Oscypek molds?

[Thewitt]

Ok, this is probably a tough question.

Before I go off an try to source a recipe... does anyone know a source for oscypek molds?

This is a sheep/cow cheese from Poland.

I'm also interested in a recipe if anyone has the processing details.

[panamamike]

I had to look at my bookmarks and the only place I know of that carries them is this site.

                 https://sklep.serowar.pl/

[Thewitt]

Thank you Mike

[Thewitt]

Located a recipe - though it's for a cows milk variation

https://domowyserowar.pl/przepisy/15-oscypiorki.html

[panamamike]

Do you have any idea what it said?

[Thewitt]

Yeah. I loaded it in Chrome and told it to translate. It's pretty straightforward.  Similar to mozzarella.

[RayJ]

Seems almost more like a formed type of cottage cheese I would say recepie looks the same until they start to put it in warm water. Looks very tasty!

[panamamike]

Ray, that was what I was thinking.

Thewitt, They only ship to European Union countries. I just received an e-mail from them. You would have to find someone in one of those countries to receive it and send it and re-mail it to you

[Thewitt]

I'm going to have to try it. The only question is how I'm going to form it before smoking it... I'm really tempted to buy a mold and have it shipped to a friend and then shipped to me...

[panamamike]

Look up the cheese on youtube. It shows them forming it on a skewer made of stainless steel. Looks like they let it dry to form a rind on the outside. I guess you could cold smoke it and then form the rind. That's what I would do. Of course that doesn't mean that is the correct way, but i have never been conventional with doing anything.

[RayJ]

If you are just after the decorative pattern you could probably buy a couple decorative muffin tins and fabricate something quite easily.  Couple of screws to hold it together and away you go. Also a lot of silicone rubber molds available for soap and candle making that could possibly be adapted

[Thewitt]

Bought these from the Polish Art Center in Detroit. Small, but pretty.  I'll try them this weekend.

[River Bottom Farm]

That's awesome Thewitt so glad you found some. How long does the cheese need to be in the molds can you just press them for a short time and keep cranking them out? How are you planning to smoke the resulting cheese?

[Thewitt]

Molding is very fast. The cheese needs to be in a condition to take the impression, and then you immerse it in cold water which sets the shape and impressions - so you crank them through the process.

Cold smoking is required, so that's a pretty interesting process as well. The temperature cannot exceed 110F while smoking.  I'll do it in a closed BBQ, but for smoke generation I have a large tin can with a soldering iron stuck through a hole in the bottom. This will cause the wood chips to smoke and not actually catch fire and should smoke for 3-4 hours with no real additional heat.

[River Bottom Farm]

Sounds like fun. Do you have to have a special rack to hold them when they are smoking to prevent deforming them or are they fairly hard by that time?