Brynza is a young pickled cheese, a favorite in various regions. Almost all the peoples of the Balkans and Transcarpathia prescribe the honor of its discovery to themselves. As evidence of their correctness, they cite old recipes for dishes prepared with feta cheese. Traditionally, it was combined with unleavened or yeast cakes, combined with seasonal vegetables, mixed with fruits, generously poured with vegetable oil and baked, added crumbled feta cheese to cereals, giving them a pronounced piquancy and additional taste. What is characteristic - this pickled cheese could be present on the tables of people, regardless of their class. Both well-to-do townspeople and residents of numerous villages happily made cheese in their kitchens.
It is necessary
- - Milk;
- - fermented milk drink;
- - lemon juice;
- - salt;
- - spices;
- - pan;
- - colander;
- - gauze.
Instructions
Step 1
Decide what kind of milk you will make homemade feta cheese from. The ideal option is to choose sheep, which is traditionally used for this type of pickled cheese. Such milk is not often found, I want to believe that you are lucky. But if not, try making feta cheese from goat's or cow's milk - these options also have a right to exist.
Step 2
Choose the right foods. When purchasing farm dairy products, as well as products from private farms, make sure that the animals on this farm are kept in proper conditions. Otherwise, milk instead of good will cause irreparable harm to your body. When buying in a store, give preference to pasteurized milk with a fat content of 2.5 to 3.5%. Fatter - not very suitable for making cheeses; when curdled, it is more likely to give out difficult-to-dissolve flakes.
Step 3
Carefully study the composition indicated on the package. The presence of vegetable fat or milk powder in dairy products can nullify all your work, you cannot make good homemade cheese from such raw materials. A separate word is the production date and expiration date. Needless to say, the fresher the milk you buy, the better the brine cheese will be. But it is better not to use long-term storage milk, it is not intended for these purposes and may behave "inadequately" when curdling.
Step 4
Remove milk cartons or bottles from the refrigerator before making feta cheese. You should not use very chilled products for homemade feta cheese. Let it stand for 20-30 minutes at room temperature, while you cook what you will curl with.
Step 5
In the conditions of traditional farms, for these purposes, the whey left over from the preparation of the previous portion of feta cheese is often used. In our case, take purchased kefir (regular or with bifidobacteria), yogurt, acidophilus, and other fermented milk drinks. It is desirable that they be free of additives such as fruit flavors and colors. The proportion is about 10: 1 (for 1 liter of milk - 100 g of kefir). If there are no fermented milk products, use 30 g of freshly squeezed lemon juice per 1 liter of milk. Previously, a solution of calcium chloride could be used for curdling, then calcined cottage cheese was obtained.
Step 6
Heat milk over low heat to 60 degrees. Pour in kefir or lemon juice, without adding heat, let it boil. You will see immediately how the serum begins to separate. The complete separation process can take 2 to 4 minutes. It depends on the quality of the original ingredients, as well as on the utensils in which you cook. By the way, for these purposes, it is better to choose a thick-walled pan or a pan covered with a non-stick layer from the inside. Unfortunately, milk tends to burn.
Step 7
Prepare the colander by covering it with several layers of gauze. Needless to say, both must be absolutely pure. Let the curdled milk cool to 30 degrees and discard in a colander. After 15-20 minutes, lift the gauze, take it by the corners, twist it with a tourniquet at the top and hang it for the final separation of the serum for several hours (you can overnight).
Step 8
After the time has passed, transfer the curd to a bowl, season with spices to your liking. Someone likes homemade feta cheese with caraway seeds, someone likes it more when coriander or cumin seeds are found in it, or maybe your ideal option is feta cheese, which exudes a light garlic aroma. Whatever spices and gingerbread vegetables you choose for your pickled cheese, you should only use them well dried, or better - roasted in a dry frying pan. The fact is that as a result of being in a sealed container for a long time, they can "cackle", which will give them a slight odor, which will quickly evaporate under the influence of warm air. Transfer the seasoned cottage cheese to a colander, cover with gauze, place oppression on it. Leave it on for a couple of hours to seal.
Step 9
Prepare a saline solution using 40 g of salt per liter of curd whey. You can taste it - it should be intensely salty, and that's okay. Dip the thickened curd into the brine. How long to keep it in brine - there is no single recommendation. In the Baltic countries, they like less salty homemade cheese, and therefore they believe that it is ready the next day. Residents of the Balkans are sure: it takes at least 2-3 days for a good brine cheese, and it is extremely important to often turn over and even wash the top crust in brine. In Moldova and Romania, earlier than in 4 days they will not try, not only serve.
Step 10
Eat feta cheese combined with vegetables such as bell peppers and tomatoes. You can lay it in layers and darken, or you can cut it beautifully, season with good olive oil and serve as a salad. As an option - grate it on porridge made from corn grits or flour (in Moldova it is hominy, in Italy - polenta), put it in the oven for a while - a surprisingly interesting dish is guaranteed! And the easiest way is to put pieces of homemade feta cheese on a yeast dough cake and bake. Fast, tasty, authentic and completely inexpensive!
