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CHEESE TYPE BOARDS (for Cheese Lovers and Cheese Makers) => RENNET COAGULATED - Hard Cheddared (Normally Stacked & Milled) => Topic started by: Likesspace on March 22, 2009, 02:23:25 AM
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Guys…
Not sure if I mentioned it or not but about three weeks ago I attempted my pepper “Swiss” cheese.
What I did was to use my swiss recipe for the curd, with the omition of the proprionic shermanii additive.
Well tonight I was a little bit bored and decided to cut into this wheel and I have to say that this will be a cheese that I’ll be making a LOT in the future.
The texture is MUCH like a commercial pepper jack and the flavor is pretty much right on as well ( more firm but very moist and very nice). It does NOT have the crumbly texture that I’ve seen with every other attempt at a pepper jack style of cheese.
As I said, this cheese is going to see a lot of action from here on out and since it’s pretty much my own recipe…...
Well I’ve decided to name it: Alpine Pepper Cheese.
If anyone would like to give this a try, I basically used my swiss recipe as a base and then ommitted the proprionic shermanii bacteria and added both green “pickled” jalepenos and red pickled bell peppers.
I did boil the peppers in vinegar for about 10 minutes and gave them plenty of time to dry out.
The addition of the peppers was done while loading the mold,alternating between layers of curd and layers of peppers.
I do think I’ll double the amount of peppers that I put in the next attempt since they are somewhat sparse in this one.
All in all,I’m absolutely thrilled with this cheese and can’t wait to get another one going.
I’m serious guys.
I’ve only had a small slice (trying to get rid of the winter fat) but this cheese is one of the best I’ve made, hands down.
The three week aging time seems to be just about right but I think if waxed you could age it much longer with no problems. The only thing that I think might come from longer aging times is a more sharp flavor which from my experience is NOT what you want out of a pepper jack style of cheese.
I’d love for you all to give it a try and let me know what you think.
Dave
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Jalapeno cheese is my Mecca.... I will feel complete when I can make a successful rind of it. That my friend is a beautiful cheese....
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That looks fabulous. Kind of ugly, but in a beautiful way -- generally the sign of great cheese. ;D
I picked up a bunch of (ok, only four, but they are hellaciously hot) habanero peppers yesterday, in anticipation of making a real light-you-on-fire type of pepper jack... but I may have to try this method instead. First I'm gonna have to figure out how to prep the peppers. Pickled is pretty different from fresh.
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Well Makk I'm obviously not a cheese expert, but I've wagged my tail a time or two for hot peppers. And the only way to get them to live long term is to soak them in Vinagar (ie, high acid environment) or dry and solo... In our case here we're looking at a high acid environment. Which I think he's doing a very good job with.
I can talk all day on hot peppers... lol...That is a serious passion for me.
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Dave congrats on the cheese. Wonderful to see that the experiement worked for you.
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Dave that is one fine looking cheese! Congrats! I think your right on with pickled peppers. I have tried dried and fresh and they don't cut it!
I mixed mine in with the curds before the first pressing on my asiago and it worked well for even distribution but the red peppers stained my mould. They go good with a young asiago too.
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Hey everyone...thanks for the posts.
I'm not too happy about the "smear" I got from the red peppers. That's something I'll have to work on. It makes for an ugly cheese and I don't like an ugly cheese. :-)
I am on the other hand happy witht the texture of the cheese, although the moisture content is a little lacking.
When I first tasted this cheese I was first of all hungry and secondly a bit buzzed (cheese and wine go really well together), so it tasted perfect.
After additional samples, the cheese is a little bit too firm and does not have the higher moisture content I'm looking for.
I'm sure that with enough practice I can make this cheese become exactly what I'm after but it needs some more thought and planning before another attempt is made.
It's needs to be a bit more soft and a bit more moist and then it truly will be of commercial quality.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to achieve these characteristics I'd love to hear them.
Dave
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Most peppers are going to be vinegar based, which will change your main cheese construction. If you use dried, the propagation of flavors will be minimilized.... It's a delicate balance in my opinion.
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I was thumbing through one of my cheese books last night and they mentioned using dried peppers in cheese.
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Echo Debi, I used fresh peppers (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,193.0.html) . . . not as good.
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Has anyone tried roasting them? Might be nice in a smoked cheese?
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I've not attempted this, but I have envisioned boiling my peppers down into a natural reduction, and then incorporating the reduction into the milk itself. (Along with the peppers....)
Is that nuts?
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Maybe the dried peppers soak up the water from the leftover whey. Could make a crumbly cheese if you use to much dried peppers I would think.
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To weigh in here on the pepper front. I've been growing, using, etc peppers for a very long time (well for me, lol) and I've found the best way to ensure that they stay fresh is this. Dried peppers *do not like humidity* ... period... they tend to rot. Acidic based preservation yields the best results. And for the majority of those preservation methods, it's vinegar. Which we know can and most likely will affect the end cheese flavor/consistency/etc. What I think is the best answer to this, just from a pepper stand point is fresh.
Why I say that is this. Cheese matures to a natural acidic balance over time. That is the right environment to retard bad mold growth and degradation. What I think is key here is the right pepper, and the right mixing of flavors.
I agree 100 percent by previous posters that a spicy pepper cheese really needs to taste a specific way. It needs a mild flow of flavors mixed with the occasional *pow* of pepper flavor. To achieve this you really should either pre cook them, which makes them mushy and not as fun as fresh, or perform an alcohol extract of dried flavors that you add to your cheese. An alcohol solution, ie, white lightning, will extract an incredible significant amount of flavor and capsicum. If you were to say add that extract into a fresh whey solution, coupled with the fresh pepper chunks, it is this persons opinion you would achieve the overall desired flavor.
The question here is how does an alcohol extract affect the chemical composition of cheese.
That is something I don't know.
What I would try is this. Take one dozen Jalapeno's... dry them in a way similar to jerky... any dehydrator will do. A tip here is to make an X cut on the end to facilitate faster drying. After that, take a coffee bean grinder, I have one for peppers, and one for coffee beans. Grind them up into a fine powder, seeds and all. Place the entire contents into a sealable container, usually a mason jar and fill with at least 1-2 inches above the powder level worth of white lightning alcohol. You can use lower potency alcohol for flavor, but for a pure extract white lightning is the best. Wait several weeks for the process to complete. The liquid left is an incredibly potent pure extract of the flavor of the pepper.
Couple that procedure with your original fresh pepper cuttings and I'll bet you 100 bucks it's going to deliver on taste. What I would caution however is the amount of extract to put in. That 1-2 inches in that mason jar will last a very long time. I would start off with 1/4 tsp amounts to 1 gallon at first and judge it's effectiveness. Increasing it over time to discover what the flavor level you want.
I could talk peppers for ever, lol... I should probably hush now.
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Ya know Worlock I'm thinking here (very dangerous indeed!)
... remember our conversation about lactose fermented veggies ? ....
Here we have lactose again - in the cheese and the whey that's still in there ... maybe there's still enough in the cheese extract the natural lactose in the little pepper flakes to ferment them or at least preserve them? ???
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I'm not sure if flakes would yield the same consistency and surprise as one would expect from a *good* pepper jack. I expect, and if that is not the same as your expectations, then that's good, that's what we do. But I expect a mild overtone of flavor of cheese and peppers... As one chews it one gets a *pow* of flavor as you connect with one of the pepper chunks. I just don't think that a dehydrated powder would supply that.
I could be completely wrong, but knowing peppers like I do, I base my supposition based on past playfulness with all things peppers.
I just don't think you could get that specific combo of flavor with flakes...
Not shooting you down of course, brainstorming is great especially in communities like this where folks most often treat each other with mutual respect. I validate your opinion, I just don't share it in this respect :)
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Wait, I've rethunk my original theory... That might actually work. The powder fine flakes would in fact create the overall mild pepper flavor... That coupled with fresh would actually accomplish the disired affect. It would be more "messy" in that there would be alot more specks and flakes in it, but I think you might actually be on to something.... In the absence of an extract this angle would actually work.
Jeesh... sorry for saying no way... but after it sat and simmered, I realized it would work if you didn't mind the extra "business" look of the cheese...
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Well I don't know. I make my pepper flakes with about 3/8 inch diced peppers and when they're dry they're about 1/4 inch. I cold smoke them for about an hour before drying and they have plenty of flavor all winter long. Your gonna have to leave some of the vein for hot peppers though.
I agree a "powder" would be more of an instant heat and lacking in a cheese. You need some texture in there. That's why I suggested flakes (I call them flakes anyway as opposed to strips) - maybe dry diced peppers would be a better word?
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Ok I see what your saying now. Our definitions of similar terms are somewhat different. To me flakes or powder is very granulated, into pieces no larger than a grain of salt... What your saying is more of a larger flake like you'd think like fish food... larger flakey... That makes sense... And you know what it might work too. And your right the acidity of the cheese would preserve it nicely. Why don't we both make one using each procedure and see how they come out? lol...
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Sounds good to me. I have some supplies on order all I need now is some jalepenos to dry. What are we making cheddar or Jack?
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Sounds good to me. I have some supplies on order all I need now is some jalepenos to dry. What are we making cheddar or Jack?
Jack... I've got some new Mesophilic Starter coming in tomorrow, will start mine... But I'll need a few weeks to create the pepper extract... Might put me behind by a few weeks :)
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I hear that! I may not get a start for a few weeks either. I'll have to check my recipes and se what I need - bet none of it is in my order! Except maybe the salt flakes.
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... remember our conversation about lactose fermented veggies ? ....
Could you direct me to this conversation. Lactose fermentation is something I'm interested in learning more about. thank you
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Hi Hojo -
I posted a few Lacto-Fermented veggie recipes for you in this section. I think the conversation was in the How to make kraut thread.
http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?board=62.0 (http://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php?board=62.0)
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Looks good Dave.