Tuesday 22 June 2021

A Wet Sunday

 What else is there to do on a wet chilly Sunday in June except to have a go at making Halloumi cheese from the cheese making kit?

The Ricotta is relatively easy but the Halloumi is a bit more complicated, so this is probably a one off try, just to say I've done it!
The recipe calls for 4 litres of full cream milk  making 600g of cheese. But as I'm not that keen on squeaky cheese I just bought a litre of unhomogenized full cream milk from the farm shop.
  
There are 19 steps in the instructions to making the cheese, starting with dissolving the rennet tablet in cooled boiled water and then heating the milk gently and adding the rennet.
 
Then it has to be left until it's beginning to set. Next the curd is cut into chunks to release the whey
 
Everything is then gently heated again for 15 minutes and then allowed to stand for another 10 minutes
The curds are then put to drain in a muslin cloth over a bowl to catch the whey. A plate on top and then I added a couple of tins to make a weight.
After an hour the next part is the unusual bit as the solid curd is then cut into slices and put back in the whey and reheated and kept at a low boil for 20 minutes. My slices were more like chunks because draining  the curds in muslin and a sieve had made the whole thing bowl shaped - no good for nice neat slices.
Next the pieces are lifted out, dipped into very cold water and then put to drain on a rack. Salt is sprinkled over both sides and it's left to cool
 
It will keep in the fridge for 5 days. I'm going to follow one of the suggestions in the booklet and dip the chunks in panko crumbs and shallow fry. Then probably have the rest in a curry.
I tried a little straight away and it has more flavour than shop-bought Halloumi but is just as squeaky.
 
Apart from Ricotta and Halloumi the other cheeses which I have the instructions for are Mozzarella, Mascarpone and Feta. Mozzarella is cheap to buy and not worth making as I only use it for topping pizzas or lasagne. Mascarpone requires a lot of double cream as well as milk to make and it's not a cheese I'd used very often. Feta might be worth a go although the recipe uses goats milk, unhomogenised cow's milk and yoghurt and takes two days to make............. so maybe not!
 
After cheese making it was good to settle down to watch the Tennis Final from Queens Club. Cam Norrie did well but just so many aces from Matteo Berrettini - how does he do that!
 
Yesterday was the 21st - the summer solstice - and I didn't even notice because here it was so wet, cold and gloomy and now it's all downhill to winter😕............
 
Back Tomorrow
Sue


29 comments:

  1. You sound a little "cheesed off" today! I didn't realise Halloumi was so complicated

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Feta is even more complicated - won't be trying it! I shall stick to Ricotta - simple in comparison and much more useful - and delicious.

      Delete
  2. A good way to spend a wet Sunday. I was about to write, I've got a cheese-drainer thingy if you want it (just a humble plastic fine sieve on legs, with a lid) but it sounds like you won't be cheesemaking any more!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks pretty good though. I love halloumi in breadcrumbs or just heated in a griddle pan. Great for bbq kebabs too. Good for you.
    xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was an interesting experiment but a bit too much faff for me

      Delete
  4. Your cheese sounds a good idea for a busy day.
    Hazel 🌈🌈

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The weather here was dire on Saturday so it gave me something to do instead of a boot-sale

      Delete
  5. I think I would rather do my history homework on.a wet Sunday afternoon. Actually in spite of the gloom yesterday, and I lit the fire, it was still possible to see that it daylight at 10pm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Heating came on by itself yesterday evening and it's set quite low so it really was chilly.

      Delete
  6. Complicated, but great instructions. I love halloumi, but am now dairy free, but 600gr is too much for one person to eat healthily in five days. I like to sear it until golden, then eat with Mediterranean vegetables and couscous.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was interesting to do but ricotta is more useful so won't bother again

      Delete
  7. I used to make my own cottage cheese and it was wonderful. When I have more time, I intend to do things like this once again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When we kept goats I used to make a soft cheese quite often - tried hard goats cheese but it always failed.

      Delete
  8. I had a cheese making kit years ago, but as I remember, it was a lot of faff for not much cheese! I'm now lactose intolerant and trying to eat a plant based diet, so dairy cheese is off the menu for me. I do miss a really tasty Stilton though! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ricotta was easier and I'll do it again so I can do Ricotta and spinach lasagne which was very tasty.
      I just love any cheese!

      Delete
  9. I quite fancy having a go at cheese making although I might just stick to making yoghurt, it's much easier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's not something I'd want to do for a living!

      Delete
  10. Well, that is something I would never think to do.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I never made cheeses but I bet they taste better than store bought. It was very warm on Sunday and Monday. No rain for awhile here in Oregon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The home made ricotta is much nicer than bought

      Delete
  12. Cheer up Sue there is the whole of July and August to look forward to.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm fine - only joking. Wimbledon tennis to look forward to next week

      Delete
  13. At 9:21 p.m. in June 21, it was 21st minute of the 21st hour of the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st Century.

    ReplyDelete
  14. At 9:21 p.m. on June 21, it was the 21st minute of the 21st hour of the 21st day of the 21 week of 21st year of the 21st Century.
    (missed 21st week the first time!)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow, what a great many steps to make that cheese. The finished product looks very interesting.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Quite a lot of work and looks interesting. Let us know how it tastes. There is a thing here in the states called Cheese curds that are in some sort of batter and fried. Quite squeaky but they taste really good!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm glad I'm not the only one that doesn't like 'squeaky cheese' it's as bad as nails on a blackboard to me!!

    It does sound like it would be good covered in Panko crumbs though, everything is nice in breadcrumbs or pastry :-)

    ReplyDelete