I have been experimenting with washed curd cheeses lately. Kyle told me he likes Colby over Cheddar. I really like the version of Montasio in Ricki Carroll’s book. It is a washed curd as well. I made 3 Colby batches and a Montasio in the past 2 weeks, so I wanted to try a different cheese. I was browsing thru 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes by Debra Amrein-Boyes and Fontina caught my eye. I remember buying it when we lived in Houston for some recipe. I remember it melted well and had a nice flavor. So I decided to give it a try.
Fontina is a quick and easy cheese to make. You do not need a double boiler set up because you heat the curds by adding hot water. You will need a 1 1/2 to 2 gallon pot to heat the water for washing. It also only takes less than 3 hours from pot to press.
I am making a lot of cheese right now. I make a batch every 2-3 days. So I am experimenting a bit. Normally Fontina is brined after it comes out of the press. I decide to try direct salting the curds the first time. I am going to try brining the next batch I make tomorrow and see what the differences are in the finished cheese. Cause really, what else do I have going on.
Fontina
Based on the Fontina recipe on p 198-199 in 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes by Debra Amrein-Boyes.
4 gallons raw milk
1/4 t M starter
1/2 t Veggie rennet diluted in 1/4 c cool water ( I think the recipe says 3/4 t. I did some experimenting with rennet on my milk and have found 1/2 the recommended rate on the bottle works for my my. For now I am using veggie rennet. But I am going to switch to calf rennet when this bottle is gone. At that point I will have to do some more experimenting to see if 1/2 the amount of calf rennet will work.)
3 T canning salt ( I am thinking I should have used Kosher or used 2 T. We will see.)
Heat the milk to 88 deg F. Add the starter. let ripen 1 hr.
Add diluted rennet. Floc was 9 min. I used a multiplier of 3. So I cut 27 min after I added the rennet.
Cut the curds into 1/2” cubes. Let stand 5 min. Begin heating 1 gallon of water to 145 deg F and hold.
Gently stir for 10 minutes. Let the curd settle for 10 minutes.
Remove 4 qts of whey. Replace with 1 gallon 145 deg F water. You want the whey temp to be 102 deg F. Mine only hit 100 after the addition of water so i turned the heat on and heated it up to 102. I actually over shot by about 7/10 of a deg. Stir for 10 minutes. Let curd settle for 10 minutes.
Pour off the whey. Let sit in a colander lined with butter muslin for 10 minutes. At this point I salted the curd. Next time I will try brining after pressing.
Line a mold with cheese cloth. Put curd in the press. Press at 15# for 15 minutes.
Flip and repress at 20# for 12 hours or overnight.
Of you did not salt the curds you would brine for about 12 hrs. Make sure you flip it.
Let the cheese air dry for about 24 hrs. Flip it once.
Fontina should age at 55 deg F and 90% humidity for 3 months. It is natural rind cheese. I will probably vacuum seal it.
