I have always wanted to start making cheese. It is not something anyone I personally know makes. I started looking into how to make cheese then "cultures" happened.... given I live in a small city I can't seem to get these just on the shelf of the average grocery store, so this cheese making project has been getting pushed to the back of my mind, and had me thinking the process is much more complicated than it actually turns out.
Traditional Easter cheese is called Hrudka pronounced (hur-UT-ka). Sounds LOVELY yes?
It is about the easiest thing ever to make I have come across. There are two main ingredients milk, and eggs that you use to create a custard cheese with no cultures needed.
After shopping around for a recipe to make Hrudka I decided to go with this Hrudka Recipe because any recipe that mentions you haven't caught botulism in 34 years of making it, is good enough for me.
Hrudka
12 eggs
Honestly the recipe link above is worth checking out just for the way it is written, and the delightful reviews from people who have made this cheese. There are stories of younger people rediscovering this recipe as something cherished from their childhood, that was lost when an elder family member passed away. You can read about individual people's variations on the recipe in the reviews, and you can even read a review from someone who had the recipe go wrong which is always entertaining.
I found I needed a little stress relief this week with my mom ending up in the hospital, so after work I decided to do some cooking therapy and give cheese making a go. I opted not to make the cheese sweet like suggested in the recipe, and seasoned mine with garlic powder and salt. The cheese is basically a blank canvas you can make any seasoning combination you desire. Some suggestions: vinallia cinnamon (traditional), rosemary and garlic, salt and pepper.
As I mentioned this was my first attempt at making cheese, and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect the recipe just says to stir constantly until the mixture fully forms curds and the whey separates... that's good instruction if you actually know what this process looks like, but I had no idea what was going on in the pot when I was making it. Being Canadian I expected Poutine sized bites of cheese to start surfacing when the mixture for me just kind of thickened to smooth paste (if it looks like scrambled eggs you did it wrong). I have to assume this was an ok outcome because I do indeed have a ball of something that resembles home made cheese. I drained the mixture through cheese cloth and tied it to the faucet of my sink overnight. I was pretty active about squeezing out the whey since I wanted a firmer cheese and I know home made cheese can be very soft and fall apart easy. I would like to be able to place the cheese in my Easter basket without having to wrap it so it holds together.
If you have an egg allergy or are looking to make a milk cheese as opposed to a custard cheese for your Easter basket I will suggest Farmer's Cheese.
Farmer's Cheese
2 quarts pasteurized whole milk (do not use ultrapasteurized milk)
2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
Take that recipe through the same process as mentioned in the Hrudka Recipe and you will apparently get cheesey yummy goodness.
Most of the people in my hometown bought cheese to put in their Easter Basket. If you don't want your own "Adventure in Cheese" then by all means buy some of your favorite cheese and plunk it in your basket, but there is an additional note for cheese if you are attending a blessing. If you are taking your Easter Basket to be blessed make sure your cheese is in plastic wrap that is easy to remove for the blessing. Remember the Holy Water should be able to touch the food, if you insist on leaving the cheese covered during a blessing I would suggest wrapping it in craft/butcher paper over plastic.
Additional to this there is a traditional decorative touch that is expected of cheese in a blessing basket. Cloves should be pressed into the cheese to make a pattern in the shape of a cross. For this reason if you are buying your cheese, I encourage you to choose a soft cheese over a hard cheese. If you are a cheese lover and wish to have several types of cheese in your basket, go nuts if you are at home and the basket is not going to be blessed. If you are attending a religious blessing Cheese is symbolic of the moderation in your basket and I would encourage you to only have one type in keeping with this theme.
-St. Lawrence Market stand our trip to Toronto 2014
Traditional Easter cheese is called Hrudka pronounced (hur-UT-ka). Sounds LOVELY yes?
It is about the easiest thing ever to make I have come across. There are two main ingredients milk, and eggs that you use to create a custard cheese with no cultures needed.
After shopping around for a recipe to make Hrudka I decided to go with this Hrudka Recipe because any recipe that mentions you haven't caught botulism in 34 years of making it, is good enough for me.
Hrudka
12 eggs
1 quart whole milk
1 cup white sugar (unless you don't want it sweet)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or season with your own blend of spices)
Note: for a smaller round of cheese. I suggest halving this recipe and make 2 rounds for your basket the above will serve 4 - 6 people. Thank goodness I halved it or I would have #1 had way more cheese than I needed. #2 Would have had difficulty working with the size of the round.
I found I needed a little stress relief this week with my mom ending up in the hospital, so after work I decided to do some cooking therapy and give cheese making a go. I opted not to make the cheese sweet like suggested in the recipe, and seasoned mine with garlic powder and salt. The cheese is basically a blank canvas you can make any seasoning combination you desire. Some suggestions: vinallia cinnamon (traditional), rosemary and garlic, salt and pepper.
As I mentioned this was my first attempt at making cheese, and I wasn't exactly sure what to expect the recipe just says to stir constantly until the mixture fully forms curds and the whey separates... that's good instruction if you actually know what this process looks like, but I had no idea what was going on in the pot when I was making it. Being Canadian I expected Poutine sized bites of cheese to start surfacing when the mixture for me just kind of thickened to smooth paste (if it looks like scrambled eggs you did it wrong). I have to assume this was an ok outcome because I do indeed have a ball of something that resembles home made cheese. I drained the mixture through cheese cloth and tied it to the faucet of my sink overnight. I was pretty active about squeezing out the whey since I wanted a firmer cheese and I know home made cheese can be very soft and fall apart easy. I would like to be able to place the cheese in my Easter basket without having to wrap it so it holds together.
If you have an egg allergy or are looking to make a milk cheese as opposed to a custard cheese for your Easter basket I will suggest Farmer's Cheese.
Farmer's Cheese
Take that recipe through the same process as mentioned in the Hrudka Recipe and you will apparently get cheesey yummy goodness.
Most of the people in my hometown bought cheese to put in their Easter Basket. If you don't want your own "Adventure in Cheese" then by all means buy some of your favorite cheese and plunk it in your basket, but there is an additional note for cheese if you are attending a blessing. If you are taking your Easter Basket to be blessed make sure your cheese is in plastic wrap that is easy to remove for the blessing. Remember the Holy Water should be able to touch the food, if you insist on leaving the cheese covered during a blessing I would suggest wrapping it in craft/butcher paper over plastic.
-The Result of my first cheese attempt 2014
Additional to this there is a traditional decorative touch that is expected of cheese in a blessing basket. Cloves should be pressed into the cheese to make a pattern in the shape of a cross. For this reason if you are buying your cheese, I encourage you to choose a soft cheese over a hard cheese. If you are a cheese lover and wish to have several types of cheese in your basket, go nuts if you are at home and the basket is not going to be blessed. If you are attending a religious blessing Cheese is symbolic of the moderation in your basket and I would encourage you to only have one type in keeping with this theme.
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