Description of Ossetian cheese, production in industrial and home conditions. Energy value and vitamin and mineral composition, benefits and harms to the body. Use as a culinary ingredient and history of the variety.
Ossetian cheese is a product of the national cuisine of Ossetia. Texture - relatively dense, delicate, brittle; color - uniform, from creamy white to yellowish; a small number of round and oval eyes of different sizes; no crust. Smell and taste - fermented milk, slightly salty, when homemade, a pronounced bitterness is felt. The shape of the head is a flattened wheel, the weight is from 0.5 to 1.5 kg, the height is 2-4.5 cm. On the surface of the farm product there are traces of a serpyanka; the ribbed side edges of the product manufactured at dairy factories. The crust is absent, but with a long exposure it acquires a brown tint. The local name is iron tsykht.
How is Ossetian cheese made?
As a raw material, you can use cow's, goat's or sheep's milk, both unpasteurized and after heat treatment.
Brief technology for the production of Ossetian cheese at dairy factories
- The initial raw material - cow's milk - is prepared in a centrifuge, achieving an even distribution of milk protein.
- Pasteurization is carried out in a flow apparatus at 74 ° C, the required acidity is achieved - T18-21.
- The milk is cooled and pumped into the maturation kettle, where bacterial starter culture (strains of aroma-forming and lactic acid bacteria) and calcium chloride are introduced.
- Further, the intermediate raw material is pumped into the maturation apparatus. This cauldron is open, since during the preparation of Ossetian cheese, the milk curd is periodically checked manually for a clean break. During all processes, a constant temperature is maintained - 32-34 ° C.
- After the formation of kale, cutting is carried out, the size of the cheese grains is up to 15 mm. Processing of curd grains - 2 dryings with heating up to 38 ° С.
- Through the conveyor, the curd mass is fed to the drainage table, during this process, self-pressing is carried out, and then forming in bulk. During the feeding of the layer along the conveyor and laying out in forms with corrugated edges and with the help of a special device, pre-pressing is carried out.
- The heads are immersed in 22% brine with a temperature of 10-12 ° C, the duration of the process is 4-5 days. Dry for 24-48 hours on a drainage table.
- Prior to this process, the recipe for making Ossetian cheese does not depend on the type of delivery. But if you plan to release a young batch, then the duration of fermentation in brine is no longer than 5-6 days. Mature cheese is salted for 20 days, maintaining the temperature of the brine at 8-12 ° C, and the concentration - 18-20%. Then each head is marked and unpacked into barrels with lower concentration brine. When filling, the heads are placed in vacuum packages with brine.
Almost every Ossetian family inherits its own secret of how to make Ossetian cheese with a special taste. Most often, the feedstock is mixed - sheep or more often goat is added to the milk yield; to give a special taste, use herbs or spices; experimenting with the kind of leaven.
Step-by-step recipe for making Ossetian cheese at home
- Whole milk, not pasteurized, 3.5 liters of high fat content is heated to 28-30 ° C, sour curdled milk is added, 1 glass. Dilute a coagulant (a tablet of Abomin, Acidin-Pepsin or Rennet) in 50 ml of heated water, pour it into milk and put it in a warm place, having previously wrapped the pan in a blanket.
- Cala formation can take from 40 minutes to an hour. They start cutting the curd when, when pressed with a spoon, a yellowish serum with a greenish tinge appears. If the color of the liquid is green, the taste of Ossetian cheese will be too sour. Overexposure is not recommended.
- The kale is cut first horizontally and then vertically. The size of the edges of the pieces is 3-4 cm. Do not allow the formation of porridge while stirring.
- Warm up to 38 ° C and stir. The curd mass should settle 2 times, the duration of the cycles is 15 minutes.
- The curd pieces are collected by hand, squeezed and laid out in a colander covered with gauze to separate the liquid. They are tamped, compacted, and then transferred to a mold with holes.
- When making Ossetian cheese according to this recipe at home, self-pressing is not used. For sealing, a bending weighing 2-3 kg is installed on the surface of the head. After 2 hours, it is turned over and pressing is continued for the same time.
- Salting is often carried out dry, rubbing the surface with coarse salt. Then the finished product is placed in a container and refrigerated. You can taste it right away. From 3.5 liters of milk, 600-700 g of the final product are obtained.
This is not the only way to make homemade Ossetian cheese. If you plan to use it as a filling for pies, you can use another recipe. For faster fermentation, kefir and pepsin are used. The milk is heated to 32 ° C, kefir is poured in first, and then pepsin. The pan is not removed from the heat, only the fire is muffled so as not to overheat until a curd curd forms. As soon as the kale becomes elastic, it is smashed with a spoon, stirring constantly, and left until the cheese grains settle by removing the pan from the heat. Drain the whey so that it slightly covers the surface, and set the pan in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. The contents are heated to 35-37 ° C to seal the consistency. Throw the cheese mass into a colander, strain out the whey, and then transfer it to a mold, mixing with a small amount of salt. Squeeze the curd by hand. Leave for 1-2 hours, turning over and pressing. This cheese can be used as a filling for baked goods.
To prepare Ossetian cheese, as in Ossetia, salting should be carried out in brine. Its density is checked as follows: salt is dissolved in water heated to 40 ° C, and a raw egg is lowered. If it floats almost near the surface, there is enough salt.
The brine is poured into a container and the head is lowered there. Duration of salting is 3-5 days. This brine is suitable for storage. In this case, the properties are preserved for 10-20 days, but the taste changes - it becomes more pronounced, salty. But this is exactly what real pickled Ossetian cheese is. In his small homeland, he is placed in special barrels - Migans, 30-50 heads each, where they float freely. And before using, they are washed with running water and dried.
To improve the taste of Ossetian cheese before being laid out in shape, the curd mass can be mixed with dry dill, parsley, garlic or other spicy herbs. Fresh greens are not added, because if not eaten after 2-3 days, an unpleasant bitterness will appear.
Composition and calorie content of Ossetian cheese
In the photo Ossetian cheese
This product is absolutely natural - no ingredients from the GMO group, no chemical additives. The energy value depends on the quality of the feedstock. If sheep milk yield is used, it is higher, cow milk is lower.
The calorie content of Ossetian cheese is 240-350 kcal per 100 grams, of which
- Protein - 26 g;
- Fat - 26.5 g;
- Carbohydrates - 3.5 g.
Vitamins per 100 g
- Vitamin A - 0.4 mg;
- Vitamin B3 (PP) - 0.2 mg;
- Vitamin A (retinol equivalent) - 400 mcg;
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.03 mg;
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.3 mg;
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) - 0.1 mg;
- Vitamin B9 (folic acid) - 19 mcg;
- Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) 1.4 mcg;
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) - 2, 8 mg;
- Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.3 mg
- Vitamin PP (niacin equivalent) - 4.516 mg.
Minerals per 100 g
- Iron - 0.9 mg;
- Zinc - 4 mg;
- Copper - 70 mcg;
- Manganese - 0.1 mg;
- Phosphorus - 540 mg;
- Potassium - 100 mg;
- Sodium - 860 mg;
- Magnesium - 50 mg;
- Calcium - 1005 mg.
Cholesterol per 100 g - 89 mg.
But this is not the complete chemical composition of the Ossetian cheese. It contains 10 essential amino acids with a predominance of leucine, lysine and valine, as well as 8 essential - most of all glutamic acid, proline and serine.
The benefits and harms of Ossetian cheese in relation to the effect on the human body are due not only to a balanced vitamin and mineral complex, but also to the composition of fats.
Among saturated acids, palmitic acid predominates, stimulating collagen synthesis, but at the same time, with an overabundance, it reduces calcium absorption; and myristic, which increases cholesterol levels. Monounsaturated fatty acids are high in omega-9, which lowers blood sugar and increases macrophage production, but when overabundant causes rapid weight gain.
The daily portion of Ossetian cheese for healthy people should be limited to 60-80 g. In addition, it is necessary to analyze how the introduction of a new product into the diet affects the state of health.
The benefits of Ossetian cheese
Mature iron chick from sheep and goat milk contains a minimum amount of casein, and in small amounts it can be consumed by people who suffer from milk protein intolerance. Thanks to this variety, you can quickly replenish the vitamin and mineral reserve.
The benefits of Ossetian cheese
- Normalizes heart contractions, reduces the permeability of the vascular walls.
- Increases protein synthesis, accelerates the formation of muscle tissue.
- Prevents the development of osteoporosis, strengthens bones and teeth, improves the quality of nails and hair.
- Accelerates the epithelialization of the skin.
- Helps get rid of insomnia, recover from increased physical and mental stress.
- Has a positive effect on the visual system.
- Increases the speed of perception of external factors and responses.
Young cheese, especially made at home, with a small amount of salt creates favorable conditions for increasing the activity of the intestinal flora - bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. This increases the general immunity and reduces the incidence of ARVI during the epidemic season. This product is recommended to be introduced on an ongoing basis into the diet of patients with anemia, lung diseases, frequent fractures and after operations on the skeletal system.
Ossetian cheese recipes
This variety can be used as an appetizer for homemade wine, eaten on its own with rye bread or freshly baked flat cakes. It is introduced into salads and casseroles, but most often it is used as a filling for a very popular national dish - Ossetian pies.
Recipes with Ossetian cheese:
- Traditional pie … First, they make a dough called jan. Mix in 1 tsp. yeast, sugar and flour, diluted with 50 ml of boiled warm water. Leave for 10 minutes in a warm place, preferably under a lid, and then pour it into the sifted flour, adding and adding 0.5 cups of warm milk and 2 tbsp. l. olive oil. The amount of flour is determined by the quality of the dough: it should be soft and not very sticky. Allow to rise for 2-3 hours, crushing 1-2 times. While the kneading is coming up, they are busy with the filling: young beet tops, dill, parsley and green onions are cut and mixed. The dough is divided into 3 parts, rolled into flat cakes. Chopped cheese and a little salt are mixed into the filling. Previously, this cannot be done, otherwise the juice will begin to stand out. Put the filling in the middle of each cake, close up the edges, and then roll it out again. Bake on a baking sheet greased with vegetable oil at 200 ° C until golden brown. The finished cake is greased with butter.
- Fried Ossetian cheese … This is a very simple snack. Beat 1-2 eggs, prepare wheat flour or breadcrumbs in advance, pouring them onto a cutting board. Iron tsykht is cut into pieces of any shape, but not thin, so as not to melt. Prick the slices on a fork, dip them first into the egg, then into the breading - the manipulations are repeated 3-4 times. Deep-fried until golden brown. It is best to blot off excess fat with a paper towel before serving.
- Lavash with Ossetian cheese … You can make a quick snack by mixing greens and freshly chopped iron pudding. The filling is wrapped in pita bread, like a pancake, and heated before serving. To improve the taste, you can add pepper, add mayonnaise or lemon juice, grated boiled egg. But a dish with Ossetian cheese will be much tastier if baked in the oven. Mix the filling: beaten eggs, kefir and olive (sunflower oil). Sheets of pita bread, 3-4, are laid out in a mold so that the edges hang down, each is greased with pouring and sprinkled with a part of the filling. Internally, the edges of the middle sheets are folded after filling, and the top of the cake is formed from the last and bottom. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 15 minutes at 180-200 ° C.
- Ossetian cheese salad … In a salad bowl, cut fleshy tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions (or red rings), sweet peppers, parsley and cubes of mature iron tsykht are mixed. Season with mustard oil. If the fermented milk product is ripe, with high salinity, then the following products can be combined with it: cherry tomatoes, cut in half, arugula, smoked chicken breast or ham, boiled eggs, green salad. Dressing - balsamic vinegar. You can experiment with the amount of ingredients to your own taste.
Ossetian cheese is stored like most fermented milk products - in parchment or a tight container, but no longer than 3-5 days. If you have purchased or made a lot, "for future use", then it is better to fill it with brine. As already mentioned, this is how the original product is saved from damage in its small homeland for 1, 5-2 years.
Note! You should not try to replace rennet products in recipes with ordinary pressed cottage cheese - in salads it will not retain its shape, but as a filling for baking it is more tender.
Interesting facts about Ossetian cheese
The history of this variety is quite ancient. According to legends, the shepherds who watched the herd in the mountains adopted the recipe from the warlike Scythian nomads. Until the middle of the twentieth century, this variety was produced only on peasant farms.
The most delicious product is made by residents of Trusovsky, Tsonsky, Chesetelsky, Khilaksky and Narsky gorges. This is explained by the unique microclimate and natural conditions - clean water with a high content of manganese and magnesium, rich in herbs and mountain air.
Until 1900, 6 poods of Ossetian cheese were annually supplied to the cities of Georgia through Tskhinvali, and it cost 5-6 rubles per 1 pood (16 kg). And already in 1928 in the villages of Ribis, Ertso and Tson, in the Kudar gorge, the first artels were organized. At the same time, they stopped using goat and sheep's milk, replacing it with cow's, moreover, pasteurized. Therefore, the heads made in factories are not as tasty as the farm product.
The analogues of Ossetian cheese are feta cheese, chkinti or imeruli kveli (Imeretian or Georgian cheese), mozzarella, Italian feta. The preparation technology differs slightly: the processing of the raw material, the heating temperature, the type of starter culture and the duration of ripening. You can distinguish the Ossetian cheese in the photo from similar fermented milk products in the cut. Cheese is dense, rennet-brine cheeses "carved", with many eyes, and mozzarella has a layered structure. But to understand which variety was offered to try, only an experienced taster can do it.
Watch a video about Ossetian cheese:
