Ingredients
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2 l whole milk
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100 g buttermilk, fat-free kefir or yoghurt
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4 drops liquid rennet
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100 ml cool water
Directions
In this recipe I will tell you how to make bryndza cheese.
Bryndza is extremely soft and milky cheese. If is perfect for breakfast or as an accompaniment. Also goes well with tomatoes and herbs.
It’s better to make bryndza in the evening since the preparation takes about 2 hours. There is nothing difficult, but quite a lot of ingredients to prepare, to stir, to mix, to add etc. Besides, bryndza should sit under the press to drain for at least 6 hours, and I doubt that you want to observe this structure in your kitchen for the whole day.
2 liters of milk (3.5%) yields about 200 g of bryndza. Lower-fat milk decreases yield of cheese.
Bryndza is easy to make but in comparison with cottage and Adygei cheese, that don’t need any special bacteria or equipment, for making bryndza cheese you will need a thermometer (to keep an eye open for the temperature otherwise you will end up with a different product) and liquid rennet. The latter you can find online – it is not expensive and lasts for a long time.
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Steps
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1
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We will need: - an enamel or a stainless steel pan – dry and clean - any long kitchen knife or a thin and long spatula - a skimmer - cheesecloth - a cheese mold (it is kind of a plastic cup with holes in it, which you can buy online or use a colander or a sifter instead) - a cheese press (you can use a jar with water and a plate instead) It’s much more comfortable to use special cheese making equipment, but you may go about using the equipment you have. |
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2
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Let’s go on to the preparation. The first question is - what milk do we need? In Austria there is extremely delicious milk not only in stores (3.5%), but also at farms. I made bryndza of different kinds of milk (except of long-life milk). Farm milk, of course, makes bryndza tastier, a bit sweet and bigger. Pasteurized milk bought in a store works very well too. You may also use lower-fat milk but in this case you will get much less bryndza cheese. The next important ingredient is buttermilk. Or you can use fat-free kefir or fat-free thin yoghurt (1.5%). Buttermilk should be at room temperature. |
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3
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So let’s start. In the saucepan, add the milk and bring up to 34 degrees Celsuis. Heating over low heat requires no constant stirring but it takes much more time (though it is the right way). You may heat the milk over high heat to save time, but you will have to stir it constantly and watch it doesn’t burn and check the temperature. |
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4
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When the milk is brought to 34 degrees Celsius, remove it from heat, add the buttermilk and mix well. |
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Cover with lid and leave it on the table for 30 min. |
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In a glass, mix together 100 ml of cool water and liquid rennet. Add the mixture to the milk and mix. Cover and leave for 50 min. |
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During this time the rennet will coagulate the curd. The mixture will become jelly-like. |
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8
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Cut the curds into ‘cubes’ 3x3 cm. There is a special knife for cutting curd, but you may use a regular long one. |
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9
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Every 3-5 min for 20 min gently begin stirring the curds with the knife avoiding to break them. The slow stirring is very important to speed up whey separation. |
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10
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Line a mold with cheesecloth and place into sink. I usually place a rack over the sink and put the mold over so that the whey drain directly to the sink. |
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Transfer the cut curds to the mold with a skimmer allowing it to drain before placing into the old. |
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The whey will drain gradually. When all the curd has been transferred to the mold and has been drained for 20 min, place it under the press (or place a plate and 0.5 l jar over it instead). Bryndza needs at least 6, better 8 hours to drain. |
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13
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After the allotted time, prepare 10% brine solution (e.g. take 200 g od salt for 2 l of cool water). |
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14
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Remove bryndza from the mold and place it into the brine for 1 hour to get low-sodium cheese. For higher-sodium cheese increase the time of brining or adjust the concentration of the brine solution. |
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15
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Remove the brynzda from the brine, pat dry with a paper towel and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours. |
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16
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How to serve: Serve cooled with tomatoes and herbs for breakfast or as an accompaniment. Tastes great with fresh rye bread. How to keep: Can be kept refrigerated up to 4 days. If in the brine, it can be stored longer, but the cheese will be much saltier. To reduce saltiness, soak it in water before serving.
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