25
Jul
Make your cheese a little more interesting by adding herbs. You can stir them into maas kaas ( recipe here) or roll your shaped soft cheese in herbs, add herbs to your feta or gouda. Of course you must make sure the herbs are without bacteria or granular matter like sand as they often are. If you purchase herbs from Finest Kind you can rest assured they have been treated especially for addition to cheese. Imagine maturing a gouda for three months only to find that the herbs you added introduced a ” bad” bacteria or yeast in your cheese. Its so disappointing after all the hard work, milking the cow, making the cheese and then waiting for it to mature only to find nasty bacteria harboured in the herbs have created a bad tasting cheese.
Adding herbs to soft cheeses: make the cheese, fromage frais ( recipe here) and when the curds have dripped to the dryness you like, stir the curds with an electric or hand cake mixer to make them smooth, add the salt and then the herbs as is your desire. The list is endless. We have tzatziki, bruschetta, italian mix ( tomato and herbs), black pepper with coriander and chilli and more.
Shaped soft cheese, Fromage Frais. When your cheese is sufficiently dry, roll the cheese in herbs. I personally love course black pepper. But delicious garden herb mix or chives give a lovely fresh appearance to the cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil before serving.
Feta: make the cheese and just before you pour the curd into the moulds, stir in the herbs. We have a special Greek mix that suits Feta. It’s not easily available in the supermarkets as yet. It’s always a marketing advantage if you have a product that is slightly different to the run of the mill. We have a long list of possibilities so it’s up to your imagination to make something different.
Gouda: stinging nettle is healthy and popular. And what about some fenugreek. It gives a nutty taste to the cheese. Mustard seeds or chilli work well too. Honey Clover gives a honey flavor – could be nice for breakfast. And don’t forget the traditional cumin seeds.
Access our list of herbs here and if you have a special request for an exotic herb give us a call.
Happy Cheesemaking.
