A friend gave me some reed molds that were given to him by a friend who inherited them…
They are gorgeous! I have six of them, three sizes, and I’m stumped about what to make first. I’ve not tried any aged Italian cheeses yet though I believe I have the ingredients for several. I only have access to grocery store cow’s milk right now, though someday I hope to meet someone with a milking sheep in the San Francisco Bay Area… anyone have a suggestion about what cheese to try first?
Aside from what kind of cheese to make, how might I best care for/sterilize these pretty little things? So many nooks and crannies!
It has been far too long since I’ve checked in- nice to see some of the familiar names still active. Happy New Year to you all!
Take care,
Bobbie
Those are great! Have you done any research yet on what they were traditionally used for? That would likely give you some clues on what to make in them. I’m with you on your concern for sterilization; but I can’t imagine that the original users of the baskets were nearly as concerned. I’m guessing early cheese makers knew nothing of sterilization - and yet they made cheese. Probably not primo cheeses like we’re used to though.
Just after I originally posted I also found that background story and recipe, so I think I’ll be trying it with cow’s milk. I’m fairly certain the baskets are contemporary/new and never used; I don’t smell the fainted whiff of cheese, unlike my experience with some cool antique Chinese wooden molds I once sniffed… Somehow that smell really stayed with those molds and they were years old and sitting in someone’s curiosity cabinet- smelled just like moldy curds. Awesome! (and what were they using- maybe yak’s milk? who knows!)
I’ll keep asking around about care and sterilization. I’m still scratching my head just wondering how to get the cheeses OUT of the molds without damaging the pretty pattern! If I have success I’ll post. Come to think of it I’ll update no matter what
I would soak them in salt and a drop of bleach, other wise I would go to a Wine?Beer making store and ask them about whats available for sterilization. I used to use something for corks but its been too long.
I would use them for making Brie, good for draining.
Nice idea- salt and a wee bit of bleach. I’ll check in with my local wine/beer place too- hadn’t thought of that either. I’m not sure they’d be so great for brie- while they’d be great for draining, I just can’t imagine them slipping out very easily since the walls are not super straight because of the weave, especially if they are fragile and wet little cakes. I see myself having to dig at them but I may have an overactive imagination here…
Thanks for helping!
If you line the basket with cheese cloth, and the cheese is not too hard; you should be able to work it away from the basket’s surface to ge it out. and it should retain the basket’s markings as well. It might tear up the cloth, though.
Ok then, I trust these ideas- I would rather have a cheese with faint basket marks than no cheese at all because I’ve shredded it trying to pry it out of a mold!
I checked in with Jim Wallace at New England Cheesemaking Supply, and he offered the following advice regarding care (with permission to post):
“Lucky Lucky Lucky You! Found mine being hand made by a fellow in the mountains of Sicily.
They can be used forever and simply need to be washed out right after use with hot water (no detergent) and then set in very hot water before use. Don’t let the cheese dry on them or they become major problems. I wouldn’t boil .. 165-170F will do fine as long as you keep them clean.
... jim
Make sure you see our detailed recipe pages online !
Jim Wallace .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) / http://www.cheesemaking.com
Offering Technical Help and Classes at New England Cheesemaking Supply Company”
I have seen these baskets in Cyprus used to make the most marvellous haloumi.
The common sterilant used in wine making is Sodium metabisulphite. You can buy this in the form of Campden tablets and they should be ideal to sterilize these baskets as it is an excellent non persistent antibacterial agent.
What fun! It took a few hours, but not as long as cheddar, and I’m really excited to see what happens with this natural rind. Normally I’d wax a cheddar or similar cheese, but the recipe wasn’t specific about how to manage the environment in a home fridge situation, so I put it in a sealed plastic box just as I do with mold ripened cheeses since I don’t want it just out in the open in the fridge, mixing with who-knows-what-other bacteria. It’s elevated inside the box, with about an inch of water in the bottom, not touching the cheese of course. I don’t have controls or means to measure humidity, but the temp is holding at about 52F and I’m just going to hope for the best… Will keep everyone in the loop as it progresses.
Oh and by the way, getting it out of the basket was a breeze! I mean, it didn’t just slide out, I had to work my fingers down the side and around the edges, lifting it gently as I went around, but it was nicely rubbery by then (had cooked about 90 minutes in the whey inside the basket at that point) so it stayed intact and didn’t even leave a bunch of curd crumbs in the weave as I expected. I didn’t use cheese cloth, as the recipe I used specifically said not to, and in the end I see it wasn’t necessary.
Also, I used half cow, half goat’s milk (grocery store stuff)- a first for me- until this one I’ve never mixed milks, so the whole experience is one giant exciting experiment.
Bobbie
A very interesting recipe indeed! It is almost a Haloumi except it is aged dry for a long period whereas Haloumi lives in brine. The whey cooking step is identical. I will have to try this recipe as soon as I have the time. I like the idea of using the heat to make the curd body much more dense before ageing.
I plan on aging at least 2-3 months if it holds up- we’ll see! I really don’t know how it will act putting it in the box, wondering if it will want more air. Is this how other people at home age their natural rind cheeses? I just imagine that having it outside a box in the cheese fridge would pick up unintended bacteria, so I’m attempting to control its environment as best I can by using the box. It’s such a pretty cheese, I hope it’s a success so I can make MORE.
