Cheese is an unusually healthy product with a rich palette of flavors. It is suitable for consumption every day, as well as for a delicious meal. It is necessary for a balanced diet of people of any age. Today we want to introduce you to the Italian dessert cheese Taleggio with amazing taste and talk about how to cook it at home.
From the history of cheese
The Italian word taleggio is associated with the name of the valley of the same name Val Taleggio, which is located in the province of Bergamo in the Lombardy region. It was in this place that the product was originally produced. The cheese was previously called “strakkino”, which is translated into Russian as “weary”. This name is due to the fact that taleggio cheese is made from the milk of "tired" cows that have just returned from alpine meadows after a long tiring transition to the valley.
In the XX century. Italian cheese-makers decided to "distinguish" Strakkino cheese among others, giving it the name Taleggio. All Italian cheeses are protected by the control of authenticity of origin, which means that taleggio cheese can be produced exclusively in the following areas: Lombardy region - provinces of Bergamo, Como, Brescia, Cremona, Lodi, Pavia, Milan, Lecco; Veneto region - province of Treviso; Piedmont region - province of Novara.
Taleggio cheese: description
This is a soft Italian cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. The cheese crust is thin and soft, has a pinkish-brown tint, grayish mold spots are allowed on top. The consistency is slightly viscous, soft, under a crust of pale yellow color, and closer to the middle of the head of the cheese the flesh is more dense, white. The aroma of taleggio cheese is unique and not like any other, when ripening it becomes more acute. The product has a sweet, slightly sour taste. Cheese is great for a cheese plate and preparing various dishes from it. When added to hot dishes, it melts and turns into mouth-watering cream.
How to cook taleggio cheese at home. Recipe
This product has a very delicate orange peel texture. It is attributed to young cheeses, so such a product is not difficult to create for yourself. We want to offer you a cheese recipe for home cooking.
Taleggio
Before you start creating a unique cheese, you must sterilize all the appliances and utensils that you intend to use. In order for us to get 1 kg of cheese, you should take:
- ¼ tsp mesophilic yeast Uglich No. 4;
- 8 l of whole milk;
- 1 g of calcium chloride;
- coarse salt;
- on the tip of a knife concentrate BK-Uglich-K;
- ¼ tsp liquid rennet.
Cooking step by step
Making prescription taleggio cheese is not particularly difficult.
- We place the milk container in a hot water bath and, stirring very carefully, heat it up to 32 ° at minimum heat, then turn it off.
- We place the concentrate and the leaven on the surface of the milk and leave it in this position for five minutes. After that, with careful movements from top to bottom using a slotted spoon, we move these components to the bottom, while trying not to shake the milk.
- We cover milk with sourdough with a towel and hold for 1 hour, while maintaining the milk temperature at 32 °.
- At the next stage, calcium chloride is diluted in 50 ml of water (room temperature) and mixed with movements from top to bottom.
- In exactly the same amount of water, we dilute the rennet and add it to milk. We place the leaven on the bottom and mix it with the already known movements.
- Cover the milk again and leave for half an hour at room temperature.
- We will prepare a cheese knife, which has a flat and long blade, and insert it into the cottage cheese at an angle of 30 °, slowly raise it to the surface.
- We take a knife with a long blade, a kitchen slotted spoon and cut the cottage cheese into cubes with a cross section of 2 cm. First, cut the whole clot into squares, then cut off the top layer of cottage cheese to a depth of 2 cm in such a way as to make cubes, etc.
- Let the cottage cheese stand for 5 minutes to separate the whey, and then stir slowly for 30 minutes. At intervals of 10 minutes, it is necessary to drain 2 tbsp. serum. Leave the cottage cheese for settling and compaction.
- We line the colander with gauze and set a bucket for collecting whey under it, gently pour the cottage cheese and whey.
- We will prepare a large plastic container, be sure to have a lid, install a baking stand in it, and put a square shape with holes 19 cm in size directly into it.
- We spread the cottage cheese in it, cover with a lid and leave it at room temperature for 12 hours.
- During this time, the form should be turned up to 7 times, the serum from the bottom of the container must be removed with a paper towel. If after 12 hours the cheese remains soft, it should be left for another 7 hours in the container.
Cooking brine
For home-cooked taleggio cheese, it is necessary to prepare a solution consisting of salt and water in a ratio of 1: 5. Please note: salt is added to water and heated until it is completely dissolved, and then cooled to 13 ° C. Taleggio is removed from the mold and placed in brine for 8 hours, it is necessary to turn it over after 4 hours.
After this procedure, the product is placed in a container on a stand, left for a couple of days at room temperature, do not forget to turn it over once or twice. Place a cheese mat in a container on a wire rack and place the product on it, close it with a lid and keep it at 10 ° C, at a humidity of 90% for up to 5 weeks. Cheese twice a week must be wiped with a natural cloth, which should first be moistened in saline.