Features of Chechil cheese, production and homemade recipe. Energy value and composition of the product, beneficial and harmful effects on the body. Cooking Uses and Variety History.
Chechil is an extractable brine cheese from the national Armenian cuisine, in the preparation of which the technologies of fermented milk and rennet varieties are combined. Release form - braided braids, balls and skeins of threads of different thicknesses. Color - from white and light yellow to orange or brown; texture - elastic, exfoliating. Smell - weak, smoky; the taste is bright, with a smoky aftertaste, and the salinity is moderate to intense. It is made from the milk yield of cows, sheep, goats or a mixture of raw materials.
How is Chechil cheese made?
In production conditions, when preparing raw materials for the manufacture of Chechil cheese, parameters are assessed - fat and acidity. A separator is used to separate the cream. Then, the prepared initial product is fed through the milk line to the cheese-making machine, adding sour milk and pepsin, where the mixture is heated to 40 ° C. As soon as the individual clots begin to stick together, the temperature is raised to 50 ° C and rennet is added.
To prepare Chechil, they wait for the kale to form for about 30 minutes, cut the cheese grains with a special device, heat up to 65 ° C and knead with a stirrer. Sludge, partial separation of whey, primary drying and rinsing take place in the boiler. Then the curd mass is fed by a hose to the press trolley, where fermentation continues to increase the acidity.
After 1 hour, the cheese layer is cut and transferred to a plasticizer, where the desired consistency of the intermediate product is achieved. The extraction is carried out in the same way as when making Chechil cheese at home, that is, by hand. The exfoliating monolith is cut with knives, pulled out, fibers are wound into skeins or braided.
So that the strips no longer stretch, they are immersed in a bath with cool running water, dried for 30-40 minutes on a drainage table and placed in a 20% brine. Production line capacity - 4 tons / 1 day.
There are not so many recipes for making Chechil at home. Variations: acidify the raw materials yourself, with kefir, add pepsin or citric acid. It should be noted that calcium chloride is not added, since milk is not boiled.
How to make Chechil at home:
- The feedstock is defatted by settling. Remove about 1/3 of the cream.
- Heat milk (4 l) to 38 ° C, stirring continuously, so that the milk fat is evenly distributed. Better to use a water bath.
- Stir in citric acid (1 tsp) and pour in rennet (1 g).
- For kale to form, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature. At home, this method is used for this: they close the pan and wrap it with a towel. Calle takes 40-60 minutes to form.
- Warm up again for 5 minutes in a water bath to 65 ° C, stirring vigorously. At this time, the curd is crushed into small pieces. When Chechil is cooked at home, cutting the cheese grains can be neglected. However, large clumps need to be broken up.
- Knead, let stand for half an hour, knead again and leave again, maintaining a constant temperature.
- In a separate saucepan, heat 8 liters of water to 75 ° C. Drain the whey, discarding the curd mass in a colander, and transfer to hot water. First, stretch it with wooden spatulas, and then with your hands (be sure to wear gloves). This process takes endurance.
- Hot water should be constantly added, its temperature should not fall below the initial temperature. In order not to get burned while pulling homemade Chechil cheese, first put on cotton gloves, and only then rubber gloves with high sockets. Hands have to be immersed quite deeply, and the skin on the wrists is especially delicate.
- It is not necessary to achieve the same diameter of the cheese threads. They can be very thin, like fishing line or cotton thread, and relatively wide. It is recommended to braid the fibers or roll them into skeins.
- The cheese is first immersed in water at 16-18 ° C to harden the threads, and then, after removing excess moisture, it is transferred into a 20% brine.
- After a day, they take it out, wring it out and compact.
Homemade Chechil cheese made according to this recipe can be tasted in a day. To make it denser, they put it on the refrigerator shelf.
The product becomes more tasty after smoking. In industrial settings, like at home, the "Liquid Smoke" or "cold" method is used to give the golden color. "Liquid smoke" is a preservative. It is bred, pigtails are immersed in it, after which they acquire a characteristic taste and uniform color, a beautiful blush. But you need to keep in mind that the product is more useful after natural processing.
If you don't cook cheese all the time, then there is hardly a smokehouse near at hand. In order not to give up heat treatment and get a "smoky" product, you can take a dense container with several holes in the bottom, install a grate on it, and put braided cheese on top. They make a fire (best on fruit or oak wood), let them burn out, and then place the smoker so that the smoke gets inside, but the heating is negligible. The quality of the product is assessed visually.
When making smoked Chechil cheese, a temperature of 25-45 ° C and a time of 15-23 minutes are usually set in a special device.
During smoking, the skeins are wrapped with food parchment or linen cloth so that no burning particles get in. When the wrapper is unfolded, the color of the final product is light, and the characteristic "blush" appears only after 5-7 minutes. You need to know this so as not to overexpose, otherwise the fibers will become unnecessarily brittle, they will break, and the taste will deteriorate.
Composition and calorie content of Chechil cheese
Chechil cheese on the photo
When purchasing a farm product, you can be sure that there are no chemical additives from a number of GMOs in the composition. In order for the raw material to sour faster, pour in milk that has sour naturally.
The calorie content of Chechil cheese is 276 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 19.5 g;
- Fat - 22 g;
- Water - 29.16 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Beta Carotene - 0.066 mg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.039 mg - 1.5 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.332 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline - 15.4 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.453 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.091 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate - 7 mcg;
- Vitamin B12, cobalamin - 1.2 mcg;
- Vitamin D, calciferol - 0.5 μg;
- Vitamin E, alpha tocopherol - 0.22 mg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone - 1.7 mcg.
Macronutrients per 100 g:
- Potassium, K - 92 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 1184 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 44 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 1376 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 694 mg.
Microelements per 100 g:
- Iron, Fe - 0.82 mg;
- Manganese, Mn - 0.02 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 32 μg;
- Selenium, Se - 22.5 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 2.75 mg.
Fats in Chechil cheese per 100 g:
- Cholesterol - 68 mg;
- Saturated fatty acids - 16.4-18.7 mg;
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.56-12 mg;
- Monounsaturated fatty acids - 7.15-24 mg.
These indicators largely depend on the quality of the feedstock. Despite the fact that the feedstock is pre-skimmed, sheep or goat milk is fatter than cow's milk.
If you plan to buy Chechil, then it is better to buy it braided. This form is not only the most convenient - it allows you to maintain the quality of the product and the required moisture content (up to 60%). Salt content - from 5 to 8%, fat content relative to dry matter - no more than 10%.
Note! The color of the fibers of Chechil cheese changes during natural processing with smoke, when the braid is untwisted. In places of interlacing it is white, and in open places it is almost brown. The length and thickness of the fibers depends on the further application.
The benefits of Chechil cheese
The product is most valuable for the body without additional heat treatment. Since skim milk is used in the manufacture, it can be safely included in the diet for weight loss. Due to the high salt content, weight loss is not due to fluid loss, but due to the breakdown of body fat. Salt binds water.
The benefits of Chechil cheese:
- Increases the production of hemoglobin, helps to stop anemia, quickly recover from exhausting diets and diseases in which it is necessary to give up certain types of foods.
- Strengthens bones and teeth, prevents osteoporosis, slows down the development of caries.
- Accelerates nerve-impulse conduction, increases coordination.
- Slows down the aging of the optic nerve.
- Accelerates the formation of proteins at the cellular level, increases the rate of metabolic processes.
- Has a tonic effect, increases blood clotting.
The consumption of smoked Chechil increases the production of saliva. When the acidity of the oral cavity changes, the activity of pathogenic fungi and bacteria is suppressed, the likelihood of caries development decreases.
Those who eat delicious foods enjoy the food. The level of endorphins in the bloodstream rises, allowing you to relax. The mood improves, troubles are more easily perceived, depression recedes.
