whey-cheeses-msg

whey-cheeses-msg – 6/1/06

Cheese and cheese-like foods, such as ricotta, made from the liquid left after making other cheeses.

NOTE: See also the files: cheese-msg, fresh-cheeses-msg, cheese-lnks, cheesemaking-msg, cheesecake-msg, cheese-goo-msg, dairy-prod-msg, Cheese-Making-art.

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NOTICE -

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous

Stefan at florilegium.org

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Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 21:11:42 -0500

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - cheese questions

Peldyn at aol.com wrote:

> What is the periodicity of ricotta?

It's mentioned by name, and illustrated, in the various 14th-15th

century Tacuina Sanitatis. The name implies a second cooking, and in the

old days (until fairly recently, maybe the 1930's or so) it was made by

cooking (boiling) whey that had already been drained from cheese curds,

and skimming the fluffy stuff that rises to the top.

Adamantius

Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 23:28:45 -0500

From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>

Subject: Re: SC - cheese questions

And it came to pass on 16 Nov 99,, that Philip & Susan Troy wrote:

> Peldyn at aol.com wrote:

> > What is the periodicity of ricotta?

> It's mentioned by name, and illustrated, in the various 14th-15th

> century Tacuina Sanitatis.

Also mentioned in Platina.

Lady Brighid ni Chiarain

Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 07:35:47 -0600

From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>

Subject: SC - Riccotta cheese

When I found the snail section in Platina, nearby

I noted a recipe for "Articificial Recota". Is this

faking the cheese we know as riccotta today

or something else? It is interesting, because

riccotta is a secondary cheese product made

from the whey after the solids have solidified out

in making other cheeses. The process is somewhat

involved and the yield is very small. I have made

my own cheeses for many years now but seldom

bother with riccotta unless I just precipate it out

with lemon juice for quick and dirty lemon riccotta.

Akim Yaroslavich

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 08:22:36 -0600

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: RE: SC - Riccotta cheese

> When I found the snail section in Platina, nearby

> I noted a recipe for "Articificial Recota". Is this

> faking the cheese we know as riccotta today

> or something else?

> Akim Yaroslavich

The spelling in the Latin text suggests that this is indeed a faux riccotta,

when checking it against the recipe for real riccotta in Book II (2.18).

Bear

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 11:23:55 -0500

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Riccotta cheese

RANDALL DIAMOND wrote:

> When I found the snail section in Platina, nearby

> I noted a recipe for "Articificial Recota". Is this

> faking the cheese we know as riccotta today

> or something else? It is interesting, because

> riccotta is a secondary cheese product made

> from the whey after the solids have solidified out

> in making other cheeses. The process is somewhat

> involved and the yield is very small. I have made

> my own cheeses for many years now but seldom

> bother with riccotta unless I just precipate it out

> with lemon juice for quick and dirty lemon riccotta.

I believe industrially, ricotta is made from milk and a small amouint of

cream, rather than from whey. We made some The Old-Fashioned Whey...I

mean, Way, a couple of weeks ago. As you say, the yield is low. We got

probably a little over a pound from about five gallons of whey.

Adamantius

Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2000 19:59:44 -0600

From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>

Subject: SC - RE:Artificial Ricotta

Aoife has requested the recipe from Platina.

This is from the Mallinckrodt edition. I don't

have any other, so I am not sure if they differ

substantially or not.

ARTIFICIAL RECOTA

Take a pound of well ground almonds, four ounces

of sugar, one ounce of rosewater, one ladle of juice

of pike or tench. When they have been mixed, pass this

through the strainer into little forms. This should be left

overnight in a cool place; the next day serve it to your

guests in dishes or on wood platters. You can say it

is recota.

from Platina " De honesta voluptate" (On Honest

Indulgence and Good Health) 1475. Book Eight

RECOTA FICTA

Ibram amygdalarum bene tunfam: sacchari uncias

quattuer: aqua rofaceae unciam unam: medium cy/

athum ex ante dictus pifcibus in unu mifcebis: mixta i

formulam per setaceu trafmittes. In loco frigido per

noctem afferuat: deb&:sequenti die in patinis: aut

pi nacibus cenuiuis appones. Recoctam dices.

Will the juices from any other fish surfice as well?

The recipe does not clarify the manner of obtaining

this juice either. I think I'll stick with real ricotta I

make the old Whey too. Though if anyone shows

up with this faux cheese at War, I'll certainly try it.

Akim Yaroslavich

Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:51:32 -0500

From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: ricotta as "fresh cheese"?

To: "'sca-cooks at ansteorra.org'" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Now that I've had some coffee, I may be a little clearer.

What you consider cheese depends on how tightly you adhere to the technical

definition, which is "a food made from curd of milk seperated from the

whey." Ricotta made by cooking the whey and condensing it, so under the

technical definition, it isn't a cheese. It is called "cheese" because

it resembles cheese. Picky, picky, picky, right?

Fresh cheese is cheese which has not been fermented, which usually means a

soft, unripened cheese (I can't think of any other kind of fresh cheese, but

I haven't tried them all). In general, fresh cheese will taste sweeter

And milder than other cheeses.

Under the strict definition, ricotta (and cream cheese) aren't cheese at

all. Most people, however, ignore the precise differences and consider them

cheese. In the latter case, ricotta would be considered a fresh cheese.

When fresh cheese is called for, I tend to use drained cottage cheese or

fresh mozzarella (if I can find it), but I would use ricotta if it was what

I had available.

Bear

> How can you tell it's ricotta as opposed to something else?

> And while I'm definitely not an expert on anything, let alone foods or

> cheese, I've always thought of ricotta as belonging in the fresh-cheese

> category, if only because my brain has categorized fresh cheeses as

> "those ones you have to refrigerate" vs., say a "cured" (?right word?)

> cheese like cheddar or roquefort or something. Perhaps the confusion

> lies in what we think of when we say a "fresh" cheese?

> --maire's two pence worth....

> Terry Decker wrote:

>> I'd say your cheesemaker is correct. Ricotta is a condensed whey product

>> and definitely not fresh cheese. That being said, there is a 16th Century

>> painting of formed ricotta being eaten by a group of people from a plate

>> using spoons.

>> Bear

>> I'm curious to get responses from this group --

>> how appropriate is ricotta as a "fresh cheese"

>> substitute in redactions, in your opinion? Thought

>> I might hear from some more cheese-knowledgeable

>> folks than myself. After all, blessed are the

>> cheesemakers. ;) :)

>> -- Ruth

Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:45:58 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: ricotta as "fresh cheese"?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Greetings, Ruth. This gentleman sounds like a person

I'd love to talk cheese with! :)

My opinion:

I feel Ricotta is entirely appropriate as a fresh

cheese, cheese made from whey is still cheese.

Ricotta, in particular, is actually the remaining bits

of milk fats and protein that were not gotten in the

previous coagulation which are coagulated and strained

out of the whey. A whey cheese that I would feel is

not fresh cheese is Gjetost, cooked down and

carmelized whey. Gjetost keeps very well and so is

rarely sold fresh, but it can be made fresh if you

have the time to stand over your pot and stir. <G> I

did that once and once was enough!

Ricotta must be made from freshly made whey, a

by-product of making a fuller-fat cheese, no more than

one hour old - and it only lasts for a short period of

time. It was such a widely used cheese in period that

they tried to find ways to preserve it longer. One

method was by salting and pressing as much of the

moisture out of it, this is Ricotta Salata. There is

also a smoked version. Another method was to drain it

further in baskets and to age it, allowing the

moisture to dry out of the cheese. This is called

Ricotta Stagionata and is used for grating.

Other fresh cheeses that are good choices are cottage

cheese, quark, young slipcoat cheese, straight curds,

neufchatel (french cream cheese), and yogurt. Also,

cheeses can be eaten at any point in their aging

cycle. That batch of gouda that you just took out of

the press is considered a young/fresh cheese, until it

begins to form its rind. There are only a few of the

cheeses that can only be eaten fresh as they do not

age at all due to their high whey content (see those

listed above). It's the whey that causes a cheese to

go bad as it is a prime breeding ground for mold

spores.

Cheese is a living, breathing creature and has a

life-cycle just as we do. They begin young and fresh,

age a bit to have a rind and a mild somewhat moist or

elastic paste, then they begin to get a thicker rind

and a dryer paste, and if you can stand to wait for a

year or longer the paste will become grainy and more

and more dried out. Parmesan is aged for a minimum of

two years before it is released by the affineur

(cheese ager).

Eibhlin

Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 09:50:27 -0700 (PDT)

From: Huette von Ahrens <ahrenshav at yahoo.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: ricotta as "fresh cheese"?

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Here is what the Oxford Companion to Food says

about whey cheese:

Whey cheeses, which are made in many countries,

are a useful way of using up the enormous amounts

of whey left over from normal cheese-making. The

two main kinds are typified by ricotta and mysost.

Sérac (see Beaufort) is another interesting

example.

Mysost is a purely Norwegian cheese. 'Myse'

means 'whey' and 'ost' means 'cheese'. Standard

mysost, primost, is made from cow's milk whey;

gjetost is made from goat's milk whey; flötost is

enriched with cream. All kinds are quite sweet

in taste, and rather resemble cheesy fudge; a

likeness increased by the colour, which ranges

from very pale to medium brown. There are kinds

which are sweetened further with brown sugar.

Some others include spices: caraway, cumin or

cloves.

Under Beaufort, in addition to describing this

cheese, there is this notation:

The whey left over from Beaufort proper is used

to make Sérac (from the Latin 'serum' meaning

'whey'). Sérac is a white cheese, lean and

compact like Italian Ricotta. Together with

Tomme, Sérac used to constitute the staple diet

of the mountain people, who kept their Beaufort

to sell at market, since it was their sole means

of earning money.

And as for your definition of cheese, while

correct, my dictionary has this added meaning:

2 : something resembling cheese in shape or

consistency.

In looking at the etymology of the word 'cheese',

I find this:

often attrib [ME 'chese', fr. OE 'cese'; akin to

OHG 'kasi' cheese; both from a prehistoric WGmc

word borrowed from L. 'caseus' cheese; akin to OE

'hwatherian' to foam, Skt 'kvathati' he boils.]

In looking up ricotta in the OED, I did and

didn't find the word exactly, but I found this:

Ricoct: Obs. [ad. It. "ricotta"'a kinde of fresh

cheese and creame' (Florio).] See quote.

1583 Munday 'Eng. Rom. Life' 62 "Two Quatrines

woorthe of Leekes, one Quatrine bestowed in

Ricoct, which is harde Cruds to make Cheese.

So, in period, Florio considered ricotta to be a

fresh cheese. I am not sure if this is the 1598

dictionary or the 1611 one.

Huette

Date: Sat, 22 Apr 2006 09:20:10 -0400 (GMT-04:00)

From: Christiane <christianetrue at earthlink.net>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Thoughts on cheesemaking

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

I was talking with my dad the other day about Sicilian food, because

we're going to Sicily in October. And we were talking about cheeses,

and he mentioned casually that his Uncle Tony made dried, salted

ricotta (ricotta salata).

He simply boiled whey, added something to it to make it curdle

(rennet?) and then put the curds into a beehive-shaped wicker basket

lined with cheesecloth; he'd cover the basket with more cheesecloth,

and then put something heavy on the cloth to press the curds. He'd

leave it covered in the basement to age and dry.

I flipped open my copy of "Pomp and Sustenance," and found a photo of

a dried, salted ricotta turned onto a plate. It held the shape of the

cheese-making basket beside it. And I realized I was looking at a

cheese like Uncle Tony used to make.

I found this interesting quote about ricotta from a Clifford Wright

essay:

"Two of the earliest mentions or depictions of ricotta are

related to Sicily. Professor Santi Correnti, chairman of the history

department of the University of Catania and a preeminent historian of

Sicily, writes that during the reign of the Sicilian king Frederick

II, in the early thirteenth century, the king and his hunting party

came across the hut of a dairy farmer making ricotta and, being

ravenous, asked for some. Frederick pulled out his bread loaf, poured

the hot ricotta and whey on top and advised his retinue that cu' non

mancia ccu' so' cucchiaru lassa tutto 'o zammataru (Those who don't

eat with a spoon will leave all their ricotta behind)."

Now I want to make ricotta salata. Off to research where to find a

local purveyor of whey ...

Gianotta

Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 17:31:31 -0700

From: "Rikke D. Giles" <rgiles at centurytel.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Thoughts on Cheesemaking

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Eibhlin's account of ricotta making and recipes are really good.

I use slightly different methods. I have my own raw goat's milk,

from my own raw goats. So I know the milk is treated well, and it's

extremely fresh. I only make whey cheese from the whey left over

after making renneted cheeses; as she mentioned, whey from acid

coagulated cheese doesn't coagulate well, again.

I use a slightly modified recipe from Gervase Markham's 'English

Housewife' (about 1615 or earlier). The same recipe, with slightly

different finishing handling, is in the Jacob Bifruns(Bifrons) letter

from Switzerland (about 1560) which I translated. Stefan honored me

by putting it in the Florilegium a while back.

Markham and Bifruns have you take the whey, heat it until it's almost

boiling (seething) and then you throw buttermilk into it. This would

be the old fashioned buttermilk, the byproduct of making butter. The

curds rise to the top of the whey almost immediately the buttermilk

is thrown in. You keep adding buttermilk until the curds stop

rising. The curds are 'scummed' off and put into a colander to

drain. Markham then has you eat them right away. Bifruns instead

has them drained in a basket, lightly salted and smoked. He calls

this Ziger, Zirconum, Serotium, Puina or Mascapra, and there is a

Zeiger cheese made today in the Alps which is similar.

The reason that buttermilk is used in the above, in part, is because

it is acidic and aids in the coagulation. I don't have access to

real buttermilk, I need a cream separator for that, and don't have

the money for it yet. So I use fresh milk. I achieve the acid by

letting the whey age for 8 to 24 hours. Then I boil the whey, throw

the milk into it, and scum off the curds. Sometimes the curds are so

delicate (this depends on the stage of the goat's milking cycle) that

they don't scum off well, they are like clouds. So I let the whey

cool until it is warm to the touch and pour it through a cloth lined

colander. I hang the curds to drain further. I do this with the

curds I scum off too. The curds are supremely tender and delicate,

frothy, light, beautiful for cooking or eating fresh. I salt them

just a bit to bring out the flavor. People frequently tell me the

cheese is 'heaven'. Compared to cheese make with store bought

'cultured' buttermilk the curds are small, less tough and far better

tasting. The demand for this cheese is so high I'm faced with the

ironic position of making hard cheeses just to get the by-product;

the whey.

My goats are miniature dairy goats; Nigerian Dwarves. They give milk

that is very high in both protein and fat, the highest of the various

goat and cow breeds on average. The milk doesn't have a goaty taste.

They are fed for milk production, so there is no off flavor from

whatever they might be eating. The bucks are kept separately from

the does, so there is no bucky flavor.

I'm currently working on translating the Summa Lacticiniorum from the

1400s. I've also got a tons of books on animal husbandry from period

that I am going through, as I have time. Many cheese related things

are in those books. I'll pull it all together someday for a series

of lectures and A&S projects. I submitted period cheeses, both the

whey cheese I discussed above and some hard renneted cheeses, for an

A&S competition (which I won) and Kingdom A&S display. I'll try and

get those webbed soon and send in the link.

Aelianora de Wintringham

Baron of Dragon's Laire

Kingdom of An Tir

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 00:54:44 -0700

From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> Eibhlin mentioned:

>>>>

> As an added note, don't try making any Mysost/Gjetost,

> etc. from the whey of an acid separated cheese. All

> that work of cooking the whey down to a peanut butter

> consistency and you had this nasty flavor from

> whatever acid you used. Blech!

> <<<

> What is this kind of cheese? Is it a cheese? I don't think we've

> discussed this before. Is this like making a Ricotta cheese, except

> you boil down the whey rather than just creating curds from it? What

> do you end up with? A soft, fresh type cheese?

> Was this Mysost/Gjetost cheese made in period? Was it done in just

> one region? From the name I might guess Germany, but I don't know.

> If I wanted to try this type of cheese today, is this the name I

> would look for in the cheese section? Central Market and Whole Foods

> seem to have pretty large cheese departments in my area.

I'm not Eibhlin, but I like gjetost. It's a fairly solid cheese,

harder than cream cheese, softer than parmesan, light brown in color.

It's sold under that name in the U.S.

David/Cariadoc

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 03:15:11 -0500

From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Gjetost is a Scandinavian goat cheese that is a medium - hard cheese, that

is caramel coloured, an almost mild cheddar taste, a hint of sweet and

tastes great melted on an apple pie and layered in an apple pie. :)I think

it taste best with fruits and used as a dessert cheese then for something

savory but that is my preference.

A bit expensive in my area so it only is bought for special occasions.

Lyse

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 11:26:12 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Stefan,

There is a bit of a debate about whey cheeses, the

debate being is it really a cheese or is it not.

Mainly because whey cheeses come from a by-product of

cheesemaking, cheese being made from the fats and

proteins which come together to form a curd. Most

whey cheeses don't have enough fats and proteins left

to form a curd, ricotta being an exception. I,

personally, consider them a cheese - albeit one that

is crafted in a different manner from a recipe that

creates a curd and is then treated in different ways

to make a specific final product.

Mysost and Gjetost are made from the whey created by

making other cheeses, and can even be made after

ricotta is made. So technically it can be the

third process that a batch of whey has been put

through - and completely uses up all the milk used.

The whey is boiled down to about 1/4 of the starting

volume over a period of hours. This carmelizes the

lactose in the whey giving it a caramel color. After

the whey has been boiled down to the right volume and

the right consistency (heavy cream) it is poured into

greased molds and allowed to set and cool. After it

has cooled it is turned out of the molds and is

wrapped to keep air from getting to it - air will

cause it to dry out and crack. It is usually served

in thin slices as part of breakfast with fruit and

bread.

This recipe has been made primarily in Norway and

Sweden, with eventually a migration to Finland,

Denmark and other Baltic countries. Mysost is made

with cow's milk whey and Gjetost is made with goat's

milk whey, they both use the same recipe. If you have

acid used by the cheesemaking method present in your

whey you need to add a neutralizer to counteract it.

I have not yet found any reference to it being

produced in period.

Making this recipe takes a lot of work, most

cheesemakers prefer to feed the whey instead to their

milk animals as it's rich with fats, proteins and

minerals. The animals love the stuff.

Eibhlin

Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2006 17:51:10 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

The whey version is called Gjetost. There is a

similar recipe that uses whole milk that is curdled

and then cooked down in the same fashion - that is

called Gomost. It produces a cheese with a more

creamy texture and has a much higher yield than

Gjetost.

Gomost is made most frequently with cow's milk but is

also made using goat's milk, they do not change the

name to differentiate between the two.

Eibhlin

****************************************************

This is the first time I have heard Gjetost made from whey. As far as I

know proper gjetost is made with whole goat's milk.

Note: "Gjet" in Norwegian is "goat".

Lyse

Shuddering at the thought of gjetost made from whey. :P

Date: Mon, 01 May 2006 01:04:27 -0400

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"

<adamantius.magister at verizon.net>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Thoughts on cheesemaking

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

On May 1, 2006, at 12:38 AM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> I guess I may have missed this earlier, but what is the difference

> between "ricotta" and "ricotta salata"? Or is that second simply

> ricotta salad? :-)

Ricotta insalata is ricotta that has been salted and drained, and,

eventually, pressed into a semi-dry cake. It has a somewhat feta-like

texture, a flavor a bit like Romano. I'm not a huge fan of it, myself.

Adamantius

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 01:00:11 -0500

From: "otsisto" <otsisto at socket.net>

Subject: RE: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I wish to disagree. I may not know much of a lot of cheeses but I do know

that Gjetost is traditionally whole goat's milk, boiled to caramelize the

milk sugars.

Mysost is made from cow's milk whey.

Gomost is not the same and if I remember correctly is almost like a Gouda in

taste (been years) and is made of cow's milk and sometimes on a rare occasion goat's milk.

Okay, I just read from Wikipedia which I take with a grain of salt.

Presently, Gjetost is being identified as goat milk whey cheese and the

whole goat milk cheese is being called ekte geitost (real goat cheese).

My info comes from American Norwegian Lutherans from years back. :)

Lyse

-----Original Message-----

They whey version is called Gjetost. There is asimilar recipe that uses

whole milk that is curdledand then cooked down in the same fashion - that is

called Gomost. It produces a cheese with a more creamy texture and has a

much higher yield than Gjetost.

Gomost is made most frequently with cow's milk but is also made using goat's

milk, they do not change the name to differentiate between the two.

Eibhlin

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 08:27:49 -0700 (PDT)

From: Carole Smith <renaissancespirit2 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Am I the only person who's ever made gjetost?

Boiling down that much whey just to get to a peanut-butter

consistency took a couple of days, since I did not want to burn it.

You don't get very much after all that work. But I did learn where

most of the milk sugars end up.

Cordelia Toser

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 15:14:15 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

I, too, wish to respectfully disagree. ;) I'd

recommend you do a google search on the term "Gomost"

and review the url's that come up. Also, I have a

very reliable text that provides further information

on the cheese named "Gomost" and Gjetost/Gietost -

indicating that Gomost is the whole milk version and

Gjetost is the whey version. I purchase Gjetost in

both bulk (which is advertised as Ekte Gjetost but is

in actuality produced from whey) and in retail

packaging (labeled as Gjetost) for my customers and the

package ingredients on both packages show that the

cheese product is made from whey, not from whole milk.

I have an importer that I can purchase Gomost from

when I buy pallets of cheese. This cheese comes in

labled as Gomost.

Eibhlin, one of those American Scandinavian Lutherans

too. :)

PS - text is "Cheeses of the World" and it was put out

by the US Dept. of Agriculture in 1969. This book

documents a lot of cheeses that were made on home

farms back in the '50's before a lot of them

disappeared due to refrigeration, industrialization,

shelf stabilization, and fast forms of transport.

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 15:19:11 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: whey composition

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

You are so right, Niccolo. I was typing in a hurry as

my internet connection kept going down. Whey contains

lactose, minerals, vitamins, noncasien proteins, and a

trace of milkfats. The proteins that remain are a

very high quality and in conjunction with the minerals

and vitamins make a very good supplement to dairy

animals diets. Pigs also love the stuff, but after

seeing slops buckets when growing up in german dairy

country I'm not sure if that's saying much. :)

Eibhlin

*****************************************************

I think I missed something when I read through this, and want to ask

For help. Does this seem contradictory that this is made with one or twice

Used whey, but is still rich with fats, proteins and minerals? Whey cheeses

Are earlier described as not having enough fat and protein to come together

As curd, except ricotta . . . I have confused myself somewhere.

niccolo difrancesco

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 15:37:13 -0700 (PDT)

From: Kathleen Madsen <kmadsen12000 at yahoo.com>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Cordelia Toser wrote:

> Am I the only person who's ever made gjetost?

> Boiling down that much whey just to get to a peanut-butter

consistency took a couple of days, since I did not

want to burn it. You don't

get very much after all that work. But I did learn

where most of the milk sugars end up.

I bet one of those modern "crock pots" would obviate the problem of

burning the bottom of the pot. I don't use anything else for long-time

cooking like this. I really hate having to bring out the wire brushes

for my cookware!

<snip>

Selene Colfox

*****

I've made it a couple of times, Cordelia, but it's so

much work that if I'm craving some I'll just go out

and buy it.

I don't think that a crockpot would work, as the whey

needs to be at a boil. It needs to be stirred pretty

much constantly so you don't need to scrub the pot

afterwards. They do have mechanical stirring machines

available. ;)

Eibhlin

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 18:55:44 -0600

From: "Sue Clemenger" <mooncat at in-tch.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

I've made Mytost (using whey left over from cow's

milk cheese, and following the recipe in a cheese book, which specified

using the whey). I very much recommend using a slow-cooker, once you've

boiled the whey down a bit. You still have to stir, but it's not nearly so

fraught with burning danger. ;o) And it didn't take me anything like a

couple of days--kinda did it overnight, IIRC.

--Maire

Date: Mon, 1 May 2006 19:12:11 -0600

From: "Sue Clemenger" <mooncat at in-tch.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

Crock pot works just fine, once the whey has boiled down a certain

amount....

--Maire

> I don't think that a crockpot would work, as the whey

> needs to be at a boil. It needs to be stirred pretty

> much constantly so you don't need to scrub the pot

> afterwards. They do have mechanical stirring machines

> available. ;)

Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 07:48:03 -0600

From: "Sue Clemenger" <mooncat at in-tch.com>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Re: Mysost/Gjetost (cheese)

To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>

> When I made gjetost I didn't have a slow cooker, and safety minded critter

> that I am, would not go off and leave the whey for very long at a time when

> it was cooking down on my stove top. That's why it took so long to cook down.

> Cordelia Toser

I wouldn't have, either! It's just that I was sort of doing an all-night

marathon, preparing feast foods for some local event, so I was in the

kitchen anyway. I'd made a LOT of fresh cheese, and had all this whey, and

thought "why not experiment?"....

I did have to watch for scorching towards the end, but that particular

crockpot was a one-trick pony. If I'd had one with "low" and "high"

settings, I would have switched it to low.

Crock pots, for the record, also work really niftily for fruit pastes. I

did "white and black" quince pastes in one, the one year I actually found

quinces locally.

--Maire