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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Other => Topic started by: DeejayDebi on September 16, 2009, 12:47:57 AM
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I have only had this once and as usual I am trying to copy something from taste and a cheese description. I made this one square to fit in the hole I have left in my mini cave.
I have been playing with this one for awhile. Here is the description:
The Bitto comes produced exclusively on the alpine pastures, with latte vaccine entire and eventual goat addition of latte entire in the maximum measure of 10%, in the period comprised between 1° the june and the 30 september of every year. The coagulation is obtained with rennet of liquid year-old calf or in hard powder and approximately 30 minuteren; to this phase, it follows the breach of the curd, that it comes reduced to the dimension of a chicco of rice. The curd comes therefore cooked, subordinate to a rimescolatura “outside fire” and to it pauses under serum for 15-35 minuteren. The cheese comes at last pressato for approximately 10 hours and salato, to dry or for immersion in pickling brine. The salt out, besides to confer taste, concurs the creation of the crust. The maturation of the Bitto begins in the traditional ones “to casere of alpe” and it is completed in the plants of fondovalle, where the stagionatura must protrarre in order at least 70 days
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ANother description:
The cheese “Bitto” is produced exclusively with latte vaccine entire derived from razze traditional in the zone characterized to art. the 2 and obtained in relative the appropriate respect of prescription to the breeding and to the process of obtaining as answering to the following productive standard:
a) the feeding of the bovine from which drift the latte ones must be constituted from spontaneous essences and erbai eventually affienati, of the area delimited to art. the 2;
b) the latte ones of a milking. with the eventual addition of latte goat, in not advanced measure to 10% come immediately coagulated in native place taking advantage of the spontaneous development of the casearia microflora;
c) the coagulation is obtained with the use of year-old calf rennet, the baking of the curd, that it happens to a temperature comprised between the 48 and 52°C, protrae for approximately 30 minuteren. The breach of the curd happens till when the lumps have the largeness of chicchi of rice. Once extracted, the paste comes mail in fascere traditional that confers characteristic barefoot the concave one. The salt out happens to dry. The maturation begins in “casere of Alpe” and it is completed in the plants of fondovalle taking advantage of the natural climatic course of the production zone. The maturation must be protratta in order at least seventy days;
d) form: cylindrical. to regulate. with superficial flat, barefoot a concave one, to alive chines;
e) dimensions: the diameter of the faces and 30-50 centimeters; the height of the barefoot one is of 8-10 centimeters;
f) variable weight from 8 kg to 25 kg in relation to the dimensions of the form. The form, the dimensions and the weight can endure of reading variations in relation to the technical conditions of production and the period of maturation;
g) external aspect: compact crust of yellow color paglierino that it becomes more intense with the stagionatura, of thickness comprised between to 2 and 4 millimeters;
h) paste: compact structure, with occhiatura presence oadstead to pellet eye; to the cut the color is introduced variable from the white man to the yellow paglierino, according to the stagionatura;
i) sapore: cake, delicate, more intense with proceeding of the maturation. The eventual addition of latte goat renders the characteristic aroma more intense;
l) fat on the substance sand bank: not inferior to 45%;
m) medium humidity to 70 days: 38%.
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Bitto - Deejays - adapted from cheese descriptions
a firm and tasty cheese, with a slightly granular texture. It can be served lightly grilled, which softens the texture and adds wonderful toasty flavours to it.
3 Fresh raw cows milk
3 10 to 20% goats milk
no more than 10% goats milk
1/2 teaspoon TM 81
1/4 teasppon Proprionibacteria
calves rennet
' have any.should probably have used Lactococcus Bulgaricus but I didnt
Milk is heated to 118 to 120°F then left to curdle for 35 minutes.
Add rennet 2.5 time floccutation.
The curd is milled to the size of rice and cooked to 113 to 127°F for 45 minutes.
The firm curd is removed from the heat for 15 minutes stirring constantly before being put in molds.
The cheeses are dry salted with kitchen salt every 2 or 3 days for 3 or 4 weeks.
Mature for at least 70 days but may be aged up to 10 years.
Typos
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Interesting cheese Debi, it looks fantastic. I might have to try making that sometime.
Christy
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Mill "to the size of rice". Is that even possible? I use a whisk for really small curds, but I don't want to get overly aggressive. I get them small but nowhere near "rice size". What's the trick?
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Mill "to the size of rice". Is that even possible? I use a whisk for really small curds, but I don't want to get overly aggressive. I get them small but nowhere near "rice size". What's the trick?
Trick is to beat the curd like crazy and use a whisk with sharp, thin wire. Your whey will wind up being slightly white from the loss of solids, but that's the cheese style. If you look at some alpine style cheese videos, you'll see the whey is white from the curd cutting. Same with parmesan.
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...and I've been trying to be so gentle. Didn't want to end up with butter or something.
OK. It's late in the day. Need some levity. And it IS related. Sort of...
Two mice fell into a vat of fresh milk. They swam for hours getting nowhere. One mouse gave up and drowned. The other mouse swam faster and faster because he didn't want to meet the same fate. The milk eventually turned into butter and he climbed out to freedom. :o
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I don't get overly aggressive I use a large whisk about fist sized at the bottom and afer cutting and waitting for 5 minutes or so I plunge the whisk straight down and pull it straight up all the wires are criscrossed at the bottom and the curds come through really tiny. Any I miss I just go back after when I am stirring.
Kind of hard to see but here are some smallish curds using this method. I usually can't get a good picture of my curds but here's one while draining.
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That's what I do but I can't get anywhere near "rice size". Your curds look pretty good size in the photo.
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What is TM81? Who makes the culture, I've never heard of that one. Also,if you r recipe is over 110 for the entire time, which it looks like it is, why are you using MM100?
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Thanks Salior!
Francous Sorry for the confusion I only used the TM 81 from Danlac on this one. I used the MM100 on the crottin which I made at the same time. Mixed my notes I think.
TM81 is:
Streptococcus salivarius
subsp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii
subsp. bulgaricus.
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Ah, I see. That's the old Thermo B, the same as a LH/TA mix. It's a good one. Your cheese looks good as it is. I'd love to try it after 10 years.
My neighbor back in the states had an elderly Italian father that, when he heard I was into cheese, brought over a wheel he had been "saving". It was an unmarked Italian wheel, about 12 inches in diameter and not very thick, perhaps 4 inches at most. He had been saving it for what he estimated to be 25 years. It was a gift from someone at some point and he just shoved it to the back of the fridge. The cheese was fruity, kind of a nutty linger but was incredibly dry. It was not a parm, so it was a bit elastic. I didn't like the texture and was surprised that it didn't just melt in my mouth. Anyway, didn't want to hurt his feelings. I told him it was the best cheese I had ever tasted.
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You never know about those ole Italian folks they saved everything! The oldest cheese I have is a 5 year old Asiago I made and a few 5 year old cheddar blocks I bought in Vermont.
The Bitto I will probably only age for about 3 to 6 months depending on how good it smells at that point. BTW the goats milk came from and mutual accquintanece.
I did feed the guys at work some 6 month aged muenster on bagel Monday this week. They went nuts for it. I know it's not really supposed to be aged but I like it that better way.
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I use TA61 - Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus and
LH100 - L. lactis & L. helveticus all the time.
You say "This is a good one", but I have not used TM81 (Thermo B) or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus.
What cheeses would Thermo B/TM81 be approriate for? Why?
S. thermophilus does not digest all of the milk sugars so is Thermo B used in combination with other cultures like LH100 to complete the lactose breakdown?
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Sorry I read that too fast, I had understood themophilus and LACTOCOCCUS bulg. That would have been Thermo B. I don't use LBC (lactobacilli) unless it comes in a pre-made mix with other stuff. It is popular with commercial cheese manufacturers though, mainly for swiss type cheeses. It reduces your ripening time.
Thermo B has a meso in it, so sugar conversion is more consistent. It's why TA61 shouldn't be used alone. You could use Thermo B and the below mentioned TM81, but it's really a swiss, italian age cheese thing. With that said I know some cheese makers that use bizarre culture mixes, in ways you wouldn't expect, and come up with some respectable cheeses. Just because a culture is "designed" or "intended" for a certain use doesn't mean it can't produce great results in other settings.
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TM81 (Streptococcus salivarius, subsp. thermophilus and Lactobacillus delbrueckii, subsp. bulgaricus) is used for fast acidification. Good in montasio mozzarella or cheeses with a firm and dry but stretchy texture. It gives you chewy texture somewhat like an Edam or Gouda but drier and stronger tasting like an young aged Provelone. God I can't describe cheese worth a darned!
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Deb,
I could be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure Lactobacillus delbrueckii, subsp. bulgaricus isn't an acidifier at all. It's a ripening culture to works on texture and aroma. Thermophilus isn't the best acidifier in the world, which is why it's normally mixed with a meso, unless it's the same strain as in TA061, which is't half bad. Bottom line, I am guessing, if it works for you go with it.
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You're right Francois, bulgaricus is typically a yogurt culture. It only starts growing seriously after pH is around 5.6, and by then the cheese should be in the press or close to it. In cheese, it's used more for the proteolytic qualities because it works on specific peptide chains.
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I use alot of TA 61 with LH 100. TheTM 81 one was recommended by Danlac for Montasio so I thought I'd try it on the Bitto. We will see. I like the intial texture definately had tha stretchy feel to it. The new curds weren't bad albeit not salted yet.
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Mill "to the size of rice". Is that even possible? I use a whisk for really small curds, but I don't want to get overly aggressive. I get them small but nowhere near "rice size". What's the trick?
Trick is to beat the curd like crazy and use a whisk with sharp, thin wire. Your whey will wind up being slightly white from the loss of solids, but that's the cheese style. If you look at some alpine style cheese videos, you'll see the whey is white from the curd cutting. Same with parmesan.
I would just like to add that it also depends on how you cut the curd. For a gently-stirred brick I cut it at 3/4" intervals, but for a Parm I cut the curd at 1/4" intervals. Then stir like crazy with a cheese spoon. The first few minutes of the stir are the most important, because after a while of being stirred in the whey they firm up and won't get any smaller.
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Good point and as these are rice sized pieces anyway.
Sure is smelling great at this point.