Description of Roncal cheese, manufacturing secrets, composition and energy value. Benefits and harms when consumed, use in cooking. The history of the variety.
Roncal is a Spanish hard cheese made from sheep's milk. The texture is dense, with sparse eyes, grainy, smooth, with prolonged maturation it crumbles when cutting; color - ivory or honey; aroma - nutty-mushroom, rotten leaves, earthy; taste - buttery, pungent, sweet-spicy with notes of hazel or hazelnuts. The crust is natural, dark, greenish due to the blue mold covering it. Available in brown olive oil finish. The shape of the head is a flattened cylinder with a height of 12-14 cm and a weight of 2 to 3.5 kg.
How is Roncal cheese made?
Seasonal production - from December to July. The winter version is fatter, the spring version is sweeter. Milk of Basque Lacha sheep with thick long hair is used. For coagulation, rennet is used, salt is used as a preservative. Cheese makers, who form the heads at home, use a complex of lactic acid bacteria for sourdough, but in farms or dairy factories they use whey left over from previous batches.
Roncal cheese is prepared, like other varieties, from sheep milk, following similar processes. Sometimes milk is pasteurized at 60 ° C for 40 minutes, but in most cases the raw materials are collected and allowed to stand for 2-3 days. Then it is heated to 32-37 ° C, rennet and yogurt (curdled liquid mass) from the previous batch are poured in.
After the kale is formed, it is broken into small pieces with a special device resembling a scythe. Slicing is rarely carried out - this lengthens the process. Keeping the temperature constant, the chunks are stirred to dissolve and shrink to the size of a grain of rice. When the curd mass settles, you can proceed to pressing.
If you do not make Rocal cheese, as it is written in old recipes, it is impossible to get the original taste. Therefore, noble beech molds are prepared in advance. Bowls are hollowed out, many holes are drilled into them. The curd mass is pressed into them and the oppression is set. An hour later, when the cheese is lowered, spread the rest and put it under oppression again. After a day, they switch to salting.
Brine concentration - 20%. It is cooled to 8-12 ° C and the heads are immersed (for 30 hours). Then the cheese is dried at room temperature. This stage lasts 35-40 days. Chamber temperature - 12 ° С. The heads are laid out on the stand so that they are freely accessible. All this time they work with them: they smoke, assessing the uniformity of the coating, wipe the crust with olive oil or brine with blue mold.
For fermentation, the cheese can be placed a little higher to activate the mold growing on the surface. In addition, you often don't have to get it out - they turn it over already up to 2 times a week. Aging takes place at least 4 months. As soon as the exposure ends, the heads are wrapped in parchment to stop the activity of fungal cultures.
There are several varieties of Roncal cheese available:
- fatty - matured for 4 months from whole milk;
- bold - differs in the preparation of raw materials, it is partially defatted in a centrifuge or defended and part of the cream is removed;
- matured - with an aging of 5-6 months and a more pungent taste, it is these heads that are smoked during the first stage of drying.
Consumers are also offered artisan cheese made by hand using know-how (a secret known only to this cheese maker) and the P. P. N. C. This means that the curd mass was not heated before pressing.
Composition and calorie content of Roncal cheese
Fat content on dry matter is 45-50%. The value varies depending on the quality of the feedstock. Due to the absence of heat treatment, beneficial substances are preserved in full and are easily assimilated due to prolonged fermentation.
The calorie content of Roncal cheese is 396-430 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 23-26 g;
- Fat - 32-37 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0.3-1.3 g.
Insignificant ash content is allowed.
The vitamin composition is represented by riboflavin, tocopherol, calciferol and a complex of B vitamins with a predominance of pyridoxine, choline and folic acid.
Roncal cheese contains a high amount of calcium, phosphorus and iron, as well as potassium, chlorine and sodium. The latter substance predominates, since the heads are soaked in brine for more than a day. Calcium content - 600-700 mg per 100 g.
The cheese contains cholesterol - up to 97 mg per 100 g.
When preparing the original product, no additional ingredients are used, especially from the GMO group. Only sheep's milk, rennet (sometimes vegetarian, based on fig or green grape juice) and salt are used.
When cheese is eaten, the moldy crust is cut off. Disputes can only get into the pulp if they are carelessly cut.
The health benefits of Roncal cheese
The energy value of sheep's milk is higher than that of cow's. However, due to the peculiarity of the composition and fermentation, the fat does not split off, forming an ugly layer and cellulite, but is quickly processed into energy.
Benefits of Roncal cheese:
- The ability to replenish the vitamin and mineral reserve in case of allergy to cow's milk.
- Strengthening bone tissue, maintaining joint mobility and range of motion, preventing destruction with minor mechanical stress in the elderly.
- Stimulates the production of red blood cells, prolongs the life cycle.
- Increases immunity, has an anti-inflammatory effect.
- Creates favorable conditions for the existence of beneficial intestinal flora - lacto- and bifidobacteria.
- When consumed, a thin film forms on the surface of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, stomach and intestines, which protects against the aggressive effects of digestive juices.
- Accelerates metabolic processes, tones blood vessels and normalizes the work of the cardiovascular system.
- It has anti-cancer properties, blocks the formation of tumors that form in the intestinal lumen, dissolves cholesterol deposited on the walls of blood vessels.
- Stops age-related changes, improves skin quality and accelerates hair growth, prevents epithelium desquamation.
The addition of Roncal cheese to the diet with regular exercise helps to quickly build muscle mass and increase skin elasticity.
This product is especially useful for women who not only want to lose weight, but also form beautiful volumes.
Contraindications and harm of Roncal cheese
Allergy can be not only cow's milk, but also sheep's. If negative reactions are manifested, this product will have to be abandoned.
The daily dosage should not exceed 60 g for women and 80 g for men. Due to its high fat content, Roncal cheese can cause harm in people with chronic diseases of the digestive system and with high acidity. Overeating exacerbates reflux esophagitis, pancreatitis, gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.
You should not abuse a too salty product if the kidneys are impaired, as edema may appear, liver - due to possible puffiness and yellowing of the skin; if there is a history of arthritis, arthrosis or gout - due to a possible exacerbation.
As cheese is made from raw milk, the microbiological hazard to Clostridia and Salmonella is increased. Therefore, you should not introduce it into the diet of preschool children, pregnant and lactating women, people with weak immunity or chronic digestive disorders. The most careful consideration should be given to the farmer's variants of the variety or to the heads on the labels of which the P. P. N. C. As already mentioned, in the manufacture of this option, the curd mass is not heated.
In order to prevent the introduction of spores when cutting the head, you need to carefully cut off the crust or at least carefully remove the mold from it. If this is not done, dysbiosis may appear.
Roncal cheese recipes
Serving cheese on a cheese plate requires special preparation. The slice should be removed from the refrigerator, left for 30-40 minutes at room temperature. Carefully cut off the crust, wiping the knife - you must not allow the mold to get inside. Then cut into thin wedges. Served with red young fortified wines and fortified homemade white grape liqueurs. Locals use this variety for Spanish cuisine and as an ingredient in casseroles, sauces and meat dishes.
Roncal Cheese Recipes:
- Foie gras … Fry 2 green apples in butter, remove the skin and cut into equal pieces. Bring 250 ml of heavy cream to a boil, add 80 g of grated cheese and boil until the consistency of the sauce is obtained. Duck and goose liver are prepared separately, 100 g each. Finely chopped onions are fried, removed from the pan, pieces of liver of each type are stewed and interrupted with a blender with pepper and salt. Lay out 2 types of liver on a plate, pour over with sauce and decorate with apples. You can add dogwood jam for flavor.
- Pepper tempura with sauce … Make Romesco sauce. To do this, bake 8 red peppers on the grill or in the oven at 220 ° C, fry a handful of almonds and the same amount of peanuts in a dry frying pan. Chop 3 garlic cloves. Peppers with a burnt crust are wrapped in plastic wrap and allowed to stand - this way they will cleanse faster. 2 tomatoes are dipped into boiling water, left for 1, 5 minutes, then the peel is carefully cut crosswise and removed. They kill all the ingredients in a blender: first, nuts with garlic, then peppers, and only then tomatoes, add a little olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. First, prepare tempura: beat the egg yolk, drive in a glass of flour and slowly pour in ice water, 250 ml, stirring constantly so that there are no lumps. Peel 12 green bell peppers, cut into equal 150 g slices of Serrano ham with delicate veins and Roncala. Dip prepared green peppers, pieces of cheese and ham in tempura. Fried in boiling sunflower oil. Peppers - so that a golden crust appears, ham - so that it grabs, cheese - so that it warms up and becomes warm and soft, bending. Spread on a plate, alternating layers, pour over the sauce.
- Cheese dessert … Bring 500 ml of milk to a boil and add 200 g of grated Roncal and a cinnamon stick until a thick, homogeneous consistency is obtained (remove the cinnamon). Whisk 100 ml of heavy cream, carefully combine with 4 whipped yolks so that the mass does not completely settle. Pour into cream and egg, whisk vigorously, cheese sauce and add cane sugar. When the mixture cools down, it is frozen in the freezer, interrupted again, frozen again. The process is repeated 6 times - if this is not done, large crystals will remain. Cheese ice cream should be smooth and soft, without foreign inclusions.
See also Beaufort cheese recipes.
Interesting facts about Roncal cheese
The history of cheese is quite ancient, and its beginning can be considered 882. It was then that Sancho Garcia, who ruled in Navarre, rewarded the peasants for their loyalty and assistance in the fight against the Saracen invaders with additional land - the Roncal Valley. This immediately prompted local residents to increase the number of sheep, and milk began to be enough not only for cheese, which includes prefabricated raw materials - milk of goats, cows and sheep from several milk yields, but also for a variety of sheep milk.
The impetus for the development of the recipe was the carelessness of one of the farmers. He poured the new milk into an unwashed container with the remains of the sour milk from the previous batch. It seemed unprofitable to dispose of such an amount of a valuable product, and cheese was made from it, which turned out to be very tender and spicy. By the way, sometimes the coagulant is eaten by itself. It tastes like curdled milk and is combined with honey, sugar or roasted almonds.
This variety is produced in Navarre, an area on the border with France. Therefore, it is offered to try it not only in the small homeland, but also in the villages of the neighboring country. However, it is possible to get acquainted with the taste of the original product only in Spain - Roncal has been protected by the PDO certificate for both the place of manufacture and technology, since 1996.
The shelf life of the product is short - up to 45 days at a temperature of 6-10 ° C. To stop fermentation, be sure to wrap the pieces in parchment and place them in a vegetable drawer. With freezing and even slight hypothermia, the beneficial properties are not preserved.
