Chanah cheese is a special type of salted pickled cheese. It has been prepared in the North Caucasus for more than a century and enjoys universal respect and love in those parts. It is served to the table, cut into large bars, baked in dough, added to salads and sauces. The technology of its production on an industrial scale differs little from the original - home. Well, since people originally came up with such a cheese at home, there was nothing beyond that complicated. We will also try to make this tasty and healthy Armenian cheese on our own.
Fluke
It often happens that a misunderstanding or someone’s mess leads to the emergence of something fundamentally new. So it happened with cheese. Legend has it that in the old days some negligent owners overexposed milk in a special storage container, it curdled, fermented, and an unusual product was obtained. And it tasted so wonderful that people decided to cook it that way in the future. And so began the history of the production of many different varieties, including such as vats.
Product Features
Cheese matures in brine. Perhaps this determines not only its taste, but also its properties. Chanakh cheese is salty and aromatic, and all thanks to the composition of the liquid in which the process of its preparation is completed.
Its structure is soft, brittle, prone to crumbling, the flesh is penetrated by many bubbles. And even after prolonged drying, to the touch this cheese remains moist and juicy. The shape is also unusual: traditionally, the Changah cheese is made in the form of truncated cones. By color, it most often turns out to be white or with a dull yellowish tinge.
Calorie content
The nutritional value of a product depends on various factors. First of all, of course, is the fat content of milk. The composition of the brine is also important. On average, 100 grams of cheese contains about 280 calories.
Cooking
Every Caucasian family knows how to make vat cheese . In general, these recipes are similar, but each has its own characteristics. This primarily concerns the composition of the brine. Honey, molasses, malt, syrups, homemade wine, and a wide variety of spices are added to it.
The main product is milk. Before preparing cheese, you need to measure its acidity. If it does not reach 20–21 ° T, you will have to resort to the help of starter cultures - rennet or pepsin. A solution of 1% is prepared from rennet , shortly before use. If you are using pepsin, make a 2% solution 2 hours before you plan to get started.
Before proceeding to coagulate the milk, heat it to 32–35 ° C, reduce the heat and hold for about half an hour. Then we introduce the leaven and begin to knead our future cheese vats. It is convenient to use a wooden spatula.
The mass gradually curds and thickens. Cheese grains are formed. Serum is separated from the cheese portion. This means that the process is going as it should. Continue to knead for about 15 minutes, and then remove from heat.
Now the cheese must be allowed to cool. After the brew has reached room temperature, we discard it on a sieve lined with linen cloth and allow the liquid to drain. By the way, do not pour it, it is suitable for use in the preparation of pancakes, pies, pastry pies. After dehydration occurs, the vat cheese is again heated to 37 ° C. It is formed into a whole mass. Now you need to let it wind and dry. At the same time, self-pressing occurs. By the way, they do not use a press to form a cheese head of this grade, and the vat cheese freezes under its own weight. The main thing - in the process of drying, do not forget to turn it over.
Pickle in brine
It is believed that the cheese will be ready in 2 months. All this time he must salt in the liquid. You can use ordinary salted boiled water, but those who decided to learn how to make cheese in the real Armenian way should not ignore the fragrant Caucasian spices. The amount of salt in the first two weeks should be 15%. Subsequently, salt should be added a little, as its content in the liquid decreases. During salting, the temperature should be maintained at 10-15 degrees.
Cones
The preparation of vats in the Caucasus always takes place immediately in large quantities. The cheese is pressed in fabric bags. This is due to its shape. At home, it is not difficult to do this, you only need a suitable bag. In the first hours, the cheese mass will take the form of an oval head, and later, when turned over, it is shaped like a cone.
Cheese is stored in the refrigerator in slightly salted brine. You should not keep this product for too long, because it does not include chemical preservatives, and overexposed vat cheese does not have those wonderful properties and tastes like fresh.
Serve cheese with homemade bread, fresh vegetables, herbs.