NEUFCHATEL...... SOFT FRENCH CREAM CHEESE.

[Rik vonTrense]

Neufchatel

Originated in Normandy France. It is a very soft, spreadable cheese similar to cream cheese. It differs from true cream cheese because it is made from whole milk and not cream. Neufchatel can be molded into many shapes and is traditionally molded in a heart shape.

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INGREDIENTS
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1/2 Gallon Fresh Milk
2 oz. Mesophilic Starter Culture (two tablsp buttermilk)
Rennet (Two teaspn vegeren)
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1. Mix 1/2 gallon fresh whole milk with mesophilic starter.

2. . Mix vegeren into two tablespoons of COOL water. Mix this into the milk thoroughly using a whisk and stirring for at least 5 minutes.

3. . Cover and set aside to ripen for about 15-20 hours at room temp (70 F / 21 C).
4. The milk should be a firm curd within 24 hours, however the full 15-20 hours is needed to develop the correct flavor.

5. .. After 15-20 hours, gently ladle the curds into a colander lined with a FINE cheese cloth.

6. . Allow the curds to drain for awhile then tie the four corners of the cloth together. Hang it to drain 8-12 hours.

7. . After the curds have drained, place the curds into a small bowl.

8. . Mix by hand until pasty.

9. . Add salt, herbs of your choice..., etc. to taste.

10. . Place the cheese into a sealable container into a refrigerator. The cheese will firm up a little once under refrigeration.



Tastes great on a bagel or on crackers with what ever you fancy.

You can also make it far richer by the addition of full whole cream.

.Have a try,.


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[jenny_haddow]

Hi Rik

This a nice one, I've made a couple of batches of it and it disappeared very fast.

How about goats cheese? Does it require different techniques? I just love it, it would be good to make my own.

Cheers

Jen

[Rik vonTrense]

I have always fought shy of making goats cheese because of the cost being four times that of cows milk but many of my recipes have been adapted from goats milk cheeses.......

Believe it or not more people keep goats than cows in small herds.

Chevre is just the word for Goats so it applies to their cheese but I will post some soft cheese using goats milk.

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[jenny_haddow]

I've noticed the goats milk is a bit pricey, but so is the cheese. I also saw some very rich jersey milk, would that be wasted on cheese, or would it be better?

Jen

[Rik vonTrense]

Jen....Channel Island milk is not too good for cheese in it's natural state except for those cream cheeses.

Techincal points being that it is too rich in animal fat and tends to make a greasy cheese especially when pressed. The large globules of fat found in Island milk are not easily entrapped in the curd. This problem doesn't occur in goat and sheeps milk because the globules of fat are much smaller and are easily trapped in the curd.

I have added cream to skimmed milk to bring it back to raw milk and this has not been homogenised and is the closedst you will get to unadulterated milk as it comes from the cow....but all the natural flavours and bacteria have been killed off by the pasturisation process.

So to make natural milk just add one part full cream to seven parts skimmed milk and stir well..