fresh-cheeses-msg – 2/3/08
Fresh cheeses such as ricotta, cream cheese and cottage cheese. Non-aged cheeses.
NOTE: See also the files: whey-cheeses-msg, cheese-msg, dairy-prod-msg, cheesemaking-msg, Cheese-Making-art, cheesemaking-msg, cheese-goo-msg, butter-msg.
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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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From: kellogg at rohan.sdsu.edu (kellogg)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Period soft cheeses (was: Re: Is cheesecake period?)
Date: 22 Oct 1996 17:12:26 GMT
Organization: San Diego State University Computing Services
Monica Cellio (mjc at telerama.lm.com) wrote:
(attribution lost) wrote:
: >Is cheesecake period? If so, when and where?
: Cheese pies of various sorts are period, but not as sweets. The closest
: thing I know of to dessert-grade cheese pies is from Digby (1669). The
: closest approximation for the cheese is probably ricotta or farmer's cheese.
: Cream cheese is modern.
This thread aroused my curiousity, so I did some fairly extensive
web searches. Cream cheese does seem to be an American original.
Most cheese websites claim a great antiquity for cottage cheese,
unfortunately without any references. The one soft cheese that I seem to
have found a solid period reference to is ricotta.
The Sugarplums...All About Cheese site at <URL: http://www.sugarplums.com/
fieryfeature/c.html> shows a print of a painting entitled "The Ricotta
Eaters" by one Vincenzo Campi, who is listed as having lived between
1525 and 1591.
Anyone know anything else about this painting or artist?
Avenel Kellough
Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 16:57:29 -0400
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - white drinks and other foods
> I saw somewhere on the web that cream cheese was close to a period
> cheese. Then I read that it was not in any way period. (It was a while
> ago, but I thought it was on this list?) Is it indeed period? Perioid?
> Angelique
"Philadelphia style" cream cheese, as manufactured today, couldn't
possibly be period for Western Europe, what with the Philadelphia
appelation and the emulsifying gums used to keep the butterfat from
leaking out at room temperature. On the other hand, it may resemble
cheeses made from cream in period. Certainly there are references to
"cream cheese" in, or very shortly after, period, but they mean just
that. Cheese made with cream, and sometimes not only cream. Digby's
Slipcote cheese is a good example of such a cheese, which, BTW, makes a
smashing cheese for Savoury Toasted Cheese. Trouble is, that unless you
go to England and can find someone who still makes York cheese, you have
to make it yourself.
Philly cream cheese really appears to be little more than "dairy sour"
cream, a.k.a. sour cream or smetana, drained in a cloth, though. Of
course, you'd need to determine the secret blend of eleven preservatives
and chemicals in order to duplicate it exactly. My reason for mentioning
all this is that it's likely that if one wanted to find a period cheese
made from sour cream, the place to look would probably be Eastern Europe
and Russia.
It could also be that there is no non-factory made original. It may
simply be a modern invention. For example, when trying to find Limburger
cheese in its original form, as a wheel or block of cheese, with an
edible rind of mold, which I sort of assumed because it tastes so much
like Liederkranz, I discovered that for more than a century, Limburger
has been made in the USA, by blending a mixture of different cheeses
with cream. In other words, it's not that the original form is
unavailable. It's that the stuff you can buy in the supermarket, in
jars, IS the orginal form, more or less. The name, Limburger, is a
German spelling of a place in Belgium, but the cheese appears to be
American.
IIRC, there is a recipe for cream cheese in Elinor Fettiplace's Receipt
Book, which involves letting cream sour overnight, and then pouring it
onto a large damask napkin, spreading it thinly. You leave it to drain,
and then roll it up like Lady Aoife's favorite, cabbage cream.
Adamantius
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 17:42:14 -0500
From: margali <margali at 99main.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Farmer's cheese - OT sorta
> I have a recipe that call's for farmer's cheese. I have searched all
> the grocery chains around here for it. But to no avail.
>...
> Or, is there a mixture I can make from two other cheeses that will end
> up resembling farmer's cheese?
>
> Kateryn de Develyn
> debh at microware.com
take a collander, line it with gauze, drain a large container of cottage
cheese mixed with the little one serving cup of unflavored yoghurt
overnight, then press out the rest of the whey.
margali
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 13:56:16 -0600
From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt <liontamr at ptd.net>
Subject: SC - Re: sca-cooks V1 #442
Kathryn wrote:
>I have a recipe that call's for farmer's cheese. I have searched all the
grocery chains around here for it. But to no avail.
>
>What is it?
>What is a reasonable substitute?
>Can I use riccota?
>Or dry-curd cottage cheese?
>Or is it more closely related to something else?
>Or, is there a mixture I can make from two other cheeses that will end up
resembling farmer's cheese?
>
>Kateryn de Develyn
>debh at microware.com
Farmer's cheese is a rather plain, whole-milk cheese that is made "green" .
Anticipating the questions, green cheese is not actually the color green. It
is merely "unripened" or fresh. For farmer's cheese, rennet is used to make
a large curd. The curds are pressed with salt sprunkled amongst them in the
vate (cheese press). A Follower (press) and Weights are added to extract the
extra whey. It sits like this for many hours and drips whey. When it is
reasonably dry, you have plain green cheese or farmer's cheese. Modern
store-bought cottage cheese is the closest you will get if you cannot find
farmer's cheese (we can get it easily in N.E. Penna). However, be advised
that cottage cheese is the above mentioned curds, cut smaller, with cream
added back to them after draining from the whey and a short pressing---that
cream is the "sauce" the curds are in. So you will either press the cottage
cheese to remove the liquid, or you could reduce the overall liquid in your
mixture.
Curd cheese would be something like cottage cheese without the added liquid,
or farmer's cheese without the pressing.
Aoife
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 1999 10:13:55 -0500
From: "Robin Carroll-Mann" <harper at idt.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: carrot pie and Spanish cheese
And it came to pass on 13 Feb 99,, that david friedman wrote:
> >and for each two pounds of chopped carrots [use] a pound of
> >Trochon cheese and a pound and a half of buttery Pinto cheese,
> >and six ounces of fresh cheese...
>
> This looks interesting.
I'd be tempted to redact it myself, but my lord husband *loathes*
cooked carrots.
> I assume the fresh cheese would be similar to the
> fresh cheese you get in the Mexican section of the grocery; any guesses
> about Trochon or Pinto cheese?
> Elizabeth/Betty Cook
"Fresh cheese" (queso fresco) could also be translated as new
cheese, if that helps. "Trochon" is actually Tronchon; there was a
typo, for which I apologize. I found the following description at
www.cheese.com:
Tronchon
Description:
Traditional, creamery, semi-soft cheese made from blended cow's,
goat's and sheep's milk. It has a shape of flattened globe with deep
crater. The natural rind is smooth, glossy and it has a color of
butter. Tronchon resembles a young Caerphilly. The taste is
aromatic, with a background of white wine acidity. The
origin of the shape is obscure but it is replicated today with
moulds. The interior is bone white and has many small holes.
Country: Spain
Milk: cow ewe and goat milk
Texture: semi-soft
In a number of other recipes, the author suggests Parmesan as a
substitute for Tronchon.
I have not found any description of "queso de Pinto" anywhere on
the Web. I do have access to a rather good import cheese shop
near my workplace. Maybe I can get over there some time next
week and inquire.
Lady Brighid ni Chiarain
Settmour Swamp, East (NJ)
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 14:41:56 -0500
From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>
Subject: Re: SC - cheese questions
"Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg" wrote:
> Cream cheese is a late 19th-century American invention.
>
> Raoghnailt
Yes and no. The bar of Philadelphia-style cream cheese, wrapped in
silvery foil stuff, is as you describe. Cheeses made from cream,
however, are considerably older. There are recipes for cream cheeses,
IIRC, in Digby, possibly Hugh Plat, and Elinor Fettiplace's receipt
book, all 17th century. The main difference between these and Philly
cream cheese is the emulsifying gums added to the latter; whether a
cooked dish calling for a period-style cream cheese would be massively
different when made with the chemical stuff remains to be seen.
Adamantius
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 1999 15:01:40 -0700
From: "Brian L. Rygg or Laura Barbee-Rygg" <rygbee at montana.com>
Subject: Re: SC - cheese questions
I have made fresh cheese with lots of heavy cream, and the texture is not
even close to the modern stuff.
Raoghnailt
Stan Wyrm, Artemisia
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 19:07:28 -0500
From: "catwho at bellsouth.net" <catwho at bellsouth.net>
Subject: SC - Favorite Egg Recipe
Well, this contains eggs (or at least the whites) but I love this!
White Torta
Platina book 8
Prepare a pound and a half of best fresh cheese, chopped especially
fine. Add twelve or fifteen egg whites, half a pound of sugar, half an
ounce of white ginger, half a pound of pork liquamen and as much fresh
butter. Blend in as much milk as you need. When you have blended this,
put it into a pastry crust rolled thin and put it all in a pan and set
it to bake on the hearth with a gentle flame. Then, to give it color,
put coals on the lid. When it is cooked and taken from the pan,
sprinkle ground sugar over it, with rosewater.
The interpretation as found in Cariodoc's Miscellany although I think
that we used all butter or either half butter half shortening instead
of the lard.
1 lb fresh cheese: ricotta
8 egg whites
2/3 c sugar
1/3 oz fresh ginger
1/4 lb lard
1/4 lb butter
1/2 c milk
10" pastry shell
~2 t sugar
1 t rosewater
Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Soften butter and lard together at room
temperature. Fold together cheese and egg whites, then add sugar,
minced ginger, lard and butter. Mix until fairly uniform. Add milk,
fill shell. Bake at 325deg. for 40 minutes. When oil separates, it is
done. Put under broiler to brown top lightly. Sprinkle sugar and
rosewater, spread on with spoon bottom. Cool until set.
This is a little less butter and lard than Platina suggests, but we
found it too fatty using his quantities.
Melbrigda
Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 15:29:22 -0400
From: "Bethany Public Library" <betpulib at ptdprolog.net>
Subject: Re: SC - Herb blends for soft cheeses--a question
Maire, try Dill and Chives, a great combination. Thinly sliced Scallions go
well with this as well. I do this all the time. Sprigs of thyme, chopped
oregano, marjoram, etc.. all go well. Try also Garlic and freshly ground
pepper. Try them out at home first.
You could also try serving it with sippets if you really want that cheese
and cracker effect.
Aoife
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2000 22:49:28 PDT
From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Herb blends for soft cheeses--a question
> Documentation, please?
>
> Ras
>From my 'celtic' feast last spring, this would be documentation for Ireland,
IIRC. I'm pretty sure it was for fresh cheese with greenery/herbs, it might
be curds. What I served was fresh, pressed but not aged cheese with chopped
herbs mixed in.
Samit Cheese (Fresh Cheese w/herbs)
Source: Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and
Drink, Brid Mahon, Poolbeg Press, Dublin, 1991 : pp. 4 (archeological
evidence) 55(goat cheese), 91-2 (list of cheese types and names), 109
follow up: Aisling Meic Con Glinne--The Vision of Mac Conglinne, Kuno Meyer
(trans) London, 1892, 5-113
I don't know what the refernce on pg 109 is, sorry. The follow up is a poem
of a legendary host and the food in his lands, I have not gone back to it,
but evidently learned from somewhere that cheese and or herbs are mentioned.
I don't know if I ever posted my cleaned up menu and references for this,
moving day was bearing down. If I did, I'm sure Stefan would have filed it
away under Celtic food. If I didn't, Stefan let me know and I'll send it
directly to you. I recall trying to post another set of my notes and lot's
of people had format troubles.
Bonne
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 11:54:36 -0800
From: "Bonne of Traquair" <oftraquair at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: SC - Re: First feasts
>> Mato (Sweetened goat cheese)
>>Bonne
>Is there a recipe for this dish? Olwen
I have the recipe from Thomas Longshanks who is tranlating and slowly
redacting each recipe in a spanish manuscript into a 'direct' recipe as well
as a large quantity version made with more readily available ingredients,
for use at feasts. He plans to publish this some day and asked me not to
share his work.
However, it is a simple idea:
Fresh goat cheese,sugar, orange flower water or rose water. Mix. Eat. Die
from pleasure.
I served this with a bisket bread flavored with coriander seed in the
Fettiplace book, which I don't have at hand. It had eggs, sugar, flour,
crushed coriander seed, done up in the same manner as other bisket bread
recipes. You can probably find one in the Miscellany or Florilegium.
I didn't serve the cheese spread on the cakes as I had no documentable
reason for that. But the presence of a dish of something spreadable and a
stack of cakes nearby led to the inevitable, and it was good.
Bonne
Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 15:49:00 +0200
From: UlfR <parlei-sc at algonet.se>
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Skyr? and intro
Skyr is a form of fresh cheese that is mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas,
and still eaten on Iceland. Nanna, being the lucky one, lives on Iceland
where she can get hold of what is the real thing, baring any
evolution/changes that hs taken place over the last 1000 years. Here in
Sweden I have to make do with a substitute, which is the yogurt cheese.
Basically take a suitably tart yogurt, and let it drain from a thin fabric
bag.
ISTR that Nanna has earlier posted direction for how to make the
real thing, but you would need access to a live culture to do
that.
/UlfR
From: "a5foil" <a5foil at ix.netcom.com>
To: <sca-cooks at ansteorra.org>
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Cheese of Aragon?
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 23:26:13 -0400
> I am going to try some recipes of Libre del Coch for a Sca commons this
> Friday. Does anyone know what Cheese of Aragon is?? It's in #50.
<NOTE - See the file: Guisados1-art>
> Andrea
> Ostgardr
Queso de Aragon is also known as Queso Tronchon. It definitely dates to the
Middle Ages. It was originally a goat cheese, but is now made from a blend
of cow and goat milk. It is served fresh or slightly aged, it comes from a
ring mold with a depression in the middle, sort of a like a gelatine mold or
bundt pan, but the center depression doesn't go all the way through. If you
can't get it locally, try mail-order from a Spanish food store like
www.tienda.com. If you want more info, let me know.
Thomas Longshanks
From: Nambeanntan at aol.com
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2002 02:51:47 EST
To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org
Subject: [Sca-cooks] good soft cheese, not too old
I found this on the net, it tells about new and not so new cheeses
Cheese is commonly categorized by degree of hardness, ranging from soft and
semisoft, to hard (or firm), very hard, and blue-veined cheeses.
Within the soft cheese category there are soft, fresh cheeses and
soft-ripened cheeses. Soft, fresh cheeses have a high moisture level, the
most delicate flavor, and are the most perishable. A fresh cheese is
unripened and retains much of the fresh milk flavor. (Unripened describes
soft cheeses that aren't aged.) Some well-known fresh cheeses are ricotta,
cottage cheese, cream cheese, feta, and mascarpone.
Soft-ripened cheeses have been allowed to mature to various degrees. They
also have a high moisture content, and though mild when young, they develop
a fuller flavor as they age. They ripen inside of a powdery white rind. Brie
and Camembert (which look and taste almost identical) are the most popular;
they have a mild, earthy flavor that blends well with a host of other
flavors.
Annan
From: "Barbara Benson