Description and production of Fourme d'Amber cheese. Useful properties, energy value, restrictions on use. Recipes with this variety and interesting facts.
Fourme d'Ambert is a French uncooked unpressurized cheese made on farms from raw cow's milk and in dairy factories from pasteurized milk. Smell - moderate, cheesy; the taste is mild, piquant, of moderate salinity and without sweetness, so it is recommended to start acquaintance with blue varieties with it. Color - light, almost white, creamy, with nests of blue blotches; texture - dense, oily, greasy. The shape of the heads is high cylinders, diameter - 9-12 cm, height - 20-22 cm, weight - 1, 4-2 kg. The crust is natural, light gray or slightly brownish, covered with white moldy fluff.
How is Fourme d'Amber cheese made?
To obtain 1 kg of the final product, prepare 8 liters of milk. Pasteurized at will. It is not necessary to heat it almost to a boil. In order to preserve the beneficial substances, it can be brought to 60-63 ° C and kept under the lid for 40 minutes. For curdling, rennet is used, for coagulation - mesophilic lactic acid culture and blue penicillin mold. Preservatives - calcium chloride and salt.
How Furme d'Amber is made:
- Prepare a water bath and heat the milk to 32 ° C.
- When adding microbiological cultures, the vat is removed from the heat. Allow the powder with bacteria to soak into the surface and only then mix for distribution, pour in diluted calcium chloride, and then diluted rennet - rennie.
- They allow you to rest, maintaining a constant temperature regime.
- After the formation of the kale and checking for a clean break, it is cut into cheese cubes with face sizes of 1, 2 cm.
- The peculiarity of making Fourme-d'Amber cheese: the grains are hung for a long time, allowing you to periodically rest and sink to the bottom. It is necessary that they shrink and become covered with a greasy film. This will help to create a characteristic structure and allow the development of "noble" mold. The grains should not stick together, only then cavities form in the pulp.
- As soon as the curd layer with round grains settles to the bottom, part of the whey is drained and allowed to rest for another 8-10 minutes.
- Mesh forms are lined with a fabric of rare weaving and transfer the cheese mass. The ends of matter are tied, oppression is established.
- An hour later, the matter is changed to dry and clean, the future head is turned over, the weight of the load is increased.
- After 7-8 hours, salting is carried out in 20% brine, for 12 hours, turning 3-4 times. To dry, leave at room temperature for 36-48 hours, changing position every 4 hours. A drainage mat or grate is used as a support.
- For maturation, the head is placed in a chamber with a temperature of 10 ° C and 90% humidity. The surface is punctured with fine needles to provide the air necessary to activate the penicillin. To prepare Fourme-d'Amber cheese, as in classic recipes, with uniform nests of fungal culture, the surface of the heads is preliminarily marked with a fine mesh and injections are injected into the intersections of the lines.
- The released serum is removed daily and the container is slightly opened for ventilation 2 times a day. If done correctly, white mold will appear on the surface after 2 weeks.
The maturation time of the cheese is 1-4 months. Turn over 1-2 times a day, analyzing aging. If you plan to get a denser texture, after 30 days, to slow down fermentation, the heads are wrapped in foil.
Composition and calorie content of Fourme-d'Amber cheese
Energy value, in comparison with fermented milk products of this type, is average. Fat content on dry matter - 23%, on lipids - 51%.
The calorie content of Fourme-d'Amber cheese is 336 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 19, 8 g;
- Fat - 28.5 g;
- Carbohydrates - up to 0.2 g.
Vitamins per 100 g:
- Retinol - 127 mcg;
- Beta-carotene - 25 mcg;
- Thiamine - 0.03 mg;
- Riboflavin - 0.5 mg;
- Nicotinic acid - 0.9 mg;
- Pantothenic acid - 2 mg;
- Pyridoxine - 0.17 mg;
- Folate - 49 mcg;
- Cobalamin - 1.2 mcg;
- Vitamin D - 0.23mg;
- Tocopherol - 0.7 mg.
Minerals per 100 g:
- Potassium - 131 mg;
- Phosphorus - 841 mg;
- Calcium - 490 mg;
- Sodium - 1203 mg;
- Magnesium - 20.5 mg;
- Iron - 0.36 mg;
- Zinc - 6, 2 mg;
- Copper - 0, 11 mg;
- Selenium - 3.7 mcg;
- Manganese - 0.02 mg.
Fats in Fourm-d'Amber cheese per 100 g:
- Cholesterol - 97 mg;
- Saturated fatty acids - 18.2 g;
- Monounsaturated fatty acids - 6, 67 g;
- Polyunsaturated fatty acids - 0.77 g.
The recommended portion of Furm-d'Amber for adults per day is 60-80 g. This amount covers 30% of the recommended rate of calcium, 60% - phosphorus, 30% - vitamin B12, cobalamin. This substance is very important for maintaining healthy life, and the body can only replenish it from foods containing animal protein. Thanks to vitamin B12, red blood cells are produced, the function of hematopoiesis is normalized, all tissues and organs are renewed.
This type of cheese during the diet allows you to replenish the vitamin and mineral reserve, prepare for active workouts, form the muscles of the required volume and "cubes" of the press. If you eat a piece in the morning, you will be able to work for the whole day.
Useful properties of Fourme d'Amber cheese
This fermented milk product contains highly digestible milk protein. When it enters the body, it is not only quickly absorbed by itself, but also allows you to digest fruits and vegetables that are eaten at the same time. Fermentation intensifies, the speed of peristalsis increases, the intestines begin to work stably.
Benefits of Fourme d'Amber cheese made from pasteurized milk:
- The teeth are mineralized, the destruction of the pulp stops, the development of osteoporosis is prevented.
- Blood pressure surges are suppressed, it is maintained at the same level.
- Muscle contractions are normalized, nerve-impulse conduction is accelerated.
- The work of the hormonal system is stabilized, the reproductive function of men increases.
- Blood clotting increases.
- The energy reserve is replenished, the general tone of the body rises.
- Tissue regeneration is accelerated, age-related changes slow down.
- The appearance of muscle spasms after intense physical exertion is prevented.
Thanks to the vitamin-mineral complex, fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed, harmful cholesterol is transformed, and the development of atherosclerosis stops. Memory improves, it becomes easier to concentrate.
Fulfilling the orders of vegetarians who consume eggs and milk, farms produce varieties of varieties using a ferment of plant origin. The quality of the final product changes slightly, this helps people who have given up animal fats to strengthen muscle tissue.
Do not be afraid of suppressing beneficial flora. Fungal cultures do not act as an antibiotic, and, observing moderation in food, you can not be afraid of the development of dysbiosis.
Contraindications and harm of Fourme-d'Amber cheese
Despite the moderate salt content, persons with a predisposition to hypertension, gout and unstable urination should reduce the recommended dose based on their own health. If your health deteriorates, it is better to refuse the delicacy.
Furme d'Amber cheese, made from raw milk, can cause harm in people with unstable bowel movements. The risk of contracting listeriosis and salmonellosis is high. If this variety is introduced into the diet of the elderly, women during lactation, pregnant women and preschool children, you should inquire about the quality of the raw materials. For factory versions, information is indicated on the label.
Overeating should be avoided in chronic peptic ulcer disease, gastritis with high acidity, pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia and impaired liver function. A too fatty product can provoke an exacerbation of diseases. Limit use and control weight if necessary. The product is easily digestible, and a dense fat layer will form in a short time.
Another danger of the variety is the risk of an allergic reaction. Many people are intolerant to penicillin. It is not enough to destroy lacto- and bifidobacteria living in the small intestine, but it is enough to cause a rash, irritation and redness of the skin, bronchial spasms in case of individual intolerance.
Fourme d'Amber cheese recipes
To highlight the delicacy, it is served with sweet or strong wines - Bordeaux, Bergerac, Rhone Valley. The variety is used for making casseroles, hot dishes or salads.
Fourme d'Amber cheese recipes:
- Almond pie … To knead the shortbread dough, knead 75 g of diced butter with 1 tbsp. l. regular sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Then rub with fingers with 180-200 g of flour, mixed in advance with a bag of baking powder, drive in 2 egg yolks and 70 g of sour cream. Dense dough of a homogeneous structure is rolled into a ball and allowed to stand for 2 hours in the refrigerator, wrapped in cling film. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. In a deep bowl, mix 80-90 g of butter, 100 g of powdered sugar, 100 g of crushed almonds, beat 3 eggs separately. The dough is rolled into a layer, greased with half of the egg mixture, the filling is leveled and rolled into a roll. Lubricate with the remains of eggs and put in the oven again, pre-pricked with a fork. Bake for 30 minutes, then cut, spread in circles. On each, lay out several slices of sliced figs and Furme-d'Amber, place them in the oven again until the cheese is melted.
- Fish and cucumber appetizer … Grind cheese and cream in equal amounts, pepper, add crushed garlic. The resulting cream is put to cool. Smoked salmon is cut into slices, greased with cream and rolled into thin rolls. Wrap them with cling film and, in turn, put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. A core is taken out of a thick peeled cucumber, cut into pieces of 7-8 cm. Smoked salmon rolls with cheese are inserted into the vacant space. Cut pieces of cucumber into slices 1 cm wide. This appetizer resembles candy.
- Egg casserole … Prepare a water bath in advance. At the bottom of the portion pot, spread 2 tbsp. l. heavy cream, 1-2 cubes of Fourme d'Ambert, 1 egg - you need to break it so that the yolk does not lose its shape, again 2-3 cheese cubes. Glove and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Bake in a water bath until the egg grabs and the cheese melts. Served with a few arugula leaves and homemade cakes.
- Cheese dessert … Gelatin, 2 leaves, soaked in cold water. Mix half a glass of milk with 2 tbsp. l. sugar, boil, pour in dissolved gelatin, 125 g of cheese, stir to dissolve. Allow to cool and thicken. Grape jelly is brewed separately. Pour 50 g of flour into 250 ml of juice from fresh grapes and boil it down to thicken the liquid. Allow to cool. You can use a quicker recipe for making jelly: dissolve 2 sheets of gelatin and mix with hot grape juice. Lay out in a transparent vase in layers: grape red circles without pits, jelly, cheese cream, white grape circles, again cream. Decorate with almond kernels, whole grapes, mint leaves.
See also recipes with Weisslacker cheese.
Interesting facts about Fourme d'Amber cheese
According to handwritten documents, the first mention of the variety dates back to the 7th century. But there are legends that Caesar himself appreciated this moldy product during the wars with the Gauls. True or not, but the features of the formation (elongated heads, more reminiscent of sausage than cheese) are caused by the need for transportation. True, it is not entirely clear how it was possible to preserve the taste and properties without a refrigerator?
In the 7th century, Furme d'Ambert was used to pay tithes to the treasury, a part of land taxes. In particular, the owners of public latrines paid them with the state - these establishments began to appear in large cities in order to improve the microclimate and at least partially clean the pavements.
Until the end of the 19th century, consumption was limited to the department of Puy-de-Dôme, and production took place entirely on pastures where cows were grazed. But since the second half of the twentieth century, the variety gained popularity, first in France and then abroad. Since 1972, it has received a protected name at the place of manufacture. It is interesting that under this name were sold cheeses, considered a subspecies of Amber - with a grayish and reddish crust. In 2002, the subspecies were divided into separate varieties - d'Amber and Montbrison. The first part of the name has remained unchanged - it indicates the peculiarities of the shape of the head.
To popularize the variety, cheese fairs are held annually in early summer and festivals in early August. In the center of Amber there is a museum dedicated to sister varieties, a shop with products made in a dairy factory. There are also master classes on the preparation of the variety, prepare presentations of various events.
In 2017, more than 5550 tons of Furme-d'Ambert were produced, of which 1200 kg were produced by farms from raw milk.
In the post-Soviet space, cheese can be purchased at a price of 100 rubles. per package 150 g. By official permission, it is produced by farms in the central part of Russia.
Watch a video about Fourme d'Amber cheese:
