Haloumi

Haloumi

Halloumi or haloumi is a semi-hard, unripened, cheese made from a mixture of goat's and sheep's milk, and sometimes also cow's milk. It has a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled. This property makes it a popular meat substitute.

Ingredients

• 8 litres of full cream milk.
• 1/4 teaspoon calcium chloride, diluted in 1/4 cup non-chlorinated water.
• One dose of Mesophilic Hard Curd Starter Culture
• 1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet or 1/2 a rennet tablet diluted in 1/2 cup of non-chlorinated water.
• 1/4 cup of cheese salt, for salting the cheese.
• 2 litres of brine made from 2 litres of cold non-chlorinated water and 450 grams of cheese salt.

Equipment:

• Large water jacket.

   

  Two stainless steel stockpots with water in the large pot and milk in the small pot makes an effective water jacket, heating your milk indirectly.

• Cheese thermometer.
• Stainless steel slotted or perforated spoon.
• Long bladed stainless steel knife for cutting the curd.
• Several 90cm squares of butter muslin for making cheese.
• Large stainless steel of enamel colander.
• Cheese mould or basket and follower.
• Cheese press.

Directions

1. Pour your milk into the "water jacket" and add your calcium chloride solution, mixing in well.
2. Heat your milk to 30° C using indirect heat, and add one dose of mesophilic hard curd culture and mix in well.
3. Add the rennet solution you have made to the milk stirring for one minute in a gentle up and down motion, being sure that the rennet is evenly distributed throughout the milk.
4. Allow to rest for 30 to 45 minutes or until you have achieved a clean break. If the curd is not firm enough, leave or another 5 minutes and check again.
5. Once the curd is firm enough and gives a ‘clean break’, cut the curd into 1.5 centimetre cubes.
6. Using indirect heat once again, slowly increase the temperature to 40° C. This should be at a rate of about one degree every five minutes, for a total of approximately 50 minutes. Maintain at 40° for an additional 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes during the heating process and also while maintaining the temperature at 40° C, to prevent the curds from matting together.
7. Ladle the curds into a colander lined with your cheesecloth, being sure to catch the whey in a pot for later use.
8. Lift the curds while still in the cheesecloth and place them into a cheese basket or hoop. Fold the cloth over the top of the curds and then place your follower on top. Press your curds for one hour at 14 kg.
9. Remove the cheese from the basket and carefully peel away the cloth. Turn your cheese over and redress it in a fresh cloth. Return the cheese to the Cheese press and press again for 30 minutes at 22 kg.
10. Remove the cheese again from the basket and remove the cloth. Cut your cheese into 7cm cubes.
11. Using the whey you saved earlier, heat it to 80 to 90 degrees. Place your cubes of cheese into the hot whey to soak for one hour.
12. Place the cubes of cheese back into the colander to drain and cool for 20 minutes.
13. Sprinkle your 1/4 cup of cheese salt onto the cheese, while it is still in the colander, and leave it for a further 3 hours.
14. Place your cheese into a brine bath in the refrigerator and soak for up to 60 days. This cheese can be eaten right away, but the flavour develops further with time.

Recipe © 2011 - Valerie Pearson

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