Your favorite cheese recipe?

[RockyToggRanch]

My recipe for feta (that you inspired me to try for the first time ) says to let it age 4-5 days. I'm thinking at that point I'm going to pour off the brine. Feta you buy at the store certainly isn't sitting in brine when you buy it.

I've been eating it before it goes into the brine. It's awesome.
I wonder why it needs the brine at all. If it's eaten within a week or frozen?

Double batch on the stove now

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Okay my 5-21 batch was in brine for 6 days. I just drained it. Now I have no idea what to do with it. Should it dry out? or go into freezer bags wet? (I'm thinking no). Should it be rinsed? If so, with what?

 

[freemotion]

If you want it to be less salty, soak it in fresh milk overnight.

I suggest that you taste it once a week while it is brining and decide when you think it is done! Maybe keep some at each stage.

The longer it is in the brine, the firmer the cheese will be. The salt draws more whey out of the cheese. I like to use feta as the salt when I use it....I don't add any salt to whatever will have feta on/in it. It is great to salt popcorn with....yum! Or eggs!

The longer you brine it, the longer it will keep. I am still eating some I brined for four weeks and kept in the fridge for maybe 4 months. It is wrapped in special cheese paper I got through The Dairy Connection. I don't use this paper for every cheese, just the special once I want to keep in the fridge for an extended period of time. It keeps the moisture balanced in the cheese.

Oh, and you can re-use the brine if you keep it in the fridge. My plan for this season is to use good, expensive sea salt in my brine, and use it all season. You may have to filter it if bits of cheese break off into it, but they won't spoil in the brine.

I made a 4.5 gallon batch today. It is hanging from an s-hook from the handle of the cupboard over my sink. It smells SOOOOO good!

 

[freemotion]

Okay my 5-21 batch was in brine for 6 days. I just drained it. Now I have no idea what to do with it. Should it dry out? or go into freezer bags wet? (I'm thinking no). Should it be rinsed? If so, with what?

Oops, I didn't really answer your question, I meant to. I would pat it dry with paper towels and put what you will use up in a couple of weeks into the fridge, and freeze the rest if you want to keep it for a while. You could try to just keep it in the fridge, but I can't tell you how well it will keep in plastic after less than a week of brining....but if you choose to experiment, I'd really love to hear your results so I can maybe stop buying the cheese paper!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

What do you do when you remove it from the brine? Dry it somehow or pack it..?

 

[freemotion]

Did we post at the same time?

I pat it with paper towels and wrap it in special cheese wrapping paper that I buy. I have a second fridge that I store my cheeses and fermented veggies in.

I think if I were to freeze it, I would wrap smaller portions in something like waxed paper and put those into a larger ziploc freezer bag so it would be easier to pull out and thaw just what I needed.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

Okay my 5-21 batch was in brine for 6 days. I just drained it. Now I have no idea what to do with it. Should it dry out? or go into freezer bags wet? (I'm thinking no). Should it be rinsed? If so, with what?

Oops, I didn't really answer your question, I meant to. I would pat it dry with paper towels and put what you will use up in a couple of weeks into the fridge, and freeze the rest if you want to keep it for a while. You could try to just keep it in the fridge, but I can't tell you how well it will keep in plastic after less than a week of brining....but if you choose to experiment, I'd really love to hear your results so I can maybe stop buying the cheese paper!

Thanks
I was thinking I should dry it off somehow. I don't think I have to worry about freezing it just yet. My family is all in town and eating it faster than I can get it to the brine. (They're not here, but at my sisters) I will dry this though and put some away secretly...for me

Does the length of brine time effect how long it lasts in the freezer as well?