Limburg cheese (Limburger) is a fairly rare product. It is difficult to find in shops and supermarkets. It is produced using unique technology abroad and is expensive. However, in our country there are many lovers of this kind of cheese, which has a strong smell and salty taste. Can I make a Limburger at home? We will answer this question in the article.
Product Description
Limburg cheese is a pale yellow product, coated on the outside with a bright orange crust. It has a soft texture and the shape of a block. Cheese looks very attractive, but at the same time it has a sharp specific aroma and pronounced pungent taste. Not all people like the smell of a product. However, there are many connoisseurs of this particular kind of cheese.
Cheese is produced in Germany from pasteurized milk according to a rather complicated technology. In the process of maturation, its crust is constantly washed with brine. This prevents the growth of unwanted microorganisms, but promotes the growth of Brevibacterium linens bacteria. They give a bright color to the crust.
In the work of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" there is a mention of "living Limburg cheese." Why is this product called? Perhaps this is due to the fact that its aroma resembles the smell of the human body. Indeed, in the process of ripening cheese involved special yeast fungi. Under natural conditions, they live on human skin. Therefore, the same smell comes from cheese as from living organisms.
Photos of Limburg cheese can be seen below.
As already mentioned, Limburger is quite difficult to purchase. Only some farms in Russia produce and sell this product. Its price is high - about 2000 rubles per 1 kg.
It is recommended to keep the limburger separate from other products, so that its specific flavor does not pass to them. Also, this kind of cheese can not be melted in a pan or in the microwave. During heat treatment, the product emits a very unpleasant odor.
Benefit and harm
This is a pretty useful product. The composition of this cheese includes the following substances:
- antioxidants;
- vitamins A, E and group B;
- phosphorus;
- potassium;
- calcium;
- magnesium.
The product is useful for people suffering from atherosclerosis. Cheese contains choline. This substance helps to normalize lipid metabolism.
Limburg cheese is not recommended for people who are overweight and want to lose weight. This is a high-calorie product that is not suitable for diet food.
Allergy sufferers should also opt out of Limburger cheese. With increased sensitivity to fermented dairy products, the appearance of gastrointestinal disorders and negative skin reactions may occur.
Homemade cheese makers
This product is rarely found on sale, and its price is quite high. Therefore, housewives are often interested in the recipe for Limburg cheese. Making a Limburger at home is quite difficult. This is a long and laborious process that requires some skills and experience. However, if you have already been involved in cheese making before, then it is worth trying to cook this unusual product with a peculiar taste. Below we give his detailed recipe.
Ingredients
To make cheese, you will need about 3 liters of pasteurized milk. It should produce about 450-500 g of the final product.
You need to purchase in advance all the ingredients for fermentation, brine and sourdough:
- dry bacteria Brevibacterium linens (BL);
- Geotrichum Candidum mold (Geo);
- mesophilic yeast (about 37.5 mg);
- milk-clotting enzyme (in the amount necessary for coagulation within 15 minutes);
- a solution of calcium chloride in water (1 g).
You will also need table salt.
It is important to remember that before preparing cheese, it is necessary to rinse well, and then pour over boiling water all the necessary dishes and kitchen tools. This will prevent unwanted microflora from entering the product.
Cooking process
Preheat milk to +32 ˚. It is better to put the pan not on the fire, but on a steam bath. Then add the minimum amount of BL bacteria (about 1/64 teaspoon) and Geo fungi (at the tip of the knife). Mix well.
Next, you must follow the following algorithm of actions:
- Take an enzyme to clot milk. If it is dry, then it must be dissolved in water, and if liquid - then diluted.
- Defrost the mesophilic yeast and put in milk. Mix the composition thoroughly.
- Add calcium chloride to the pan with milk. Stir again and wait 10 minutes.
- Now you can add the prepared enzyme to milk. Within 30 seconds, stir the composition in vertical movements (bottom to top and top to bottom).
After 15 minutes, flakes will begin to appear in the milk, and after 1.5 hours the composition will turn into a clot. It needs to be cut into cubes measuring 1.5 × 1.5 cm and wait 10 minutes. Then the mass is mixed (maintaining the temperature not lower than +32 ˚) and left alone for another 10 minutes.
In a container with a cheese mixture, whey is formed during fermentation. Drain it into a separate bowl. You will need this liquid to prepare the brine.
Next, you need to follow the following procedure:
- Tear a lump of cheese mass with your hands into pieces about 5 cm in size and leave for 1 hour.
- Limburg cheese is usually in the shape of a bar. Therefore, prepare a rectangular plastic food container (about 700 ml in volume) in advance and make a small hole on its bottom through which the resulting serum will flow. In this mold, the cheese will ripen.
- Transfer pieces of future cheese into a container. Press down on top of the product with a weight of 2 kg. Keep the mass under oppression for 2 hours. Then turn the cheese over and put it under the load again for 4 hours.
- Heat the serum to a temperature of +75 ° C and dissolve the salt in it. The proportion must be observed: 1 part of salt to 4 parts of serum. Cool the liquid to a temperature of +20 ˚.
- Remove the cheese from the mold and place in brine. The mass must be kept in saline for 5 hours.
- Place a wire rack on the bottom of the container and place cheese on it. The product needs to dry a little. The cheese container should not be closed. Put it in the refrigerator in the open for 12 hours.
- After 6 hours, turn over the cheese mass again and leave it in the refrigerator for ripening.
Maturation
The process of ripening Limburger cheese lasts about 9-10 weeks. At first you need to turn the mass over daily.
It is very important to properly care for the cheese crust. At first it will have a soft and smeared texture. It must be washed daily with clean boiled water.
Then the crust dries and hardens. After that, it is washed with an aqueous solution of sodium chloride (3%) with a small amount of vinegar and calcium chloride.
You need to monitor the process of ripening of the product. You can judge the activity of bacteria by a change in the color of the crust (it turns orange) and the appearance of a specific smell. If after 3-4 weeks such symptoms are not observed, then you need to add a little more BL.
After the crust has turned orange, and the mass began to exude aroma, washing can be stopped. The cheese is kept in the refrigerator. It is turned over twice or thrice a week.
How to find out that the cheese is already fully ripe? The readiness of the product for use is evidenced by a bright color and complete hardening of the crust. The cheese mass should remain soft.
Combination with other products
Limburger cheese is combined to taste with the following types of food and drinks:
- red wine;
- beer
- apple cider;
- greens;
- rye bread.
This product can be served both for the holiday table, and included in the daily diet. Cooking such cheese at home requires a lot of effort and time. However, the result of your work will be a tasty and healthy dish that you can please your guests.