Characteristics of Osso Irati cheese and the manufacturing process. Nutritional value of the product and the effect on the body. Cooking uses and interesting things about the variety.
Osso Irati is a pressed cheese made from sheep's milk, originally from France, the Basque country. Texture - smooth, semi-hard at medium exposure and firm, dense - with prolonged, few small eyes without tears; color - light yellow, waxy; taste - nutty, herbal, with a hint of fruit and with an oily aftertaste; smell - unexpressed, creamy, dried hay. The crust is natural, yellow-orange with a whitish-grayish bloom. Head sizes vary. They are produced in the form of wheels of various sizes, with a diameter of 15 to 28 cm, a height of 7-15 cm and a weight of 2 to 7 kg. Seasonal production - from May to October.
How is Osso Irati cheese made?
It is interesting that in order to start preparing this variety, milk is heated to the temperature of the sheep's udder, that is, up to 30 ° C, and stirred. The latter must be done, since evening and morning milk is collected. Warm-up duration - 7 hours.
Next, they make Osso-Irati cheese, like most varieties, according to the same principle: add mesophilic ferment, let it soak, shake it, pour in rennet made from the stomach of a lamb. When rolling up, maintain a constant temperature.
It takes 25-30 minutes to form the kale. Cutting is carried out only after checking for a clean break, lifting the clot with a knife blade. A slicer ("harp") is used to form curd grains the size of a corn seed. Leave, without changing the temperature, to isolate the serum, and then begin to slowly warm up, kneading. The heating rate is 1 ° C per minute, the final goal is 38 ° C. As soon as the grains begin to stick together, the whey is separated.
How Osso Irati cheese is prepared at this stage depends on the method chosen by the cheese maker. You can drain some of the whey, and then put the curd mass on the drainage table, or first squeeze out the excess moisture with muslin. The cheese mass is transferred to drained cheese molds. It is very important that the curd is dried as much as possible before pressing. The pressure is slowly increased as the liquid separates. Compaction lasts 4 hours, and then the molds are left for a day for self-compression. Wet salting, in 20% brine. Time is calculated based on the weight of the heads - 1 kg / 12 hours.
Aging in cellars. Average temperature - 9-11 ° С, humidity - 80-85%. In dairy factories, the heads are marked with plastic numbers before the cheese is placed on the shelves. It is necessary to turn it over for 3 weeks every 8 hours, then every 3 days. If a mold culture blooms on the crust during fermentation, it is removed with brine with a small amount of vinegar.
Interestingly, when making Osso-Irati cheese, aging also depends on the size of the heads. Small ones weighing up to 1.5 kg are lifted after 2-3 months, and large ones can be kept from 4 months. Cheese wheels are not mixed - each batch has its own shelf.
For 1 kg of the final product, it is required to collect 6 liters of raw materials. The volume of production is small: for this variety, no more than 10 tons of sheep's milk are harvested per year.
Composition and calorie content of Osso-Irati cheese
The energy value and moisture content of the product depends on the degree of aging. After a long ripening, moisture evaporates, and due to fermentation, the amount of sugary substances increases.
The calorie content of Osso-Irati cheese is 401- 442 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 25-27.6 g;
- Fat - 33-35 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0.8-1.6 g.
Sheep cheese is not rich in B vitamins - there are only a few of them. Retinol and tocopherol predominate among nutrients of this type. Comparatively more minerals in the composition of Osso-Irati cheese, among which are calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron. The sodium content (609-711 mg per 100 g) is explained by long-term salting.
The benefits of Osso Irati cheese
This variety can be introduced into the diet of people with individual intolerance to milk protein and a slight manifestation of lactase deficiency. With prolonged fermentation, sheep casein is almost completely transformed and cannot cause dysbiosis. Accordingly, immunity is not reduced.
The benefits of Osso Irati cheese
- Helps the absorption of nutrients from foods consumed at the same time.
- Prevents osteoporosis and exacerbation of inflammatory processes in the joints.
- Stops the development of atherosclerosis, stimulates the dissolution of cholesterol plaques formed in the lumen of large blood vessels.
- It has antioxidant and antitumor effects.
- Creates favorable conditions for the growth and increase in the life cycle of lactobacilli in the small intestine.
- Accelerates metabolic processes.
Regular use will help you recover from debilitating diseases, form the required muscle volume, and prevent the formation of cellulite deposits.
