Features of Weisslacker cheese: chemical composition, useful properties, harm, use in cooking. How cheese is eaten, recipes with its use for home cooking.
Weisslacker is a semi-soft cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk with an extremely unusual spicy taste and unpleasant odor. Geographical area of production - Germany. The Weisslacker shape resembles a brick, in addition, the cheese does not have a rind, instead of which the pulp is covered with a glossy slime that has a salty and pungent taste. The weight of one cheese head is 2 kg, but before sending the product for sale, it is cut into small portions (the weight of such a portion is 60 g). In terms of its taste, Weisslacker is similar to Limburger (a cheese with a spicy taste, which is also made in Germany). The product is intended for lovers of spicy tastes, and to an untrained person it may seem disgusting. Despite this, Weisslacker has a lot of beneficial properties for the human body, so it is often recommended for use by everyone who spends a lot of energy every day.
How is Weisslacker cheese made?
The composition of the raw material for the production of mixed Weisslacker cheese: 75% pasteurized cow's milk with a fat content of 3, 2% and 25% raw, morning milking. A complex of lactic acid and mesophilic cultures is used as a starter culture, rennet is used for coagulation, and salt is used as a preservative. Lactic acid cultures stimulate the transformation of milk protein. It is they who give the final product a sour aroma and a sweetish aftertaste.
Weisslacker cheese is made, like other creamy varieties. Milk is heated to 32 ° C, dry sourdough is added and allowed to "rest". The dissolved enzyme is poured in for curdling, waiting for the formation of calcium. After checking for a clean fault, the layer is turned over with a special device - a volumetric slotted spoon, breaking it first into large pieces, then into small pieces.
Stir the cheese mass, heating to 35-37 ° C, but the cheese grains are not washed. The final product has a fairly dense texture. Let it settle several times, gradually draining the serum, and then transfer it to molds and leave for self-pressing for 8 hours, turning it over 3-4 times.
But there is also a difference in how Weisslaker cheese is prepared. Despite the fact that the variety is semi-soft, after pressing the heads are immersed in 20% brine for 2 days. This process creates the necessary conditions for the maturation of mucus on the surface. For the same reason, the microclimate for ripening is changed several times.
White mold dissolved in a weak brine (Geotrichum candidum, Candida spp., Yarrowia lipolytica or a complex of cultures) is sprayed onto the surface and placed in a ripening chamber for 3 months with a temperature of 8-10 ° C and high humidity - up to 95%. At this stage, yeast begins to grow, which creates favorable conditions for staphylococci and coryneform bacteria (Corynebacterium spp.). It is they who are "responsible" for the white color of the crust and the piquant taste of the product.
When holding at the first stage, the heads are turned over 2 times a day and spraying is repeated. The crust is not washed. You can taste it already at this stage, but real "beer cheese" with a spicy taste can be obtained only after 6 months. The temperature in the chamber is changed: it is raised to 12-16 ° C, but the humidity is not changed.
Duration of aging of Weisslacker cheese - at least 6 months. During this time, the surface becomes white, shiny, like varnished, and the taste becomes spicy and piquant.
Composition and calorie content of Weisslacker cheese
Weisslacker cheese contains a limited number of ingredients, namely cow's milk (necessarily pasteurized), a special rennet for fermenting milk and ordinary table salt.
The calorie content of Weisslacker cheese per 100 g is 290 kcal, of which:
- Protein - 20 g;
- Fat - 19 mg;
- Carbohydrates - 0.01 g.
Vitamins per 100 g of product:
- Vitamin A, retinol - 220 mcg;
- Vitamin A, beta-carotene - 120 mcg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 50 mcg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 350 mcg;
- Vitamin B3, niacin - 100 mcg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 800 mcg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 60 mcg;
- Vitamin B7, biotin - 3.0 mcg;
- Vitamin B9, folic acid - 18 mcg;
- Vitamin B12, cobalamin - 2.0 mcg;
- Vitamin D, calciferol - 0.39 mcg;
- Vitamin E, Alpha Tocopherol 600 mg
Macronutrients in 100 g of cheese:
- Potassium, K - 100 mg;
- Calcium, Ca - 400 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 30 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 1400 mg;
- Sulfur, S - 220 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 300 mg.
Trace elements in 100 g of cheese:
- Iron, Fe - 400 μg;
- Copper, Cu - 80 μg;
- Manganese, Mn - 30 μg;
- Fluorine, F - 90 μg;
- Iodide, I - 20.0 mcg;
- Zinc, Zn - 3000 mcg.
Amino acids per 100 g of product:
- Isoleucine - 1, 118 mg;
- Leucine - 2.059 mg;
- Lysine - 1, 643 mg;
- Methionine - 504 mg;
- Cysteine - 87 mg;
- Phenylalanine - 1.073 mg;
- Tyrosine - 1.095 mg;
- Threonine - 898 mg;
- Tryptophan - 284 mg;
- Valine - 1380 mg.
The fat content of the product is high, 45% in dry matter.
Interesting! In Germany, Weisslacker is an indispensable ingredient in mustard snacks.
The benefits of Weisslacker cheese
The benefits of Weisslacker cheese for humans are undeniable. The product contains a large amount of macro- and microelements, without which our body cannot function normally. Calcium helps keep bones, nails and teeth strong. Magnesium has a beneficial effect on the condition of the hair and skin of the whole body.
The product also contains saturated fatty acids (15.3 g per 100 g of cheese), which allow a person to quickly recuperate and get a boost of vigor during physical activity. To feel a burst of energy during a hard day, it is enough to eat a sandwich with a few slices of cheese. Also, saturated fatty acids are involved in various vital processes that occur in the body, even during rest.
Other health benefits of Weisslacker cheese:
- Normalization of water-salt balance - such a macroelement as sodium (Na) takes part in this process. Please note that if you eat cheese in uncontrolled doses, this substance will have an opposite, negative effect on the body.
- Beneficial effect on the visual system - the product contains vitamin E, which guarantees visual acuity and is included in various preparations to improve visual function.
- Normalizes the work of the central nervous system - Weisslacker cheese contains several types of B vitamins, which are indispensable for the normal functioning of the human central nervous system.
- Has a healing effect on the musculoskeletal system - contains vitamin D, which is used in medicine to prevent the occurrence of joint diseases.
Interesting! In Bavaria, Weisslacker is often used not as an independent product, but as a spice. To season the main courses with cheese, local chefs grind it with graters.
