A very unique cheese is made in the German-speaking Italian province of Südtyrol. I think it may make a fun project for some of the fine members of this board since it only used skimmed milk and nothing else. That's right, no culture, no rennet, no nothing. Just the milk and the man. Or rather, the woman. I visited a tyrolian farmer with 3 cows last year, Martha Hofer, and she took me down to her cheese room to watch her make Graukäse - you can read the full article here: http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=231 (http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=231)
Basically skimmed milk is left to curdle at room temperature due to lactic fermentation, it is the warmed up, curds are cut and salted, and lightly pressed in a shape. I apologize for the lack of more precise instructions as I am not a cheesemaker, but if you want I can find the exact process in an Italian book in my library.
The cheese used to take on a grey mold but nowadays it remains white until sold, then people leave it to ripen and develop a very soft, honey-colored crust which is eaten. Graukäse is intensely acidic to the taste and eaten only in small quantities or used as a seasoning. It is a poor man's cheese, but very intriguing. To my knowledge they don't export it outside Südtyrol.
(http://images.fxcuisine.com/blogimages/italian-cuisine/tyrolian-graukase/tyrolian-graukaese-02-1000.jpg) (http://fxcuisine.com/default.asp?language=2&Display=231)
I have got to have one of those hoops!!! :) Great post.
Interesting story, but an even more interesting hoop.
Farmer
I live in Bourbon country. I'm thinking a 40 gallon white oak cask cut in half would be just your size. ::)
I think I would need a bigger press for that. Don't tempt me. :)
There is the full video of that lady making this cheese somewhere here. Apparently the smell and taste of this cheese are definately an acquired thing.
That cheese couldn't be exported under any regulations I am aware of. It has to have a CCP (critical control point) to ensure food safety. Being made from raw milk, with no starter, and allowed to ripen only 10-15 days it can't be sold under CODEX regulations.
just sayin'....
Francois, the cheese you see in the article is not exported outside the farm where it's made! But there are a number of village dairies that make the same cheese using some safe industrial process and pasteurised milk, so they could be exported. My point was that the taste is so strong and unique that it is hard to conceive any market forming for this cheese outside Südtyrol.
The raw milk version relies on indigenous bacteria for lactic fermentation. You wouldn't get the same results using pasteurized milk.