Finest Kind’s Emmentaler cheese recipe

Emmentaler cheese was named after the river valley in Switzerland from where the cheese originated centuries ago. Today Emmentaler cheese is produced in many countries, e.g. France, Switzerland, Finland and many others. The cheese is called the king of cheeses.

It is a large normally round wheel-shaped cheese with a weight of 60-130 kg, diameter 70 cm-1m and height 13-25 cm. The characteristic of the cheese is its large eye formation and special nutty flavour. This recipe describes the general technology for production of Emmentaler.

Here is the recipe for making delicious Emmentaler cheese :

 

Equipment:

 

CODE	DESCRIPTION
H028	KADOVA MOULD 1.5 – 2.5 KG
H202A	10 x PH STICKS PH 3.8-5.5
H108	FLOATING DAIRY THERMOMETER
H10B	FLOATING THERMOMETER COVER
H050	DRAINING GAUZE SQUARES

Ingredients:

 

CODE	DESCRIPTION
HC50STM 5	STM5 DVS STARTER CULTURE
HC50FD	FLORA DANICA DVS STARTER CULTURE
HC50LHB02	LHB-02 DVS STARTER CULTURE
H063	50 ML LIQUID ANIMAL RENNET
HD003	ORANGE GEL
HD013	IODINE ANTIBACTERIAL

 

Additives:

 

cheese maker

CODE	DESCRIPTION
H061	PROPIONI BACTERIUM
H214A	CALCIUM CHLORIDE ( includes instructions)

 

Milk: Whole milk with approx. 3.5-4% cream. Use milk not more than an hour after milking. If you need to store the milk, cool it down to 4 °C as quickly as possible. Do not use cooled milk that is more than 24hrs old.

Alternatively pasteurize the milk at 63°C for 30 min or 72°C for 20 sec.

Temperature: Adjust the milk temperature to 32°C.

Starter: The following cultures and inoculation levels are recommended. One 50U packet contains 50 units which inoculates 500 liters milk at 1%. Therefore 1 unit is required for every 10 liters. One packet contains approximately 16 teaspoons. Therefore 1 unit = 1/3 teaspoon.

Freeze dried DVS STM5 5U per 100L milk/1u per 20L milk
And Flora Danica 1u per 100L milk/teaspoon tip per 20L
And Lh-B02 1u per 100L milk/teaspoon tip per 20L
And Propioni Bacterium 1 pkt per 500L or 1/5 pkt per 100L

Pre-ripen: Let the milk stand at 33°C (pre ripen) for 30-60 minutes.

Rennet: Use either Chr. Hansen’s Powdered Microbial Rennet (H068A) OR Liquid Microbial Rennet (H066, H067, H068) OR Liquid Animal Rennet (H063, H064, H065) Powdered microbial rennet (H068A) 2g /100L Liquid microbial rennet (H066 H067 H068) 4 drops /L or 25ml /100l. Liquid animal rennet (H063 H064 H065) 4 drops/L or 25ml/100L. Dilute the rennet in a little cool water before adding to the milk. Stir well!!!! Let the milk stand at 33°C for 45-60 minutes or until the milk has set like jelly. Test the curd to check whether it has set by inserting a knife and pulling it to one side. The knife should make a clean cut.

Cutting: For kitchen use, using a knife, cut the curd gently into 2-3 mm cubes. Cut down and then across and then at an angle. Cut for approximately 3-5 minutes. Let the curds settle for 5 min. Or use the H015 curd cutter in a figure of eight movement.

 

Stirring: Stir for 20 minutes.

First scalding: Increase the temperature to 45°C. It should take about 30 min.

Second scalding: Increase the temperature to 53-54°C. The second scalding takes appr.5-10 min.

Stirring: The second stirring takes about 30-60 min maintaining the temperature at 53-54°C.

Resting: Let the curds rest for 5 minutes.

Moulding: The curds are ready for moulding when a handful of curds can be squeezed together to form a ball and separated again.

Whey off: All the whey is drained and the moulds simply filled with the curd. All the curds might not fit into the mould immediately in which case keep pressing down the curd and filling. Remove the moulded curd from the mould, wrap in the cheesecloth and return to the mould. A 1kg Kadova Mould (H027) is required for every 10 liters milk, a 2kg Kadova Mould (H028) for every 20 liters etc.

Pressing: Press at 4.5kg of pressure for 15 minutes. Remove the cheese from the mould and gently peel away the cheesecloth. Turn over the cheese, re-dress it and press at 6.5kg of pressure for 30 minutes. Repeat the process but press at the same pressure (6.5kg) for 2 hours. Repeat the process but press at 7kg of pressure for 12 hours.

Salting: Remove the cheese from the mould, peel away the cheesecloth and place the cheeses in a saturated 20% (200 gram salt per liter water) brine solution (H110) according to hours depending upon size of the cheese. Temperature of brine 10 -12° C.

500 gram	4-8 hrs
1kg	12-24 hrs
2kg	48hrs
4.5kg	2.5 days

 

1st  storage room: Remove the cheese from the brine and pat dry. Place on a clean cheese board and store at 10-12°C, 85-90% Relative Humidity. Turn the cheese daily for 10-14 days, wiping it clean with clean cheesecloth dampened in salt water.

Hot storage: Place the cheese in a warm, humid room with a relative humidity of 80-85% and a temperature of 20-24°C. Turn 2-3 times weekly and wipe it with a clean cheesecloth dampened in salt water. Let the cheese set for 3-6 weeks, until eye formation is noticeable. When the eyes are sufficient the cheese is stored cold.

Cold storage: Age the cheese at 4-8°C and 80%RH for at least 3 months turning the cheese several times per week. Remove any surface mould. Total ripening time 6 – 12 months

Cleaning :  Clean all equipment well after use. Rinse in cold water, wash in hot water with a good detergent such as HD003 orange gel and then rinse in anti-bacterial iodine HD013. Air dry, before use rinse well in clean water and towel dry with a paper towel. Be careful to avoid any sterilising residue on the equipment.

All equipment, ingredients and detergents are available from Finest Kind