08 Jun Tue 2010
Poor man recipes as recounted from my grandfather anecdotes and stories:Cheese making and more
During the Great Depression, poor people in Europe and the Mediterranean regions ate wild weeds, cacti plants and made cheese and preserved them in extra virgin olive oil which lasted for a while without refrigeration.
In times like ours where we try to make ends meet and try to survive the deep recession that seems never to end , it is wise to revisit recipes from the past .It is said that history repeats itself , so we might as well make use of time tested recipes .
My grandfather made soap from olive oil, yogurt and cheese from goat milk and sold them on mule back. His generation witnessed sales men with a traveler’s box carried on their backs They roamed on foot and made a living sellimng door to door.They survived the depression ,thanks also , to the wild food recipes knowledge acquired from their fathers and grandfathers. May be we need to start talking to our elders in this time ,instead of sending them to assisted living homes ,and learn from them how to survive in the deep - recession of our time.
I recycle expired yogurt to make kefir and cheese, for example. In ancient history indigenous peoples learned how to incubate milk and make cheese and yogurt by culturing it with friendly bacteria.KASHKAVAL is a famous Bulgarian hard cheese that lasts for long because of the way it is prepared. Hard cheese is always easier to store and keep without refrigeration indoors at room temperature of 60 degrees fahrenhite.
Goat Hard Cheese making 1-2-3:1-Use 1-2 gallons of goat milk (pasteurized if you buy it from store) warmed to 85-88 degrees fahrenhite.and mix with 1/4 of crushed rennet tablet (you can order it from internet source)...Stir slowly and keep the mix at around 90 degrees fahrenhite.Separate the forming whey from curd and keep aside..
2-.Cut curd in small cubes to make hard cheese. Warm it to 130 degrees Fahrenheit, for around 2 hours, slowly stirring occasionally to keep the curds separate.
Pour curd and whey into a cheese cloth .Drain for around half an hour.
3-Use cheese presses if available to make a mold of cheese. Otherwise you may devise a make shift thick cheese cloth to wrap the cheese curd .Cover with a damp cloth and a board or plate. Put a brick weight on top of the board. Turn the cheese over and keep overnight. Next day unwrap the cloth and sprinkle sea salt on the cheese and rub. Keep on doing the turning and salt rubbing protocol once every 24 hours for around 2-4 weeks, depending how hard you want it.
My grandfather used to do the protocol in our cellar where the temperature was cool around 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit, and ideal for making the cheese. Aged cheese is the one that I liked most .The older the cheese the better. Make sure that the equipment and utensils and materials you use are all clean and sterilized with hot water.Those were the days of old good cheese making at home that now I try to recollect and remember as I try to make my own home made cheese. Elders are a blessing. You learn a lot from their stories and old recipes.
“Quelle domage mon vieux fromage” as the French saying goes..Non plus! Oh ...la la !
Bonne Appetite…mon petite!