Features of preparation and energy value of Bleu de Bress cheese. Useful properties and possible harm. Recipes and interesting facts about the variety.
Bleu de Bresse is a soft French cheese with an edible, thin crust covered with white mold. It is made from whole milk, which is partially defatted and necessarily homogenized. The texture is soft, creamy, with streaks and blotches of emerald and gray mold, evenly spread over the mass; color - white-cream; taste - oily, sweetish, piquant, with a peppery flavor. Heads - cylindrical, weight varies from 125 g to 0.5 kg. It is produced in 3 types: with a height of 4.5 cm and a diameter of 6 and 8 cm, a height of 6.5 cm and a diameter of 10 cm. Fat content also varies - from "dietary" 15% on dry matter to 50-55%. Ripening period is short - 2-4 weeks.
How is Bleu de Bresse cheese made?
The recipe is based on the Italian Gorgonzola variety. Pasteurization is carried out at a temperature of 68-70 ° C, then the fat content of the milk is brought to 3.8-4%.
How to make Bleu de Bress cheese at home:
- The feedstock is cooled to 32 ° C, the starter culture is added - bacterial cultures with a predominance of lactic acid bacteria. Milk is considered ready when the acidity reaches 0.18%.
- Liquid rennet is poured in and a dense milk clot is formed, which ripens up to 1, 2 hours.
- The kale is broken with a stirrer and laid out on drainage tables, covered with linen fabric of rare weaving. The fabric is tightened to enhance the separation of the serum. Self-pressing lasts 1-1.5 hours.
- The cheese cloth is laid out in the molds, the squeezed curd mass is transferred, shifting with mold culture - "noble" penicillin. The lower and upper layers are compacted and straightened. When making Bleu de Bresse cheese, this must be done, otherwise it will not be possible to get a smooth crust.
- They turn over often - every 4 hours for the first day and after 6 hours for the second. It should be noted that pressing under its own weight and forming the head takes place at room temperature.
Salting of Bleu de Bresse cheese is made as in the manufacture of other varieties, adding salt to milk. But some cheese makers prefer a creamier, sweeter taste, therefore they combine the methods of dry and wet salting - rub the crust with coarse salt, and then dipped it in 8% brine for a day. During the process, the temperature is maintained at 15 ° C.
Ripening microclimate: temperature - 16-19 ° С, humidity - 95%. Such conditions can be easily maintained in the cellar by lifting the heads to the upper shelves of the shelves. Before leaving the cheese, 10-14 punctures are made in the crust with a thin long needle, depending on the size, in order to activate mold culture and fermentation. You can taste it in 2 weeks. If aging continues, the conditions are changed - now the temperature is maintained at 3-5 ° C.
The heads are left for another 4-6 weeks. In case of intensive mold growth, “insulation” is required: the cylinders are wrapped in foil. If a fluff of dark mold appears on the crust, it is destroyed by wiping with brine. When an extraneous fungal culture re-emerges, the head is disposed of. 85% of the variety is produced in dairies from May to October.
