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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Semi-Hard "Sweet" Washed Curd => Topic started by: Tea on December 17, 2009, 08:44:30 PM
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Found this this morning while looking for something else. Has anyone got one of these? Thought it was of interest.
http://www.amazon.com/Swissmar-Hotstone-Classic-Raclette-SwissMar/dp/B000FDN20M/ref=pd_sim_k_3 (http://www.amazon.com/Swissmar-Hotstone-Classic-Raclette-SwissMar/dp/B000FDN20M/ref=pd_sim_k_3)
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Interesting item. I don't have one of these, but I do have a Raclette maker, which is a tabletop appliances for melting the cheese for eating Raclette. We enjoy it as it reminds us of where we first discovered Raclette as a meal, in Gruyere Switzerland. I suggest you try out the stone and enjoy the dining experience.
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It looks like a piece of granite. I wonder if a floor tile would work?
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If you have a fireplace, just buy a piece of solid wood or a flat stone and do your raclette properly by placing a half cheese facing the fire. Those raclette appliances give dreadful watered down versions of what you can achieve with a simple fireplace. Please excuse the killjoy but it really is like watching Jurassic Park on youtube compared to what you can do with a fire.
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It looks like a piece of granite. I wonder if a floor tile would work?
I use a ceramic floor tile for bread baking, instead of the heavy traditional baking stone. As i do have a baking stone to, I can assure you that nobody noticed any difference between the two baking "stones". I hope this answered your question Debi :)
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Yes I have used ceramic tiles for bread baking that's why I wondered about the Raclette maker.
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I have actually seen them in a local store for nearly twice as much (same brand). This specialty store also sells the real deal - the Raclette warmer that you see in restaurants and stands in Europe. It's like a little anodized steel boat that holds half a weel of cheese and directly above it there is a hot glow wire that melts the living daylights out of this cheese and make everything within 17 mile radius smell like Raclette. Yumm!
Just last night we made Brandada de Bacalao - a dish of salt code mixed with cream and mash potatoes, covered with a layer of Raclette and put in the oven for 20 minutes. The apartment still smell of it :)
My local store sells the stones online but not the professional Raclette grill: http://www.zabars.com/swissmar-classic-raclette-party-grill-%23kf77031/B20Z00B,default,pd.html?cgid= (http://www.zabars.com/swissmar-classic-raclette-party-grill-%23kf77031/B20Z00B,default,pd.html?cgid=)
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Yes!!! Bought it yesterday, used it last night!! I did this because I made a batch of Raclette cheese back in October, which was ready (and it is delicious).
Going to post photos on my blog, probably today....
I think this machine is absolutely worth the money. It works perfectly, doesn't take that long to heat up.
The stone top is a piece of polished granite, very nice. We'd had a pierrade once in Canada, and I have wanted one of these things ever since.
Swissmar also has a free Raclette cookbook, which I picked up at the kitchen store. You can make all sorts of little side dishes in the Raclette pans underneath the stone. Must try this!
Sue
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That's a prety kewl machine Sue congrats! Looks like it could be a lot of fun at dinner time.
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I have one of these. My favorite thing to grill on it is morel mushrooms, so in honor of this I made a morel raclette a few months ago. Haven't cracked it yet.
I really like it because you don't need to oil the stone, just add a bit more liquid if needed while things are cooking.
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I was thinking about all of you dear people when I was in France last month. I suppose I never noticed these on previous visits before thread started, but this time I couldn't get rid of Raclette stones - they are EVERYWHERE! I couldn't believe the selection of Raclette devices in every housewares department!
...feast your eyes below
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I have to look around I think my old waffle maker came with those litttle cup thingys but I didn't know what they were for. Hope I didn't throw them out.
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Oh Wow on the pictures! I want to go shopping there!!
Sue
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Funny Debi, I thought these were that part of the George Forman Grill that collects the fat :)
Sue; Most European department stores would have them. I saw a huge selection of them at Galeries Lafayette (http://www.galerieslafayette.com/ (http://www.galerieslafayette.com/)) and Bazar de L'Hotel de Ville (http://bhv.fr (http://bhv.fr)) in Paris and in KaDeWe in Berlin (http://www.kadewe.de/en/ (http://www.kadewe.de/en/)). You just need a trip or a friend in Europe and a 220 volt to 110 volt converter... Otherwise, I would try eBay. It's just nice to know so many major brands make them. Tefal, Lagrange, Swissmar leading the way.
Lagrange by the way makes all kinds of other fantastic kitchen gadgets. The most fascinating of these is an... electronic cheese maker. Huh? http://www.lagrange.fr/fromagere/fromagere-video-en.html (http://www.lagrange.fr/fromagere/fromagere-video-en.html)
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Oooo I have an electric griller thingy (still in the box) with little square cups too. I wonder if that's what those were for? One Christamas I got like three griller thingys and a sandwich maker. I think I used one of them twice.
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Mmmmmm, we had Raclette for dinner last night and it was sooooo tasty!
I decided to buy a couple different brands of Raclette cheese to try out and see if it is in fact a cheese I would like to make, and I was surprised at the major differences in the taste of the two brands we bought! The first was mild and nutty, while the second was somewhat sharp with a definite stinkiness to it! The second one also had numerous eyes throughout and was rather soft in consistency (difficult to slice, almost like a soft brie), whereas the first had a solid eyeless paste and firm consistency. I preferred the milder of the two...(it melted prettier too; the stinky one was greasier when melted)
We ate the melted cheese with Russian banana fingerling potatoes, dry coppa and salami, gherkins, and crusty bread, DELISH!
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As far as I remember Raclette is a young cheese that starts with a soft paste and gradually forms into a hard grating cheese with a different flavor profile. I suspect that you didn't compare them apple to apple but rather young apple to older apple...
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scuba,
Your first cheese (the firmer one) sounds more correct. The other one sounds kind of off.....
I have had the experience of purchasing Raclette slices wrapped in plastic, which were kind of dissolving the rind from moisture inside the plastic. Nasty. Much better to make your own!
Sue
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Yes!!! Bought it yesterday, used it last night!! I did this because I made a batch of Raclette cheese back in October, which was ready (and it is delicious).
Going to post photos on my blog, probably today....
I think this machine is absolutely worth the money. It works perfectly, doesn't take that long to heat up.
The stone top is a piece of polished granite, very nice. We'd had a pierrade once in Canada, and I have wanted one of these things ever since.
Swissmar also has a free Raclette cookbook, which I picked up at the kitchen store. You can make all sorts of little side dishes in the Raclette pans underneath the stone. Must try this!
Sue
Would you share the Raclette recipe, I'd like to make a batch of it.
Thanks
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The recipe is posted around here somewhere but I couldn't find it. So here it is again.
SueVT
Here is what I do. This is basically Danisco's formula. (the link to my Raclette blog entry is in another post today, if you want to see the results)
For 3.5 gal raw milk : Starting pH for me is 6.8.
Heat to 90 degrees F.
Innoculate with 1/2 Pinch Choozit Alp D LYO 100 DCU/1000 l (this is a small amount, under 1/8 tsp)
Ripen 60 - 90 min until pH 6.5
Rennet: 1/2 tsp liquid rennet in a small amount of cool water.
Setting time: 15 - 18 min
Coagulation time: 30 - 40 min.
Cutting: pea to hazelnut size
Stir: 25 min
Draw off 25% of the whey
WASHING (with clear water):
pH before Washing: 6.35 - 6.40
Add 25% of the volume back with clear water, heated to 140 degrees F.
Temp should be at 100 degrees F ("scalding temp")
Stir 10 min
Prepress under whey for 10 min
Press in cheesecloth-lined mold at 10 lb. only
Brine for 1 day in saturated brine bath
pH after brining: 5.2
Let the surface dry
Affinage: b linens in 3% salt solution - smear
Smear twice on the 1st and 3rd day. After day 5, smear every 3rd day.
Store at cave temp (52 F) , RH 90 95%
At the end of the first month the cheese should have a rather dry smear.
Age for 2 to 4 months.