Let's Hear It for Hops!

As I mentioned earlier, I have tried an experiment with adding hops to the curds when the cheese is being made. The recipe that I used was the basic hard-cheese recipe that has worked well for me in the past.  The bacteria culture would be called a mesophilic, Farmhouse blend; though it contains both some mesophilic and thermophilic strains.  Its been about two months since then, so I figured it was time for a sample.

My Version

  I'm pretty happy with the results.  The texture of the cheese is pliable, sort of elastic; much like a slice of Swiss cheese would be.  The hops add a bit of aroma that is a combo of pine and broccoli - odd, yes, I know.  There is a slight bitterness that has come from the hops, but not enough to make this not taste like cheese.  It melted well between two slices of bread, too.  (The red tinge showing in the picture was caused by the red wax that I had coated the cheese with.  Not something funky)

Harpersfield Tilsit

A few days after I opened this one up, I planned a day off to visit a local farm that is licensed to sell raw cow's milk.  I've made one cheese using their milk so far (and after pulling a small core from it to taste, I'm happy with the way this one is aging) and I wanted to try another.  They are Grayrock Farm, located near Cazenovia, NY.  But when I arrived I found the self-serve refrigerator empty!  Many of their cows are dried-off right now with the mama's expecting calves in spring; they sell milk-shares as part of their CSA operation which meant the demand exceeded the supply.  Anywho, on my return trip home I stopped at a local food co-op near Syracuse University to see what they have for milk. Their Ithaca Milk Co. milk was no cheaper than where I bought it before, so I just browsed the store.  At their cheese cooler I was surprised to see a Hop Cheese from a company located in southern New York called Harpersfield.  They have created a Tilsit-style cheese that has hops added to it.

Now, a Tilsit cheese is a cousin of Muenster Cheese which makes it a rather strong-smelling variety to start with.  Their Hop Cheese ends up being more bitter and less enjoyable than what I made.  I can guess that using a hop variety with the lowest alpha-acid level would keep the bitterness low while still providing the aromas that make hops so wonderful.  

So, I think I'm onto something here and I'll try another variation on the hops-theme soon.

later,
Cheesey-boy