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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cooked (Swiss) => Topic started by: Alpkäserei on May 12, 2014, 04:14:12 PM
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Today I will make a Mutschli from about 20 gallons of fresh raw milk. I will record much of the process and post it here
Mutschli is a 'HalbhartKäse' or Half hard (semi hard) cheese produced in the Canton of Bern. Mutschli in Swiss German is a diminutive term for anything that is small and round, or also sometimes can be used to refer to a foolish person. In Central Switzerland Mutschli refers to a small loaf of bread. In the Canton of Bern it refers to a small cheese.
Mutschli is the Bernese version of the common 'Hirtenkäse' or Herdsman's cheese. These cheeses were traditionally made for the direct consumption by the farmers, rather than for sale. As such they are softer so that they do not need aged as long, often being eaten after a few weeks of aging. Historically speaking, these are probably the oldest cheese type, the longer aged alpine cheeses being adapted from them by adjusting the recipe so that they store better, being more suited to transport across long distances.
Appenzeller cheese is another example of the Swiss Halbhartkäse, the recipe of Appenzeller is almost identical to the Bernese Mutschli. Mutschli tends to lack the special herb treatment, however.
Mutschli is not a protected or standardized cheese. Everyone who makes it does so differently. My own recipe is tailored to suit Indiana law -adapted for an aging period of 60 days.
My own recipe involves an infusion of a special herb blend into the milk to add flavor and depth.
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Alp,
One question I've had. If as I understand it, it's Swiss alpine practice to use these cheeses as a sort of opening round using whey starter, to in essence strengthen the starter and get it consistently performing for the requirements of the hard alpines, how is that done, if the process is different, you know? Different temps and process will yield a different thermo blend, presumably not as useful for the harder cheeses later in the season as simply doing a bunch of small cheeses, using the same process as the larger, hard wheels - yes?
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Looking forward to hearing about the Mutschli.
That word "Mutschli" sounds so familiar - i feel like I've heard my grandfather say that word before - usually when we were acting silly as youngsters...
Trent
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The making of mutschli or Raclette does help to develop diversity in the culture, yes, but that's not really why you do it. It's done during te beginning and end of the alpseason when the milk quality is not as good. It lets you produce a useful product when your standards for Alkäse are not met.
Also these will be made during the winter season in the valley (because the alp season is 70 to 100 days, and a cow's lactation cycle is around 300 to 305 days)
Which means, you are making your peak season cheese into something intended for sale, and your off season milk is largely made into something you yourself will eat (mutschli, yogurt, butter, etc.)
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Trent,
was your father from Switzerland? Because that is one way you certainly could use Mutschli...
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Well the make today went very well. Even though it wasn't done under ideal conditions (I don't have my make room set up, so I had to... improvise) everything happened like it was supposed to. Curd set up exactly like it should have in just the right amount of time (a short set, because I don't want to bond too much of the cream into the cheese. Mutschli is not supposed to be a creamy cheese)
Curd cut beautifully, brewed well, heated perfectly and bonded perfectly. I took off a small bit to eat fresh and this under only its own weight knit together flawlessly. That is great.
But that's one of the traits of Mutschli, is that it is a very easy cheese to make.
Now it's in the press, last time I flipped it it looked great. I can tell it is knit very well, now I just need to press the lines out of it.
Pictures, of course...
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10300117_806126499416745_1881976791528866560_n.jpg)
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/10373777_806126479416747_145011643101042593_n.jpg)
Here is one place where I improvised. Rough cut with a knife into 1" squares and stirred with 2 saucers to get the first cutting done.
(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/10245518_806126459416749_8800630775923859496_n.jpg)
And the curd cut very beautifully...
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10155881_806126406083421_3343408081619756658_n.jpg)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1.0-9/10303788_806126362750092_6010005032542536398_n.jpg)
(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10301531_806126336083428_5402762837062643823_n.jpg)
The recipe of this make is:
Mix milk and culture and herb infusion (my herb mixtures shall not be disclosed, sorry)
Heat to 32
add rennet, stir very well
Set for 30 minutes
Cut coursely and stir for 5 minutes
stir with harp for 5 to 10 minutes, get curd grains the size of a coffee bean
brew the curd for 20 minutes
heat slowly to 43 degrees over a period of about 20 minutes
let the curd settle
draw the curd out with cheesecloth and kneed into form
the last draw is not so good for the cheese, it will be drier, so just eat it.
Press for 20 hours or so
Then I will air dry it for 2 hours and brine it for 48 hours
It will then be washed in a special brine. I haven't decided exactly which.
I will age this cheese for maybe 4 or 5 weeks
This final cheese will be very similar to an Appenzeller...
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Very cool, Alp. Thanks. Also, thanks on the whey culture and early season. So, not so much to refine the whey culture in prepping it for your hard alpines, but due to the milk quality of early lactation. I'm sort of running into this, myself - only want to produce my take on Abondance during lush pasture; but that's a lot of months on milk vacant (Feb-late April or early May; October-mid November). I think I'll probably end up doing a more manipulated cheese early (like a stinky reblochon, more than usual, or something like that), with Abondance and tommes through Spring and the Abondance as a summer flagship.
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Yes, that's more or less what I learned.
Alpkäse is the finest cheese they make (and really, it's one of the best cheeses there is. It is a shame it is unknown to the rest of the world) and only the highest quality milk is accepted.
So that does mean they have a LOT of extra milk.
Traditionally, like I said, the Mutschli is a cheese that's made for the farmers themselves. It's easy, and can be eaten right away if you want to.
Alpkäse evolved during the middle ages in response to the rise of trade, especially with Italy (Berner Alpkäse and Sbrinz were very important cheeses in Medieval Italy, and are thought to be the inspiration that led to the invention of Parmesan and other Grana cheeses which now, ironically, are being shipped back in the opposite direction). But historically (and even today) this represents a pretty small (1/4 to 1/3) portion of the region's cheese production just because of simple logistics.
In the 19th century, the region nearly switched over to valley based cheese producers with only a small numbers of alpine herdsman remaining for a few decades but, fortunately, they came to appreciate the true alpine cheeses and developed a strong demand for them such that they are today back in the position of the region's most prominent cheese.
Mutschli has only found its way into trade in the last few decades. The Swiss cheese market has always been dominated by sharp aged cheeses, there was no room for a softer cheese with a milder flavor. In the past people would have just made their own semi hard cheeses and purchased only the aged hard cheeses. But today, as there are more and more people without direct farm connections, mild cheeses have an important place in the market so you now start to see more and more cheese producers putting out things like Mutschli and Tilsiter.
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Fascinating. Love the lore, enriches us all. Thanks, Alp.
Have you investigated this stuff with texts, or mostly oral conveyance of this history and lore?
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One thing I encountered with this cheese that I have never had happen before,
This cheese when I stirred the curd developed clumps of butter floating on the top -the agitation of stirring whipped the butterfat out of the whey. This happened because the milk was incredibly rich, richer than an Alpine make can make us of (the nature of this make limits the amount of fat that can actually be in the cheese)
As to the history,
a bit of both. You can read a lot about it. There are, as always, conflicting viewpoints.
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(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/10246239_806156812747047_3627322116179809518_n.jpg)
snapped a picture while flipping and redressing the cheese.
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Fantastic post. Beautiful cheese Alp. As you mentioned, this is quite similar to the make procedure of the Appenzeller I made this week. As always thanks for sharing your talents with us.
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Interesting, you mix the herb infusion into the milk at culturing time. I thought it was only for rind washing. Is there alcohol in your herb mix and if so does it have any effect on the process?
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fantastic post. Appreciate your wisdom, as always.
(Grandfather was swiss-german mennonite)
Trent
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The herb infusion is not quite the same as Appenzeller's herb treatment.
This is something I came up with myself, as an attempt to make up for my lack of having alpine pasture. That is one distinguishing characteristic of Berner Alpkäse is the rich herbal undertones of the cheese that come from the pasture itself that I can't get in Indiana (even though our Indiana pasture is pretty herbally rich, it's no Alpweide)
So I am experimenting with infusing herbal compounds directly into the raw milk to see if I can get some of that flavor in my aged cheeses.
With appenzeller, you treat the finished cheese with herbs to get a flavorful rind. It's not bound into the cheese so much as placed on it.
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Thanks for the explanation Alp. Always appreciated! C4U
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Here is the cheese out of the press...
(https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/l/t1.0-9/1001964_806573989371996_1503032151933116930_n.jpg)
The wrinkles on the side will go away as it ages and settles -they disappear with washing, and as the cheese 'settles' and the sides bulge out a little bit under the weight of the cheese.
Now I will let it air dry until tomorrow, when I will put it into the brine. Mutschli is best if you don't put it straight into the brine but let the cheese 'mature' a little first. I will let it sit at room temperature, giving it a chance to acidify a little more before putting it into the brine which effectively will stop ST acidification.
This cheese weighs 18 pounds right now, that is pretty much 1 pound of cheese per gallon of milk (I probably had about 18 gallons, maybe 19)
It will lose a little weight over the next few weeks, maybe a pound.
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(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10364077_806787139350681_276329247030035701_n.jpg)
Here is the cheese in the brine.
This is a heavy salt brine (Don't know percentage, just added salt until it 'felt' right and 'tasted' right) but as you can see there is a lot of extra stuff floating around in there. I added a lot of different herbs, maybe a dozen. Again, I won't say what all (but it does include Tarragon, Marjoram, and Sage)
I mixed the brine up last night. Today it is a good brown color and smells wonderful. The cheese will remain in the brine for 48 hours, being flipped every 6 hours or so. So there will be a lot of salt intake over that period (this is a salty cheese) and a lot of herb intake as well.
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Alpchemy! ;D
Your provençale herbs betray at least a modicum of southern sensibility, my friend. I won't tell anyone if you don't tell my French blood I do enjoy a German beer from time to time...!
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Hmmm...
Most of my herbs are pretty authentically Alpine, a lot are actually domesticated versions of plants that grow wild at least in the Canton of Bern (such as Thyme and Tarragon -whoops let another one leak out) And the rest are all herbs you are likely to have included in a Swiss herbal mix.
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Hmmm...
Most of my herbs are pretty authentically Alpine, a lot are actually domesticated versions of plants that grow wild at least in the Canton of Bern (such as Thyme and Tarragon -whoops let another one leak out) And the rest are all herbs you are likely to have included in a Swiss herbal mix.
I'm sorry, my alpine brother in making, but those herbs are about as northern as my Oncle Jules, a fictional Parisian. You can claim a lot, but this one I reserve for my Mediterranean paysans. Tarragon is ubiquitous, but the rest are a classic southern mix. Your lot may use my lot's stuff....but La Marsellaise it is. In Provençale, of course.
"Thyme is best cultivated in a hot, sunny location with well-drained soil."
"Salvia officinalis (sage, also called garden sage, or common sage) is a perennial, evergreen subshrub, with woody stems, grayish leaves, and blue to purplish flowers. It is a member of the family Lamiaceae and is native to the Mediterranean region, though it has naturalized in many places throughout the world." (read: you got it from the Sirocco).
"Marjoram (Origanum majorana, syn. Majorana hortensis Moench, Majorana majorana (L.) H. Karst[2]) is a somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavors. Marjoram is indigenous to Cyprus and southern Turkey, and was known to the Greeks and Romans as a symbol of happiness."
France, 1; Switzerland, 0. ;D
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I personally gathered samples of a number of herbs in the Bernese Alps and took pictures for positive ID. I wanted to have a good record of what was around, so I could replicate it.
France 1, Switzerland 1
The herbs are not exactly the same as the cultivated varieties, in fact many of the cultivated varieties they use in Switzerland are derived from Mediterranean imports (versions of the plant that are better cultivated) And some of them are actually just very closely related plants (similar to how we have wild Basel native to Indiana, but it is not the same Basel that you grow in your gardens, just a very similar member of the mint family)
Roman occupation had a significant impact, and Medieval trade with Italy was also very important.
So yes, a lot does come from the south -but not Provence, rather Italy.
But this change was so long ago.
Marjoram is, I'll admit, the exception to the rule. I'm actually using it as a substitute for some similar flavored herbs that aren't as easy to find (in a big mix like this, it is close enough)
France 1, Switzerland 1, Italy 1
Then of course there are a great deal of other herbs than those mentioned.
A lot of herbs in Central Europe -like anywhere- come to the land through trade. This includes a few things that originated in the far east, long ago.
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You're wrong. And because I'm French, I win the argument. 8)
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And because I'm Swiss, I'm never wrong! ;)
I win. O0
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Oh, just stick to your clocks. >:D
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(j/k, btw, everyone...if it's not understood, I have a great respect for my alpine friend.....)
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Don't stop now gentlemen, I've only just finished pouring a beer and popping the corn!
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Don't stop now gentlemen, I've only just finished pouring a beer and popping the corn!
Oh, just grab a Foster's to water your lawn. ;D
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Please please! You`re upsetting the cheese!
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Inexplicably, I'm deeply hungry.
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Oh, just grab a Foster's to water your lawn. ;D
Best thing for that abomination really. :P
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Puts it out of its misery, eh? ;D
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Well you see: when I became an honorary Pom, there were two requirements. I had to promise to hate the French forever and change my religion to CAMRA.
Oddly, no-one mentioned cricket.
So if I had to back anyone in this argument, I'd have to go for the Italians! ;)
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Well you see: when I became an honorary Pom, there were two requirements. I had to promise to hate the French forever and change my religion to CAMRA.
Oddly, no-one mentioned cricket.
So if I had to back anyone in this argument, I'd have to go for the Italians! ;)
Man, I don't know what to do with this. You're neurosis about the French leaves me feeling pity, truth be told, but your embracing of the one true religion of CAMRA leaves me wanting to hi-five you and share a pint. What's a man to do?
Ah, hell - easy answer. Where's that engine? ;D
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Eieiei, my poor thread...
Brought the cheese out of the herb brine last night. Happy to say, it has absorbed the herbs out of the brine very well, taking on a distinct odor and a brown tint.
This cheese will now get a fairly light rind treatment -a dry salt rub, rather than a Schmier
If I wanted to make an appenzeller cheese, I would use Appenzeller Alpenbitter (http://www.appenzeller.com/de/home.html) for the wash or, more authentically, rub with Kräutersulz, a special herb mixture, suspended in alcohol.
It is said that there are only 2 people who know the secret to making Kräutersulz
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And by the way, Paul, I WIN (http://shop.narimpex.ch/epages/shop_narimpex_ch.sf/de_CH/?ObjectPath=/Shops/shop_narimpex_ch/Products/S2001)
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And by the way, Paul, I WIN ([url]http://shop.narimpex.ch/epages/shop_narimpex_ch.sf/de_CH/?ObjectPath=/Shops/shop_narimpex_ch/Products/S2001[/url])
In the interest of international peace and harmony, I will allow you to maintain your delusion cede the point to you, my Swiss brother.
-and yes, sorry for the hijack. It's a great thread, Alp, thanks for making it. Very interested in this process. Cheese to you for the thread, and for putting up with my gallic foolishness.
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In other news, my cheese has been visited by my enemy... a mouse. >:(
Took drastic measures, now my aging shelves smell strongly of cinnamon oil (and so do I, as a side effect)
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In other news, my cheese has been visited by my enemy... a mouse. >:(
Took drastic measures, now my aging shelves smell strongly of cinnamon oil (and so do I, as a side effect)
I had that same thing happen , went in to check on my cheeses , and all my vacuum bagged cheeses had lost their seal , the little bugger had chewed holes in every bag , he didn't touch any of the waxed cheeses though , apparently he doesn't like wax. :o
Now all my aging shelves are high up out of reach of mice , and I have pretty much gone back to waxing all my cheese , only bagging open ones that are going for storage in the refrigerator.
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Made another batch today, 40 gallons, 2 wheels.
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Are you using your copper vat for these?
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Alp,
One question I've had. If as I understand it, it's Swiss alpine practice to use these cheeses as a sort of opening round using whey starter, to in essence strengthen the starter and get it consistently performing for the requirements of the hard alpines, how is that done, if the process is different, you know? Different temps and process will yield a different thermo blend, presumably not as useful for the harder cheeses later in the season as simply doing a bunch of small cheeses, using the same process as the larger, hard wheels - yes?
I have always been fascinated by how they keep a balance of the cultures doing the whey process. I have seen some pretty simple incubation systems for this on the mountain in Beaufort by several different producers on the Alpage but the most interesting was in visiting a family making Etivaz in Switzerland. She incubated two batches separately at two different temperatures and in the morning titrated each for final acid and blended them according to a target the family had established. The reasoning was that each would focus on particular thermos that she could easily balance according to acid levels. THey felt that this controlled the thermo mix for producing similar cheese throughout the season. It was not clear whether the blend changed during the seasons though .. some thing get lost in the translation
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Jay, are you able to go into the L'Etivaz maker's titration process, here? What were her targets....and reasoning for each temp/TA target? I'd love to hear more on this...very vital stuff. Thanks much for your post.
Edit: also interested in her titration equipment. I've an old burette and beakers. The dedicated titration I've seen can really run up there in cost. Just curious what they tend to use in the alpages. Thanks.
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Jay I came up with a solution similar, where I split off my thermo culture into 2 batches and then re-combine them based on acidity
This gives me a better strain of lactobacilli, specifically (talking to pav, a warmer incubated culture will develop a stronger LB, a cooler one wil grow strep)
I then blend the two back together, yielding a more complex culture than I would get with just a simple strep culture, but better acidification than I would get with the stronger LB culture.
At least, I think that's what I get
A simpler solution is just to add a Tblsp of active yogurt to the culture while it incubates...
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Alp, or Jay - what is your acidity target, and why? I presume you mean, each of the two starters gets its own TA target - is this just an acid optima for, say, LB or LH, on the one hand, and ST, on the other? Or some other reasoning?
Also, Alp or Jay - the question on equipment. What do you/they use? Dedicated TA stuff can get pricey....a burette and a beaker, though cumbersome, dirt cheap. Just curious.
Edit: For my part, never mind, fellas, thanks. Pav generously helped out.
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TA need not be difficult or expensive
You need only a syringe to measure out quantities of whey and NaOH, and you can measure it into any container, even a shot glass
I don't have my TA numbers on hand, but I use SH degrees because that's what I learned, and all the materials I have a listed in that. For this, we use a different strength of NaOH than you use otherwise.
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Yeah, I use American Science and Surplus for a lot of cheap, decent supplies like this (in fact, when I used to play with TA, that's the setup I bought...since gave to my son's school, and this morning, bought again, lol).
Do you use .11N NaOH?
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trying to remember off the top of my head, for one you use .1N, for the other you use .4N, I don't remember which is which but I think .4N gives you SH degrees (Socklet-Henkel)
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correction,
in the US you use DOrnic or %TA, and use .11 N
In Switzerland you use Soxhlet Henkel and use .25 N
1 degree SH is equal to .0225 % TA or 2.25 Dornic degrees, so you can use that conversion rate
the other way is, 1 degree D is 4/9 of 1 degree SH
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relevant for TA in case need reference: http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2586.msg21615.html#msg21615 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,2586.msg21615.html#msg21615)