Characteristics of Old Amsterdam cheese and manufacturing features. Nutritional value, benefits and harms to the body. What dishes are prepared, the history of the variety.
Old Amsterdam is a Dutch cheese made from raw milk, the exact recipe for which has not yet been determined. The taste is amazing - sweetish-nutty, salty, with an oily delicate aftertaste. The smell of a whole head, unlike most Dutch cheeses, is unpleasant - sour milk and "cowshed". It is not necessary to cut into small pieces, it quickly disappears and is replaced by the usual "cheese" one. The texture is dense, hard, crumbling, but at the same time delicate; eyes - rare, large, with well-defined edges, small, barely noticeable; color - uniform, "peach". The crust is natural, the color of ripe honey. However, during presale, flat cylinder heads (weight 20 to 22 kg) are coated with black wax or paraffin.
How is Old Amsterdam cheese made?
Only fresh cow's milk is used as a raw material, no later than 2 hours after milk production. To remove pathogenic bacteria, the feedstock is separated, and pasteurization is neglected. Poured into a fermentation vat and heated to 30 ° C.
It is impossible to find an exact recipe for how Old Amsterdam cheese is made, even in special literature. The secret is a special type of lactic acid sourdough that allows you to maintain oiliness during prolonged maturation.
Bacterial cultures and rennet are added to the vat with the starting material, mixed, left until a dense curd curd is formed, maintaining a constant temperature regime. The kale is cut into grains with a size of 0, 5-0, 8 cm and gently, trying not to damage them, mix continuously for 5 minutes.
When the curd grains settle, part of the whey is decanted and replaced with hot water at 65 ° C. It should be enough so that the total temperature of the intermediate raw material rises to 36 ° C. The hot liquid should be no more than 15% of the original amount of milk. Continue mixing for 7 minutes, until the grains are the size of rice.
How Old Amsterdam cheese is prepared further depends on the equipment of the dairy factory. Small producers maintain the formed curd layer under the whey, then drain it to the surface and finally remove it by pressing. And at large dairy factories, intermediate raw materials are loaded into a molding apparatus, left to form a curd layer, and the pressure is slowly increased. The whey is separated during pressing.
Dense cottage cheese is transferred to a drainage table, and then distributed into forms covered with a serpentine. The first half an hour is waiting for self-deposition, and then covered with lids and oppression is installed. Weight is gradually increased. Turn over every 30-40 minutes. Pressing time - up to 8 hours.
The heads are taken out, unfolded and placed in molds, already without a grid. Turn to the side face, so that during this time traces disappear and lactose is completely processed. Maintain the room temperature at 18-20 ° C. Complete transformation of milk sugar is a guarantee that there is no food left for harmful bacteria.
So much salt is dissolved in boiling water to achieve a 20% concentration. It is cooled to 12 ° C and the heads are immersed in it, rubbing the surface from below and from above with coarse salt. After 12 hours, everything is dried on racks in the same room where the pressing took place.
Cover the surface with black wax. One can only assume that cuttlefish ink is used to achieve the desired color. First, wax is applied on one side, and when it dries completely (usually it takes 24 hours) - on the other. The process is repeated 2 times, within 5-6 days. Transfer to a separate room is not required. They immediately put the stamp - Premier Grand Cru Classe, indicating the high quality of the product.
Only then the heads are transferred to a ripening chamber with a microclimate of 10-12 ° C and a humidity of 75-80%. In the first week, the cheese is turned daily, in the second - every other day, in the third - once every 2 days. To remove foreign microorganisms, which, although very rarely, but populate the surface, use a 5% vinegar solution.
During the ripening period, the temperature regime changes 3-4 times. But how fermentation takes place, at what temperature and humidity, is kept secret. Tasting - not earlier than after 1 year and 8 months. The heads are immediately sent for sale, intermediate storage in the refrigerator is unacceptable.
Composition and calorie content of Old Amsterdam cheese
Despite the exquisite taste, it is impossible to eat a lot of cheese, not only because of the high fat content, but also because of the increased salinity - up to 1.6 g per 100 g. Therefore, even the adherents of the variety limit themselves to portions of up to 50-70 g per day.
The calorie content of Old Amsterdam cheese is 310-403 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 24-29 g;
- Fat - 29-35 g;
- Carbohydrates - up to 0.5 g.
Fat content relative to dry residue depends on the quality of the feedstock. Winter milk is denser; moreover, in some dairy factories, it is customary to enrich (calorize) the feedstock.
In terms of nutrients, the composition of Old Amsterdam cheese is similar to that of the Dutch varieties. It contains a typical set of vitamins, with a predominance of retinol, tocopherol, riboflavin, pyridoxine and choline. The prevailing macronutrients are potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese; trace elements - iron, copper, zinc and selenium.
Fast saturation and replenishment of energy reserves increase the value of the product. However, not everyone likes the taste. It is too rich and salty. Therefore, despite the positive effect on the body, even the Dutch rarely use the product on an ongoing basis.
Benefits of Old Amsterdam cheese
This variety is specifically recommended to be introduced into the diet of athletes in order to replenish energy losses and stabilize the heart rate. Having eaten a piece in the morning, you can quickly recover, tune in to professional activity.
Benefits of Old Amsterdam cheese:
- Prevents osteoporosis, increases bone strength. Degenerative age-related changes slow down. Injury is possible with active and strength sports, and muscle fractures and ruptures are much less common if the diet has a stable calcium supply.
- The incidence of stomatitis and gingivitis, exacerbations of chronic tonsillitis and pharyngitis decreases. More saliva is produced, and this physiological secret has antimicrobial activity.
- Stimulates the production of hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes.
- Delays the onset of atherosclerosis.
- Retains water in the body, which increases the tone of the skin.
- Accelerates the regeneration of the epithelium and mucous membranes, allows you to quickly recover from injuries and diseases of various kinds.
- Increases the production of hemoglobin, improves overall tone, and normalizes blood pressure.
- Helps to recreate favorable conditions for the life of lacto- and bifidobacteria.
You can try adding some Old Amsterdam cheese to your diet, even if you are lactose intolerant. At the first stage of fermentation, it is completely transformed. This variety has a positive effect on the visual system: the transition from darkness to light is facilitated, hearing becomes sharper, and age-related changes in the auditory nerve slow down. The ability to memorize improves, impulse conduction is accelerated.
