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Lately, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to post, and I've just been making my regular "stand-by" cheeses.
Today, my only job and only decisions were: Which cheese to make and what time to get in the pool. 


I was reading about Nokkelost.  Has anyone ever made this Norwegian cheese?
Here's a description of it: Almost extinct, only a handful of dairies in Norway still make Nokkelost. This Norwegian specialty cheese, made from partially skimmed cow's milk, is flavored with cumin seeds and cloves. These herbal additions give Nokkelost a warm, spicy taste. Similar in concept to Dutch Leyden, although with a springier texture, Nokkelost is a festive cheese that is always a hit at parties. It partners very well with beer and wine, especially when served with dark breads, such as pumpernickel."
I found it interesting in that it had caraway, cloves, and sometimes cardamon.  So, I'm trying an experiment/riff on Nokkelost by using a Chai Tea Latte powder as an additive to the milk.  Who knows what in the world it will be like, but I'm hoping it will be some different but tasty.


Below is the recipe I've concocted. I'm typing this as I wait for ripening to finish up. So everything is a goal in the recipe. When I finish I'll let you know how it went in process and how I adjusted it.

Llaves Cruzadas (a Spanish translation of Nokkelost--Crossed Keys Cheese)
5 gallons of raw goat milk
1/8 tsp Kazu blend
1/32 tsp MM100
100 gms Chai Tea Latte spice mix
1.8 ml single strength rennet
Heat to 87 F
Add cultures and ripen till 0.1 drop in pH (25 minutes)
Add rennet. Floc time 12 min with a Floc factor of 4 (ended up being 45 min)
Cut curds into 3/8 inch cubes. Rest 5 minutes
Stir GENTLY for 15 min.
Removed 7 quarts of whey.
Wash curd with 160 F water added slowly over 15 minutes to raise temp to 99F
Then stir for 20 minutes
Mold and Press 10# x 30 min
Flip and Press 15# x 60 min
Flip and Press 20#  x 90 min
Flip and Press 20-25# x 90 min (increase weight if rind is not smooth) (only needed 20#)
No weight and cool at 55F x 8 hours
Salt in saturated Brine for 3 hours/pound
Dry and age at 54 F and 85% humidity for 3 months.

I have never made it Gort, but I think it sounds wonderful with Chi Tea Latte powder in it. Anything Chi Tea is delicious.
And yes let us know how it turns out!

Thanks Mike; I will!


It just went in the mold and it has a wonderful "warm" color and it smells great.  Let's see how it ages. This is not a long aged cheese, so we'll know something in 3 months.


Where are you in Panama, exactly?

Hi Gort,  I'm about half way between David and PasoCanoas. A few minutes from La Concepcion.

Nearly Costa Rica. LOL

The recipe I found called for resting the cheese "overnight" without weight--there were no pH markers. I took the weight off the cheese and it was resting at 65 degrees while I went to have pizza. (I was planning to move it to 55 degrees when I got back.)
2 hours later--certainly not overnight--the pH had already dropped to 5.1. UGH.
I have no real idea about this cheese but I was planning to brine it when it got to about 5.4 (like a Gouda.)
This is supposed to be a sweet, warm, spicy cheese, but I'm betting a pH of 5.1 ain't gonna give me "sweet". It'll be 3 months before we know.  Grrrrr.

Here it is, fresh out of the brine.

OK, so I tried this today.  I was a little worried when I saw so many mechanical holes. What a pleasant surprise!
It is really very good and has a completely different flavor than any other cheese I make. It has a festive warm and spicy flavor and smells like Christmas. This just begs for a dark pumpernickel by the fireplace.  Very happy with it. 
I have no idea if it is like the real thing, but I don't care.  Why?  Because my "Llaves Cruzadas" is going into my 5 star category.

5 stars yay..AC4U

What kind of mold do you use to get a loaf shaped cheese?

This one: