Parrano & Reypenaer, Two Wonderful Cheeses

[umgowa]

I am still new to this forum.  I can't find an appropriate category for any of my thoughts or comments, so I am voicing them here.  I just tasted two wonderful cheeses today.  I'll bet you cheese experts know about them and have distinct opinions about them . . . . but I wanted to share my joy and pleasure in the first tasting of these incredible cheeses.  I tasted Parrano, which I believe is from Italy and Reypenaer, which I know is from Holland.  Wow.  two wonderful cheese experiences.  I'm curious to know what you experts prefer between these two.  If you haven't tried them, I fully recommend both.  In fact Reypenaer just won the award for best European cheese last year.

[DeejayDebi]

I don't know about the Reypenaer I will have to look into this but I just made 2 wheels of parrano a few weeks ago. From what I've read it's just an aged gouda with a pinch of lipase. I will confirm in about 4 months.

okay from what I have found in a quick search Reypenaer is a Fabriekskaas Gouda that is made using pasteurized milk and is aged naturally in an historic cheese aging warehouse on the Old Rhine river in the town of Woerden. This facility allows for the free movement of air and natural fluctuations of temperature in which the cheese loses 1/4 of its weight over the 2 year aging process. Fabriekskaas means factory cheese as opposed to a cheese made by artisans. So this is a 2 year old gouda.

[dttorun]

Hi DeejayDebi,
Have you tasted your Parrano yet? I've made one batch last week and wondering how you age it?
Thanks,
Tan

[DeejayDebi]

Sorry Tan -

No I haven't tried it yet.  Made it feb 26th. I let it sit out to air dry for 2.5  days (dry heat) then into the drying mini cave at about 50F degrees and 85% humidty for 28 days, then vacuum sealed it and put it into the aging cave at 55F degrees. The suggested aging time is 3 to 5 months for the commercial variety which used pasturized milk. As I use raw milk I will wait the suggested 6 months which is the at least the 26th of July. I will let you know.

[9mmruger]

DJD - do you have the recipe for the parrano?  PH markers?  I think that I would like to try this.  I don't have it in my reference books.  Thank you,  kim.

[Sailor Con Queso]

Reypenaer is a Fabriekskaas Gouda that is made using pasteurized milk and is aged naturally in an historic cheese aging warehouse. This facility allows for the free movement of air and natural fluctuations of temperature.

I have found other references regarding cheeses that are aged in warehouses at ambient air temperature instead of 55F caves. Some of these are advertised in Culture Magazine. They obviously have a pretty mild climate, but it has to get below freezing in the Winter and it has to get pretty hot occasionaly during the Summer. These warehouses have no heat or cooling. My understanding is that the up and down fluctuations in temperature bring out the really complex flavors. I believe there are some USA cheeses that are aged by alternating between cave temps and room temps for the same reason.

[DeejayDebi]

Here is my recipe. I tried a bit of the cheese at 3 months and it was okay fairly close to the block of origanal they sent me but not quite there yet. I decided to reseal it and go for the 9 month version which will be the end of October. I may open one again at the end of the month that will be 6 months - sould be much better than at 3 months.

Parrano – Netherlands

Parrano is a pasteurised cow's milk cheese with a mild and nutty taste, combining salty and sweet flavours. It has a semi-firm texture and a smooth, golden interior. It is produced in 10 kg wheels and is matured for 5 months.

Combining the flavour of aged Parmesan with a pliant texture, Parrano is marketed as an Italian-style cheese. Taglines have included "The Dutch cheese that thinks it's Italian" and "Sort of Italian." However, Parrano is technically Gouda although its flavour is more pronounced than that of traditional Gouda.

Uniekaas is the exclusive producer of Parrano, a trademarked brand.

Ingredients:
7 Gallon Raw Whole Milk
1/2 tsp. MM100 Culture
1/4 flora danica
1/4 teaspoon Kid Lipases
12 drops of  Annatto mixed in ¼ cup distilled water (optional)
Calcium Chloride if using pasteurized milk

Process:
Heat milk to 86°F.
Add annatto  and mix well.
Sprinkle cultures over milk and wait for about 5 minutes to rehydrate cultures - then mix well.
Ripen for 5 minutes.
Desolve lipase in 1/4 cup water and allow it to rehydrate for 5 minutes.
Mix rennet in 1/4 cup of water and add to milk -  stir for 2 minutes.
Check for flocculation using a  multiplier  of 2.5 to 3 to determine time to cut curds.
Check for clean break then cut curds to about 3/8 inche pieces.
Let curds heal for 5 minutes.
Gently stir curds while waiting for the pH to fall between  6.40 and 6.45.
While waiting for the target pH  - Heat a  pot of water to 130°F.
Once the target pH is reached  you can begin washing the curds.
The whey temperature by the third wash will be about 100 to 103°F.
Drain 1/3 of the whey and replace with equal amount of 130°F water. Whey should not exceed 103°F.
Stir curds for another 5 minutes.
Drain 1/3 of the whey and replace again with 130°F water. Whey should not exceed 103°F.
Stir curds for another 5 minutes.
Drain 1/3 of the whey and replace again with 130°F water. Whey should be 100 to  103°F.
If the curds have not yet reached 100 to  103°F heat the curds until they reach the proper temperature.
Cook the curds  for 20 minutes stirring occasionaly, then allow curds to settle on the bottom for 5 minutes.
Drain the whey to within about an inch of the curd mass.
Press curds in the vat under the whey for about 10 minutes with about 8 pounds of weight.
Drain the whey from the curds.
Break up curds and pack them into cloth lined molds.
Press with about 5 pounds of weight for 15 minutes.
Flip cheese in the mold press again for 15 minutes with 5 pounds of weight.
Flip cheese in the mold press again for 15 minutes with 5 pounds of weight.
Flip cheese in the mold press again for 15 minutes with 10 pounds of weight.
Flip cheese in the mold press again for 3 hours with 15 pounds of weight.
Submerge cheese in plain water for about 1 hour.
Remove from mold and brine for 16 hours in a saturated brine solution.
Age cheese for 3 to 5 months.

Whey pH should be about  5.6 to 5.7.   Curd pH should be about 5.4 – 5.5.


Parrano Originale aged 5 months
Parrano Robusto aged 9 months
"Parrano Olifesta Parrano Olifesta is a wonderfully creamy 50+ dairy product prepared with olive oil. Glorious little sun-ripened tomatoes and Italian herbs are added to this dairy product.

[BethGi]

I just tried a lovely Parrano today, and am keen to make it. Thanks for the recipe, Deb.

One question though -- can you clarify the Process you use for testing flocculation? I've read some on this, but would appreciate some wise advice on what to look for.

One other question...if I don't add Annatto, do I need to do anything to compensate  for water/etc. in any way? (I get that the color will be 'wrong,' but I don't use it.)

Cheers!

[DeejayDebi]

This is also called the spinning bowl technique. I learned it here on the forum. Sorry I can't remember who first introduced it but it is a handy little tool. Every type of cheese has a flocculation multiplier Gouda types are 2.5 to 3.

You time how long it takes from the time you put in the rennet to the time a small bowl placed on the milk will no long spin on top of the milk and multiply it times the floccualtion multipler.  I use a Motts apple sauce cup. place it on the milk and keep spinning it until it stop spinning - this happens when the milk has coagulated enough to hold the bowl in place.

Let's say it takes 10 minutes to reach the point you can no longer spin the bowl. Take the 10 minutes and multiply that by 2.5 and 3.0. That means that between 25 and 30 minutes you should be able to cut the curds.

[BethGi]

So I tried DeeJayDebi's Parrano recipe. I adapted it to work with about 3-1/2 gals. of milk, since 4 is about my limit! I added Calcium Chloride, and annato (although I obviously didn't get the latter right since as you will see, the cheese has no discernible color at all.)

It seemed to go pretty well, but I noticed that I was having a problem that I have experienced before, which is that my curds were breaking down so that by the end of the cooking, they looked rather like cottage cheese, not keeping their larger size. I tried to be cautious with the stirring, and  waited for a good clean break before cutting. So I am guessing that I perhaps got them too warm? Other technique problems that I should be aware of that would cause this?

And due to the light pressing weights, as you can see, the cheese has noticeable 'pockmarks'. The pH measures seemed OK (althoughI am still using strips rather than a more accurate meter -- my next purchase!). So I will proceed with letting this age. I vacuum bag, so assume I will do so in another day or so when it is drier to the touch.

Any other suggestions/observations from you more senior cheeses?

[DeejayDebi]

I finall got around to cutting the parrano. Came out great! I brought half a wheel to work with 1/2 a smoked bologna for the guys to munch on. It didn't last long. I really like this recipe I don't think I'd change a thing except try adding peppers or jalapenos or something. I am going to continue to age the other wheel to see where it goes after a year.

I nearly forgot I promised to bring cheese in. Cutting cheese at 5am is not a god thing for me to do.

[BethGi]

Now that's a lovely cheese! Oh well...something for me to aspire to!

Thanks for sharing the recipe, DJDebi.

[DeejayDebi]

Beth -

When you say the curds were breaking down to cottage cheese. I am thinking maybe you didn't let them rest long enough. I use raw milk so it reacts a bit differently. Also the cheese will get darker as it ages with or without the annatto. I generally don't use a pH meter on on the first make to give others that use them an idea of what I saw during the make. I go judge more by feel, taste and look of the curds when I make cheeses - always have. I works well for me.

Are you using the tome mold without cheesecloth? Mine came out that way when I didn't use cheese cloth on the first press - it keeps air bubbles trapped around the sides and leaves gaps in the wheel.

[BethGi]

Thanks for the response. Not being a very experienced cheese maker (surely there is a fancy variation of fromagiere that sounds better?!), I have been trying to check pH as part of my education. But I don't use it as any sort of landmark for stages -- for that I still rely on look, feel, texture, etc.

I used cheesecloth (or maybe it was butter muslin, since I have the two types together and sometimes use one rather than the other? Could that affect anything?). But I had read that too high a temp. could affect how well the curds 'performed' later, which is why I wonder if the washing water got them too hot too fast.

When you refer to the rest period, at which point? Do you mean after cutting/healing? I did not check pH then, and since there was no approximate time given, that might be an issue. For those of us without access to raw milk, any idea as to how long that rest might need to be?

Thanks again!

[DeejayDebi]

Yes I did mean during the healing phase. As for the cloths, one should be plenty. Thiner is better in the tome mold. You just need to keep the curds from squeezing through the holes and give the air room to escape so it doesn't form bubbles around the holes.