Goods for cheese making - online store. Homemade Imeretian cheese How to make Imeretian cheese at home

Imeretian cheese- it's fresh Georgian cheese with a mild taste that can be eaten the very next day after preparation. In the Caucasus, freshly prepared Imeretian cheese is called the first cheese or young cheese. Khachapuri is baked with it and snacks are made, mixed with fresh herbs and spices. And Imereti cheese is also a preparation for the famous Suluguni cheese, which has wonderful fusible properties.

INGREDIENTS:

• Milk - 6 l;
• (dosage according to the instructions);
• sourdough (dosage according to instructions) or or
• - 0.6 g (for pasteurized milk);
• salt.

INVENTORY AND EQUIPMENT:

• Pot;
• .

RECIPE:

1. Heat homemade pasteurized milk to 32-33°C, stirring slowly to heat evenly.You can learn about the technology of milk pasteurization at home . When the milk has warmed up, pour it diluted in water . Sprinkle the starter powder on the surface of the milk, let stand and absorb moisture for 5 minutes, then mix thoroughly, distributing the starter over the entire volume of milk. Cover the pan with a lid, wrap and leave for 60 minutes to activate the culture and create the desired level of acidity.

2. Stir the milk, then slowly pour in the enzyme diluted in 50 ml of purified water, constantly stirring the milk from top to bottom in order to distribute it as much as possible throughout the volume of milk. Cover the pan with a lid and leave for 50-60 minutes to curdle the milk.

3. Perform a clean separation test. If the clot is not dense enough, leave for another 10-15 minutes. First, cut the clot vertically along and across. Cut interval - 1 cm. Do not cut horizontally yet. Let the clot rest for 5 minutes and only then cut it into cubes with a side of 1 cm. The smaller the cube, the less moisture will be in the resulting cheese.

4. After cutting, gently stir the clot for 10-20 minutes. While slowly stirring the clot, raise the temperature to 36-37°C over the next 10-15 minutes. When the temperature is reached, continue to stir the curd for another 10 minutes, and then leave it alone for 5 minutes to allow the curd to settle to the bottom of the pan.

5. Drain the whey so that it lightly covers the cheese layer (do not discard the drained whey, you will need it to prepare the brine).

6. Prepare the perforated form by lining it with cheesecloth or put in the sink. Carefully pour the cheese grain from the pan into the mold.

7. Place the mold with the cheese on the drain pan and let it self-press for half an hour. After half an hour, carefully turn the cheese over in the mold and re-wrap it in a dry, clean gauze or lavsan napkin and leave to press for another 1 hour.

8. While the cheese mass is being pressed, prepare an 18% whey brine: heat the whey (1 l) to 80 ° C, dissolve salt (250 g) in it, and then cool to a temperature of 10 ° C in the refrigerator.

9. After an hour, carefully turn the cheese in the form and leave to press for another 1 hour.

11. Keep the brine container in the refrigerator. After salting, the cheese needs to ripen in the same brine for another 12 hours, then remove it from the brine, blot excess moisture with a paper towel and place in a plastic container - the cheese is ready to eat.

All ingredients and equipment for making Imeretinsky cheese can be bought at .

Good luck with your homemade cheese making!

Known far beyond the Caucasus Mountains. Many of her dishes are familiar not only to gourmets - at least once in their life everyone has tasted them, and even more so heard the names. Lobio, satsivi, khinkali, chakhokhbili, khachapuri, kharcho are very popular. This is not a complete list of wonderful dishes of Georgian cuisine.

However, the beautiful mountainous country is known not only for first and second courses, but also for excellent intoxicating drinks, which are traditionally served with various varieties cheese. The amazing taste of golden sparkling wine and the mild spiciness of the national dairy product are the timeless classics of gourmet cuisine.

Originally from Imereti

Among the many varieties of national cheese, Imeretinsky is the most famous. It owes its name to the region of the same name in Western Georgia. The area here is very beautiful: there are mountains around, coniferous forests, many turbulent rivers and foamy waterfalls.

If you are lucky enough to visit Imereti, then you should definitely see the local sights - ancient fortresses, monasteries, Christian churches, national parks. A mandatory point of the program should be a tasting of local wines, the best of which are krahuna and tsolikauri. Such wonderful drinks are invariably served with a real brand of Western Georgia - Imereti cheese.

Cheese making traditions

The history of cheese production in this Caucasian republic dates back more than one century. In the “House of Cheese”, which is located in Tbilisi, the dishes in which this delicious and useful product nutrition as early as eight thousand (!) years ago, while in other countries they began to produce cheese only four millennia later. Therefore, Georgia can rightfully be called the birthplace of cheese.

In the highlands of the country, older women still use ancient recipes for making cheese. For example, some of its varieties are kept in honey, chacha, covered with grape skins. After the revived recipes began to be widely used in production, they found admirers among the modern inhabitants of Georgia.

According to official data, 14 varieties of cheese have now been recorded in the country: chogi, kalti, tenili, kobi, dambal khacho, meskhuri chechili, Georgian, Adjarian chlechili, guda, Imereti, suluguni, tushinsky guda, Megrelian suluguni, Svan suluguni. By the way, all these varieties can be tasted in the Tbilisi "House of Cheese", where you can also learn about the history of their occurrence and see the objects with which cheese was produced earlier, and in some mountain villages even now.

The most favorite are suluguni and Imereti cheese

The most famous are Imeretinsky and Suluguni cheese. These varieties are so loved in Georgia that they are produced not only at special factories, but also at home. Moreover, along with well-deserved popularity, these two varieties are interconnected for one more reason: suluguni is made from Imereti cheese, for this they use heat treatment and kneading the cheese mass in the same way as the dough. As a result of all these actions, a brine with a layered structure is obtained, which Georgians love very much.

If suddenly the Russians have a question: "I did not find the Imereti cheese. What can I replace it with?" - then the answer will be obvious: Suluguni. You can also try to cook it yourself. How? And this is what we are going to tell you now!

Imeretian cheese: recipe

For its production, unboiled fresh milk is used, so all useful minerals and vitamins are preserved in the final product.

Imeretian cheese at home is easy to prepare. Its recipe includes:

• fresh cow's milk- 1 liter;
• pepsin - 60 ml;
• cold water - 1 liter;
• table salt - 1 tablespoon;
• granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon.

Further actions:

1. Milk must be heated to a temperature of 38 ºС and strained into enamel pan. After that, pour in the pepsin, mix with a spoon and leave in a warm place.
2. After half an hour, the milk will ferment, then the resulting cheese mass must be separated from the whey.
3. The resulting base should be placed in a special form with holes or a colander, and a tray should be placed under it. The surface of the future cheese must be leveled and salted. coarse salt.
4. In order for the Imereti cheese to ripen, it must be placed in a special solution - tsatkhi. To do this, water is poured into a glass container, salt and sugar are added, and then cheese is placed. Everything is sealed with a lid and left in a warm place. In four days, homemade Imeretian cheese will be ready.

Benefits and more

First of all, the usefulness of this type of cheese will be appreciated by people who watch their figure - its calorie content is only 240 kilocalories. One hundred grams of Imeretian cheese contains 18.5 grams of protein, 14 grams of fat, and 2.4 grams of carbohydrates.

This product, made from milk, can be eaten by Georgians at any time of the day - for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with fragrant cakes, bread, with tea, used in salads, soups.

On this occasion, there was even a saying that says that only the one who died has no cheese. In small Georgia, about 80 thousand tons of cheese are produced annually.

Imeretian cheese dishes

The popular Imeretian cheese is used not only as an excellent appetizer for wine, but also as one of the ingredients in various dishes. For example, Imeretian khachapuri, khychins, foams, various salads are very tasty.

Penovani is a type of baked khachapuri made from puff pastry, and the product we are considering is preferable as a filling.

Khychiny - a pie with boiled potatoes mixed with suluguni and Imereti cheese. The peculiarity of this dish is that it is fried in a dry frying pan.

Khachapuri - baked yeast cakes stuffed with suluguni and Imereti cheese.

Cheese making is an integral part of the culinary arts. A huge number of cheeses have already been invented. Nevertheless, new recipes appear, and cooking technologies are improved.

Unfortunately, modern store-bought dairy products are filled with many extra foreign substances that are used to extend shelf life and enhance flavor.

Therefore, a great option would be to try your hand at home cheese making. It is not easy, and the complete process of cooking cheese takes quite a long time. But you can be sure that the product is created only from natural ingredients.

AT this recipe we will look step by step with a photo on how to cook Imeretian cheese at home. His homeland is Georgia, where he also has the name chkinti-kveli.

This magnificent milk product is soft and delicate taste. It is included in many dishes, for example, added to different snacks and pastries. It also serves as the basis for . The technology of preparation involves its aging in brine for more than one month to obtain a special consistency and a unique piquant taste.

But we will not be waiting for such a long period, but we will limit ourselves to 3-4 days.

Before you start cooking Imeretian cheese, read the tips below:

• You will definitely need an enzyme that allows milk to coagulate. To do this, you can use pepsin, which is sold in pharmacies, or powdered plant enzyme - you can order it on specialized sites or purchase it at a veterinary pharmacy;
• Open enzymes must be used immediately or stored exclusively in the freezer, otherwise after a day they will lose their properties;
• High-quality homemade Imeretian cheese can only be obtained from the freshest village or farm milk;
• But you can still try to make a replacement for pasteurized store-bought milk. It must be fresh and have a fat content of at least 3.2%. It must be heated to a temperature of 27-28 degrees, then add kefir or pure warm yogurt to it without additional additives, based on 5-10% of the total volume of milk. Stir and hold for approximately 20 minutes.

Imeretian homemade cheese - step by step recipe

Now let's move on to the cooking process. For this you will need:

• Milk - 3 l;
• Enzymes - a quarter of a dessert spoon or on the tip of a knife;
• Coarse salt - to taste.

The instruction is as follows:

1. Pour milk into a large saucepan and set on fire. It is better to put a divider on the burner so that the flame goes evenly and heats the entire surface of the pan. You can also heat in a water bath. In any case, it is necessary to reach a temperature of 35 degrees;
2. After that, turn off the flame. We dissolve the enzyme in a third of a glass of warm, pre-boiled water, and add it to the milk, then mix with a long wooden spatula or use a spoon with a long handle;
3. Stir for about a minute and a half, then cover the pot with a lid. If the room is cold, additionally wrap it in a blanket and leave it to rest for an hour. During this time, the milk must be fermented;
4. After the allotted time has elapsed, remove the lid and lightly press on the milk mass. Its surface should be slightly springy;
5. If the mass is still loose, then you need to keep it warm for about 20 minutes;
6. If everything is in order, we cut the future chkinti-kweli into cubes of about 2-3 cm. First, cut along and down, then along the perpendicular and then across;
7. Leave the pieces for 15-20 minutes. This is necessary to separate the whey from the cheese mass. All cubes will decrease in size.

At the next stage, it is necessary to squeeze and decompose our cheese into a mold. For this, a plastic basket with holes through which the whey will drain is ideal. But you can replace it with an ordinary colander. The scheme is this:

1. We collect the cheese pieces and tamp them tightly in a colander or basket;
2. We combine the cheese with the rest of the amount, strain the remaining whey. We don't throw it away. It is an excellent basis for delicious pastries;
3. We tamp the mass well again, cover it with a clean towel and leave for 3-4 hours. This time is enough for all the liquid to glass from the cheese;
4. Next, evenly rub it with coarse salt, turn it over to capture the entire surface. We leave to reach 12 hours;
5. To obtain a denser state of Imereti cheese, it is placed in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After that, you can safely use it.

You can try to make not only pure cheese, but add spices and herbs to it. For example, zira, cumin, paprika or tomato flakes. Zira is better to pre-fill with boiling water and let it brew. You need to add them at the stage of laying the cheese pieces into the mold. To do this, you need to create layers from them, sprinkling each with salt and selected spices or herbs. It will turn out a kind of interesting filling.

Storage conditions for chkinti-kveli

It is important not only to prepare high-quality cheese, but also to store it properly. Temperature and humidity are the main factors.

• The average temperature at which homemade cheeses are stored is 6-8 degrees above zero. But in order to preserve the Imereti cheese, it is necessary not to exceed the mark of 4 degrees Celsius, otherwise its structure will deteriorate sharply and it will lose its original taste;
• Humidity is best maintained at exactly 90%. If this indicator is exceeded, then the cheese products will begin to deteriorate, and if it is reduced, the likelihood of drying out will increase;
• If you keep this snack in the refrigerator, it is best to keep it away from the freezer.

The recipe for Imeretian cheese is quite simple. But don't worry if you don't get the right product right away. Improve your skills in cheese making and then you will be able to achieve the desired result and please yourself and your loved ones with delicious homemade chkinti kweli.

Video: Cooking homemade natural cheese

But before the recipe, let's talk in detail about milk - the most important ingredient for getting delicious cheese. If you choose the wrong raw material, the whole batch will go down the drain.

What kind of milk is suitable for homemade cheese

There are several rules for choosing the right milk for cheese.

Rule 1

Homemade milk is best for cheese. Many novice cheesemakers use store-bought milk for their first experiments, which is usually pasteurized and sometimes ultra-pasteurized at the factory. Of course, in most cases they fail and become disillusioned with the hobby.

Rule 2

If there are no options to get homemade milk, use store bought milk. But it also has a number of specific requirements:

1. UHT milk is definitely not suitable. When processed at the factory, all microorganisms that are responsible for the coagulation of milk die in it. Use only pasteurized. It was subjected to less temperature testing.
2. With pasteurized milk, be sure to use calcium chloride. Without it, the milk just won't curdle.

But even if these rules are observed, it cannot be guaranteed that cheese from purchased milk will turn out. A suitable variety and manufacturer will have to be sought empirically.

Therefore, the most important task for a beginner cheese maker is to find a constant source of homemade milk.

Requirements for the quality of homemade milk

Once you have found a source of homemade milk, you need to check its quality. It also has a few requirements:

1. It must be unpasteurized.
2. Age - no more than 24 hours, provided it is properly stored.
3. After milking, it should stand for 4-5 hours before use.
4. It should not be diluted or refrigerated.

A simple recipe for homemade Imeretian cheese

So, after we have found the right milk, checked it for quality, we can proceed directly to cooking. The recipe for making Imereti cheese is a task that is quite feasible even for beginner cheese makers.

We will need the following ingredients:

• unpasteurized milk - 10 l;
• Meito cheese enzyme, 1 g - 1/10 sachet.

Of the equipment, only a home cheese factory is needed. In our case -

Procedure:

1. Cleanliness is important for cheese. Therefore, first of all, we rinse our equipment with boiling water and wipe it dry with a clean cloth.
2. Pour the milk into the cheese factory, pour water into the water jacket and start heating the milk to 35°C.

While the milk is heating, prepare the enzyme. Scatter it on a plate and visually measure 1/10 of the total volume.

After the milk warms up to 35 ° C, dissolve the enzyme in a small amount of water and pour it into the milk. We mix.

3. Now you need to wait for the formation of a clot. To do this, leave the milk for about 1 hour at a temperature of 35 ° C.
4. After an hour, a clot forms. Our task is to slowly cut it with a lyre into small cubes. We leave them for 10 minutes so that they finally settle.
5. After 10 minutes we start heating the milk to 42°C. This will help you become cheese curds more solid and dense. Heat slowly, stirring constantly.
6. It took us about 10 minutes to complete this process. During this time, the cheese cubes turned into cheese grains. So, it's time to extract it from the serum.

We do it as follows - pour the mass into a colander. We wait about an hour until the serum drains. Then we turn over the already dense cheese and wait until the remaining whey drains from the other side. We repeat the procedure of turning over 6 times for 3 hours.

7. After drying, put the cheese in the refrigerator overnight (for about 10-12 hours). We'll get it the next day ready cheese and salt it. Fragrant Imeretian cheese is ready to eat.

For final ripening and formation of taste, it can be put in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Imeretian cheese recipe at home (video)

Conclusion

Many may have a logical question - is a cheese factory really necessary? After all, you can cook cheese in a regular pan.

Yes, you can cook cheese in a regular saucepan, but this comes with a big risk of spoiling the batch. Firstly, milk is heated unevenly in a saucepan, and we cannot accurately monitor the temperature throughout the entire volume. And this is very important when making cheese - a deviation from the recipe by a couple of degrees threatens to fail.

And secondly, the heating in the pan is more intense than in the cheese factory. We can simply miss the moment when it needs to be stopped. This will also lead to failure.

In the Fansel cheese factory, heating occurs more gently and evenly due to the presence of a “water jacket” in the design. That is, we do not heat the milk itself, but the water in the shirt. And already it transfers its heat to milk simultaneously in the entire volume of liquid. Also, the cheese dairy kit includes the much-needed thermometers with a long probe and a lyre for cutting the curd.

Prepare homemade cheese in a Fansel cheese factory is much safer and more comfortable than in a conventional saucepan.