Method for making Italian Scamorza cheese. Nutritional value of the variety and its effect on the body. Recipes for dishes, interesting facts about extract cheese.
Scamorza is a fibrous Italian extract cheese made from a mixture of buffalo and cow milk. It is produced in two types: young (sweetish creamy taste, white color) and smoked (slightly spicy taste, and the pulp is like baked milk). The smell is milky, the crust is dry, yellowish or brownish, the texture becomes fibrous after smoking. Made in the South of Italy - in Campania, Puglia and Basilicata.
How is Scamorza cheese made?
From 7.5 liters of raw materials, 1 kg of the final product is obtained. At home, cow and buffalo milk of different types are mixed in a ratio of 1: 2 or 1: 3, in industrial conditions - 1: 2. Several types of thermophilic bacteria are used as a starter - Streptococcus thermophilus, Lb. Helveticus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp and others that can withstand high temperatures.
How Scamorza cheese is made:
- Heat pasteurized raw material to 35, 5 ° C, add dry sourdough, allow to be absorbed. Lipase is poured in, stirred, maintaining a constant temperature using a water bath.
- Guarding is carried out using rennet.
- Formed kale is cut into cubes with edges of 1, 3 cm.
- Slowly increase the temperature, it should rise at a rate of 1.5 ° C / 5 minutes. Heating will take at least half an hour. This stage is extremely important: if the technology is violated, it will not work to cook Scamorza cheese as required, with a delicate texture and barely perceptible fiber.
- When the contents of the container reach 39-40 ° C, the heating is stopped, and the curd grains continue to stir vigorously. The grains are allowed to settle, some of the whey is drained, and again allowed to stand. Gently strain the liquid with a colander, and place the cheese mass in a mold with rare holes. Leave for 2-3 hours, periodically turning over.
- During this time, you need to prepare a strong brine. The proportions of the ingredients are calculated based on the following data: 1 liter of water, 1/4 tbsp. l. calcium chloride and 250 g of salt (not iodized). The brine is left to cool.
- In a large saucepan, heat the water to 80 ° C. Check readiness by immersing a piece in liquid. As soon as it starts to stretch, the cheese is ready for further processing.
- Dip the entire head into hot water, give it the desired pear-shaped shape.
- Fix the resulting shape in a bath of cold water. When the head is completely cool, they proceed to salting. Leave in cool brine for 12 hours. Another 48 hours are set aside for drying.
- Then Scamorza, cooked at home, is put into the refrigerator, where it is stored for 10-12 weeks.
Cheese made in a food factory can be ripened for 2-4 weeks or smoked. For this, bonfires are made of straw and dried heads are hung over them for 15-20 minutes. It is impossible to keep it longer - the thin skin bursts when overheated.
During aging, and even more so after smoking, the liquid evaporates, the texture becomes much drier. If a fresh head weighed 1 kg, then after processing - 600 g.
