thanks people for your advice!

Bob, you know any good dairies down there to get milk from?  My brine is about 15%.  The original recipe I followed had 20% but that just tasted like a slat lick!  Will keep trying to get lower and lower till I find a nice medium.  I actually tried making it without salt and freeing it.  it was truly disgusting to be truthful.  It really needs salt but I guess it is a learning game.