Appenzeller

[anutcanfly]

I'm thinking of making Appenzeller next week.  I'm not having much luck gleaning info on it.  I'm thinking a touch of PS should give it the nutty flavor it should have.  I was thinking of using hard cider for the wash.  Picking the spices is difficult, but after smelling around my kitchen I'm thinking an infusion of Bouquet Garni in the milk.  What would lend a fruity flavor to the cheese???  If anybody has information or advice, I'm all ears!

[smilingcalico]

Peppercorns give a great floral/fruity flavor to cheese.  You only know it's pepper if you bite into a peppercorn.  Sounds though like you won't be leaving any in, so the flavor will remain a mystery to your friends tasting the cheese. 

[anutcanfly]

Thanks for the input, I'll adds the peppers.  I may switch to thyme, sage, and or oregano.  I can't image a cow munching on bay.

[anutcanfly]

Did some more web surfing and still cannot guess what those cows are eating in the pasture.  Likely it's nothing I have around, so I think I will skip infusing the milk with herbs.  Instead I'll steep them in the cider/brine.  Definitely, this cheese should have PS added.  I not sure why it got left off the recipe.  200 Easy recipes has left off PS in several swiss types that really should have it!  Appenzeller can be skim or full fat, and age for a few months or longer than 6.  It is supposed to be nutty, fruity and spicy.  But I don't have any idea of what in the wash would make it spicy... could be a lot of things!  I think I will delay making this cheese in the hopes of find more info.

[dthelmers]

Appenzeller has been made for at least 700 years, according to Wikipedia. That might give a clue as to what herbs they use. It seems to me that the medieval style of herbing wines, etc. was to use as many aromatics as they could get hold of, for a mix like you might find in bitters or vermouth. I saw in one source that the must from white wine is used in one maker's recipe, while others use cider. This makes me wonder if the yeast is also producing some spicy elements. There is a German wheat beer called Franziskaner that has a very citrus and spice flavor, which it gets from the yeast alone. Perhaps the local cider yeast has character like that.

[anutcanfly]

Yes, that may be a more fruitful way to research.  I'll give it a go.

[fied]

I've seen Appenzeller made, but was shown the door politely when it came to the herb/spice wash. However, I did see dry sweet hay, summer savoury, borage flowers and coriander seed lying around the wash room. There were containers of others, but I've no idea what they were.

It's probably best to make up your own mix.

[Tomer1]

Coriander seeds are a great way to achive floral and lemony aromas. Its a beermaking trick accually.
Its my go to spice ,brings a layer of complexitiy and freshness.

[anutcanfly]

On the topic of beer tricks...  Hops in beer can give a lot of flavours and is not bitter when steeped in the brew without heating--dry hopping.  I wonder if they may be used for washes??

Thank you for your input!  Many heads are better than one in the planning stage.

[dthelmers]

Maybe try a cheeses that is traditionally packed in nettles, but pack in hops? Could be interesting!

[Boofer]

Maybe try a cheeses that is traditionally packed in nettles, but pack in hops? Could be interesting!

That might not be such a great idea:

"Hops bitter acids have antibacterial and antifungal activity important for the preservative function of hops in beer."

Just saying.... 

-Boofer-

[dthelmers]

Exactly what I was thinking of: the antibacterial properties of both hops and nettles. Nettles were used for this in beer when hops weren't available, and I think that the practice of wrapping a certain cheese in nettles was to keep it from forming mold. It doesn't seem to have any effect on yeast, though, as even my highly hopped IPAs left a very viable yeast colony. I wonder what would and wouldn't grow with this, especially if the hops were soaked in beer, packed the way they some have done with grape leaves and wine? I might give this a try. Maybe with Cheddar?

[anutcanfly]

This would be fun to try with a 2 lb wheel just in case.  I wasn't thinking about it as a preservative, but as a strong aromatic/flavor.  I'm having trouble imagining the type of cheese this would taste good with... likely cheddar.

[dthelmers]

I was thinking of Cascade hops- very citrusy aroma. That's the aroma from Sierra Nevada ale. I'll get a bottle of that, and try it with a couple of different cheeses. Researching this could be fun!

[anutcanfly]

Yes, that or centennial would do nicely.  If the antibacterial properties would inhibit B linens, why doesn't washing with beer cause a problem??