Mysost Cheese

and the making thereof.

This is probably the simplest cheese you'll ever make. However, you'll need to have first made some other type of cheese as this is a whey cheese.

And a-whey we go!!!

Arrr, anchors a-whey matey!

Gee, I sound just like Geoffrey Rush. Cool. Did y'all know he's an Aussie? Well now you do. I'm sure I don't knead to mention that Errol Flynn was a Tassie. A true blue Tasmaniac, you betcha.

As I had previously mentioned, Mysost Cheese is a Skankelnavelian cheese (my spelling sux and my tiepoes are even worsered).

Alright, I'll be serious now. Maybe.

There's two different wheys (ways) to make Mysost and each method yields two very distinct cheeses. Trust me, I tried them both last week. Fortunately, you can use any type of whey for either method. Whether it's whey from a renneted cheese or from an acidic coagulation, it won't make a difference in the finished product.

BTW I'll be putting up a lot of simple cheese making posts, this one being the first. You'll learn how to make Quarg, Cream Cheese, Feta, Wensleydale, Mysost, Mascarpone and many others. I will not put up any cheese post unless it's something I've made so you can rest assured the procedure works.

Mysost

What you need:
A batch of whey from your latest cheesemaking endeavour
A saucepan
A source of heat (a stovetop works well, I prefer gas)
1/2 cup cream (for the second of the two types)


What you due:
Pour the whey into the saucepan. Place the saucepan on top of (not below) your heat source. Heat on low as you don't want it to boil over. Simmer for a few hours till the whey is thick (it'll be reduced by around 75% in volume). Oh and don't forget to keep a close eye on it for the last 30 mins cus you don't want it to burn to the bottom of the saucepan (voice of experience).

Let it cool a bit and then spoon it into a container.

Ta-da! Done!

This method will produce a slightly grainy, beige coloured cheese spread. It's very strong tasting so a little goes a long whey :) It is basically concentrated whey. The taste is kinda like a strong Welsh Rarebit with a hint of Danish Blue. Very good for spreading on crackers or toast --in small amounts, of course.

The other whey, or method if you prefer, yields an entirely different result. The taste and texture is very different.

Ummmmmm, it's the same method as above, but whisk in 1/2 to 1 cup of cream before you start to reduce the whey. I used 1 cup of cream for the amount of whey left after making Feta Cheese from 5 litres of milk.

A smooth, creamy, light-coloured cheese dip is what you'll end up with. And it's very good! Next time I'm going to add a pinch of turmeric (for a yellow colour) and a few pinches of chilli flakes to the whey and cream as it starts to simmer. I should end up with the ultimate nacho cheese sauce.

I guess I should tell you how to make some simple cheeses so you can have the whey (and means) to make mysost, so stay tuned for that.

And beer makin'

Mysost is Whey-ing on my mind

... and a mind is a terrible thing to wheyst. I'm so funny!

Ok, let me be serious. How many of you have no idea what to do with the whey from your cheesemaking? Show of hands? A plethora of comments, perhaps? Hmmmmm, ok, guess not.

Here's what I like to do with the whey:

1) Drink it straight-up

2) Use it as a soup base --tangy and tasty

3) Make bread with it

4) Add a bit of mint and drink it chilled on a hot day

5) Make ricotta cheese

6) Pancakes


Here's some other things you can do with the whey:

1) It makes great feed for pigs, chooks, and probably skijoring dogs and fuzzy bunnies

2) You can make Mysost cheese


Mysost cheese??? What the heck is that? Well, I'll save you some googling and tell you that it originated in two Scandinavian countries; Sweden and Norway. Danes also make it, as do many people 'round the big ole woil nowadays.

I've personally never made it, but I'm going to making another 2 pounds of Feta cheese tomarra' (aussie slang, sorry) so I'll have loads of whey left.

Apparantly there are many different wheys to make Mysost. Some add cream, some don't. Some put it into cheese molds, some don't.

Let's go with the two simple ones, shall we?

I'll be dividing tomarra's whey into two batches, and each of those will be divided again, so I'll end up with 4 different types of Mysost. Cool, eh? Oh, and 2 pounds of fresh, homemade Feta.

Here's the "procedure" that I'll be doing.

Each batch will have a half gallon of whey. One batch will have cream added, the other won't. After each batch has been boiled down, then I'll take half out of each to refridgerate and then boil down the rest and pour into molds.

I'll be putting up a post about making Feta and all the accoutrements you'll be needing, and then I'll put up the post about how to make Mysost. Mysost is (supposedly) simple and easy to make, but I don't want to tell you about till I've had a go at it.