Hello all, was casting about for a fresh cheese when I came across Belper Knolle on the forum. Although not fresh, it looks so interesting! Apparently although it is now quite popular, there aren’t a lot of recipes for it, most of the information I found was right here. I read all the threads here and this was the only other thing I found which seemed interesting because of the video. I haven’t made it myself yet because my cave will not be set up for a week, but will report back when I do.
https://youtu.be/DntGvfKFeBYIt is a video from what looks to be a family goat farm with a bunch of happy all-American kids (seriously, I thought this was not done these days!) I’ve essentially roughly transcribed what I thought were relevant parts of the video and put in some time markers for when they happen. It is extremely non-specific, no set amounts/PH markers, etc. Made with raw goat’s milk.
The most significant differences I saw between this recipe and (eg) the NEC/Jim Wallace recipe, (apart from using goat milk) were that this had two hanging stages rather than one, and WAY more garlic.
For those wondering, according to the following link, Belper Knolle is pronounced “BELL-per kuh-KNOW-luh”, at least in American-ish English and to my American English-hearing ear.
https://www.thephcheese.com/behold-the-truffle-of-cheeses?amp=1 Question: has anyone added lipase to this? I was wondering if adding a tiny bit of lipase, reducing the garlic and pepper and aging it longer rather than shorter would give it an extra fillip of umami/Parmesan-ness. Jim Wallace describes it as being very intensely flavored though so maybe that would be overkill.
Biegel Family Youtube Belper Knolle
Ingredients:
• 3-4 gallons goat’s milk
• “smidgeon” of Flora Danica. They note that less is required for their makes because the milk is raw.
• “tiny bit” of rennet (amount is not given, it looks like maybe 1/3 of a teaspoon added to a dash of milk, presumably to address chlorine issues, then added to water and mixed)
• “Half a tablespoon or so” of salt after hanging for the first time, plus more added to taste when the garlic is mixed in, to about 2% total.
• 12 – 14 cloves of garlic
• ground black peppercorns
The make:
Prep milk: Heat milk to 85-90 degrees F (they milk the goats and use it that day, it comes out of the goat at 92 F and drops to 85-90 F by the time they start the make).
Add culture: Sprinkle FD on milk surface, let sit for 1 minute and stir.
Add rennet: Add rennet, stir for 20-30 seconds.
*culture and rennet additions at 1:45-2:45.
Coagulate: Put the lid on the pot and leave overnight until coagulated, 12-14 hours. You can go as long as 24 hours without an issue. In the video it takes 14 hours.
*Picture of coagulated curds in whey in pot at 3:25.
First Hang: Pour whey out of the pot, scoop curds into cheesecloth, and hang for 12 hours. Here they removed it after 10 hrs because it was fairly firm then. They also say that you can save the whey and use ½ cup of it mixed in with the milk as the starter for the next batch.
Add salt: After 12 hours, untie the bag and put the curd ball into a bowl, break it open and add salt ("half a TB or so") and hand-mix it in, adding slowly and mixing well.
*Addition of salt begins at 3:35
Second Hang: Once salted, retie and re-hang for another 12 hours.
Add garlic: After 12 hours, untie the bag, take a small amount (looks like a couple of handfuls) of the curds and put in a blender. Add garlic cloves to the blender. No amount given, they just say "a lot”, but it looks like 12-14 cloves; a subtitle in the video says that the garlic flavor fades over time. Also, of course you can add less according to taste. Blend curds and garlic to make a paste.
*Garlic addition starts at 7:05
Mix garlic paste and additional salt into the pot: Add the paste back into the remaining curds in the pot and hand-mix in, adding salt to taste. Salt amount not specified, although they comment that 2% [total] is generally a good amount for cheese. Hand-mix until "really creamy, like cream cheese".
*Salt addition starts at 8:00
At this point, she says, you have the option of making several cheeses. 1. "Dream Cheese”, by rolling in Italian spices and putting it in a jar of olive oil where it can sit for a year+; 2. An immediately consumable soft spread for crackers, etc. (although I would think it would be super garlicky because of all that raw garlic); and 3. Belper Knolle, by continuing with the make.
Coat with pepper: Make "fist size balls" - curds balls should be firm and smooth - and coat with pepper. “Push the pepper on” to get it well coated. No amount given, but need quite a bit to get the balls well coated.
*Shaping and pepper addition start at 9:00
Dry the cheese: Place balls on drying set-up consisting of a cookie pan with a rack, covered by a bamboo mat, with spacing between the balls sufficient to allow for good air circulation. Room drying temp in video is at 17 deg C/63 deg F. No discussion of min/max temperature or humidity.
*Drying set-up starts at 9:30
Turn twice a day, keeping a fan going if necessary for air circulation. Continue airing like this for 2-3 weeks. Afterwards move to cold fridge, will keep “for many months”. If mold appears scrape it off and reapply pepper.
Age to desired level of moisture/flavor. For longer-term storage, you can vacuum seal.
