It's a big day folks. Today I can officially say that I have helped make every variety of cheese that Cato Corner regularly makes. I've seen it all. I feel like I need a lounge chair, a cigar, and a gaggle of children sitting at my feet to regale with stories about conquering almost a dozen cheeses. Not really. Hell, I don't even deserve a certificate scribbled on graph paper. I'm usually not there for the entire make process, and I still couldn't make any cheese as delicious as these on my own. But it's still kinda cool to say I have a vague familiarity with so many types of cheeses. Washed rind, blue, swiss style, what have you.
More notable was the realization that a few of the younger cheeses that might be entered in the American Cheese Society Conference contest could come from batches that I helped make. I'll be attending the conference when I head out to Seattle, so I'll definitely feel like a badass secretly in my head....until someone starts talking to me or asking me any questions. pH who?
The final cheese I experienced today was the Dutch Farmstead cheese, which is a Gouda style cheese. Techniques might differ based on recipe, region, tradition, or equipment, but it was unlike any of the other cheeses I helped make. The basics were the same: add culture, rennet, cut curd, heat, stir, press. But this cheese required partially draining the vat three times and adding hot water to wash the curd twice. For hooping, instead of scooping out the curd as the whey drains from the vat, we drained all the whey until we had created one giant sheet of curd at the bottom of the vat. Then, we took the molds and cut out circles in the curd like giant cookie cutters in a sheet of dough. The "cheese cookie" circles were then lifted and dropped into the molds, and the scraps were piled on top. Mmmm cheese cookie. After hooping, we pressed as usual.
Of course, it would be helpful if I were able to do all this while simultaneously taking pictures of it. But I'm not some sort of crazy cheesemaking octopus. So just try to imagine the giant cheese cookie scenario I painted for you. I've given you the gift of getting hungry for both cheese and cookies at once. Who can ask for more?
More notable was the realization that a few of the younger cheeses that might be entered in the American Cheese Society Conference contest could come from batches that I helped make. I'll be attending the conference when I head out to Seattle, so I'll definitely feel like a badass secretly in my head....until someone starts talking to me or asking me any questions. pH who?
The final cheese I experienced today was the Dutch Farmstead cheese, which is a Gouda style cheese. Techniques might differ based on recipe, region, tradition, or equipment, but it was unlike any of the other cheeses I helped make. The basics were the same: add culture, rennet, cut curd, heat, stir, press. But this cheese required partially draining the vat three times and adding hot water to wash the curd twice. For hooping, instead of scooping out the curd as the whey drains from the vat, we drained all the whey until we had created one giant sheet of curd at the bottom of the vat. Then, we took the molds and cut out circles in the curd like giant cookie cutters in a sheet of dough. The "cheese cookie" circles were then lifted and dropped into the molds, and the scraps were piled on top. Mmmm cheese cookie. After hooping, we pressed as usual.
Of course, it would be helpful if I were able to do all this while simultaneously taking pictures of it. But I'm not some sort of crazy cheesemaking octopus. So just try to imagine the giant cheese cookie scenario I painted for you. I've given you the gift of getting hungry for both cheese and cookies at once. Who can ask for more?
Mmmmm, crazy cheesemaking octopus... Seriously though, has anyone TRIED this cheese cookie idea? Sounds like a winner to me!
ReplyDeleteDude, crazy cheesemaking octopus is totally going to be my next tattoo. And have you heard about this psychic octopus that correctly predicted all the winners of the final 8 world cup games!? If you haven't you should google it...awesome.
ReplyDelete