How to make juustoleipa. A production of Oak Apple Farm, its people and its goats. Got questions? Send them to our Face book page, I likely won’t see them here.
Umpquabothnian Juustoleipa ("Bread cheese," "Finnish Squeaky Cheese")
This is a recipe that produces a cheese that is immediately recognizable as juustoleipa (1). Since I could not find a satisfactory recipe (2), a few rounds of trial and error were necessary to arrive at this. I am sure it is not exactly the same as the original, from the Ostrobothnian region of Finland (3), but it does produce a satisfying product (4).
Equipment:
measuring implements
A pot that can comfortably hold a gallon of milk, and a way to keep it warm--a double boiler, or a sink full of warm water.
A long knife, or a curd-cutter
Cheese ladle or perforated spoon
A flat-bottomed, perforated round pan is very handy; I use the steamer insert or pasta insert for a large pot, which happens to be the same diameter as a pie pan. An oriental-style steamer might work, or you could perforate a foil pie pan.
A pie pan or skillet, and a cookie sheet.
4 liters/1 gallon goat milk
1/8 t citric acid, dissolved in 1/4 c cool distilled water
0.1ml microbial rennet per gallon milk, diluted in 1/4 c cool distilled water (5)
1-2 tsp salt
This recipe can definitely be doubled or whatever; I usually make it in 2.5 gallon batches, because that is the size of milk tote that I use; 2.5 gallons milk uses a 10” and a 15” skillet .
Dissolve the citric acid in water, and put in the pot. Add the milk and mix well--the object is to avoid having any milk with concentrated citric acid; by adding it all at once, the citric acid is very rapidly diluted. Warm the milk to 31C/88F. Dilute the rennet, and add to the milk. Stir gently but thoroughly for a minute. Let it stand until the milk coagulates to a "clean break," about 30-45 minutes. You can use more rennet, to reduce the coagulating time; the curd will be a little tougher, but it can save you a half hour.
Cut the curd into cubes about 1 cm/ 1/2 inch. Let stand for three minutes.
Stir, gently, every three minutes, for the next 20 minutes. The curds will firm up, and should move around a little more freely.
Preheat the oven to 250C/450F.
Transfer the curds to a 9- or 10-inch perforated pan or colander. Sprinkle the top with about a tablespoon salt. Let drain for fifteen or twenty minutes; the curds will form a somewhat solid mass. Flip the mass of curds, sprinkle with about a tablespoon salt and let drain for fifteen-twenty minutes more. The timing of this stage is not critical; if you need to go away for an hour, that’s fine. Transfer the curd mass into an appropriately-sized pie pan, and put in the oven. I use a cast iron skillet, preheated.
Bake. The precise time depends upon the amount of cheese, which depends upon the type of milk used-cow milk makes less, goat makes more. Also, the time will depend upon the moisture content of the curds. Ideally, the whey will have baked off about the time the cheese is starting to brown, about 45-50 minutes. You may need to remove some excess whey, or even to flip the cheese over and give it a broil to get both sides a little toasted. When done, turn the cheese out onto a cooling rack, and let it firm up.
4 liters/1 gallon of Nigerian Dwarf milk makes a disc of about 700g/1.5 lb. Eat warm out of the oven, or, slice it into finger-sized bits, fry (no need to oil the pan, as the cheese brings its own butterfat!) and serve with jam or maple syrup or fruit (For maximum authenticity, put it out in the bitter freeze of a Finnish winter, where it will become desiccated and resemble a shingle that will keep until summer. Rehydrate, and serve with cloudberry jam). .
Footnotes
1. There are a lot of folks of Finnish extraction in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A teacher of mine used to live there; when I gave him a chunk of this cheese, he saw it and said, "Oh, Finnish squeaky cheese!" So, it is recognizable. Also, he said that it was never sold in stores, but (not entirely legally) by lots of farmers in the area.
2. There are recipes on the web, but they tend to have stuff like corn starch and sugar in them. There's also weird, vague recipes from Finland.
3. I just love saying "Ostrobothnia." It's that bit of Finland that is at the eastern end of the Baltic. Also, the real recipe uses reindeer milk, preferably from right after freshening. Seriously. So, it's not authentic and I will call it Umpquabothnian, as I live near the Umpqua river.
4. It's really enjoyable to watch people trying juusto for the first time. It always seems to elicit this surprised smile.
5. Your required dose of rennet may vary; this is what works for the stuff I buy from Get Culture.
6 сен 2024
