I’m Smokin’!

March 31, 2010 at 19:05 · Filed under Applewood Smoked Cheese, cheese making, Goat cheese, Smoked Goat Cheese and tagged: Applewood Smoked Cheese, Applewood Smoked Goat Cheese, artisinal cheese, cheese making, creamery, Farmstead, Female farmers, Goat cheese, Local Food, Raw milk cheese, raw milk goat cheese, Seasonal Foods, Smoked Cheese, Smoked Goat Cheese, Sustainable Agriculture, Young Farmers

Applewood Smoked Goat Cheese – Sweet Teats Creamery

I’m smokin’ cheese, that is. 

As of late, I am inspired by the approach of salmon season here in the Monterey Bay.  It has been a non-event the past few years, and I miss more than anything the home-smoked salmon that my father usually makes from just-caught salmon.  The aroma of the smoke arises memories of the season, of fishing, and of hot summer days- the kind where you can smell the heat of the sun on the yellow grass.

Regarding the decline in the salmon population (which has caused the cancelation of the salmon fishing season in the Monterey Bay for the last two years), it was first thought that overfishing had produced the lull in the salmon population.  But now global warming and pesticide runoff are being considered as factors effecting the wild salmon population. No matter what the cause, I figure that I need to get my ‘smoked food fix’ from something other than seasonal smoked salmon.

So thus begins my R&D phase of tinkering with recipes for Smoked Goat cheese. I have completed 3 cheeses at the moment, with variables in the recipe and smoking.  Many of the variables I have used before: Temperature, how much whey is forced off in the cheesemaking process, and pressure applied to the molded curd.  To these I am adding the variables of smoking time and type of wood used to smoke the cheese.

For these three cheeses I have used applewood for the smoke.  I chose this type of wood after doing some quick research on the flavors/qualities produced by different woods used for smoke. Here: http://www.deejayssmokepit.net/Woods.htm  is a good chart with descriptions for different types of wood. 

Smoked Cheese # 1:

The first cheese of this series will have more moisture.  The cut curd was ladled into the baskets, and they baskets lightly weighted each other for a light pressing.  After smoking for an hour, they began to droop a little, so I put them back in their baskets to hold the shape.  I now have dedicated ‘smoked cheese’ baskets, as they have retained the smoke aroma. The ‘droop’ made me consider two things: A.) that my smoker does not qualify as a cold smoker, as it brings the temperature up to 80 or 90 degrees. B.) That the cheese would be less effected physically if it began this process as a harder cheese (i.e. less moisture). So this led me to the second version of this cheese.

Smoked Cheese # 2:

This cheese followed the same techniques as smoked cheese #1, with the variant of forcing off more whey before molding the cheese by pressing the cheese (no heat was applied after renneting to cheese # 1 or 2 to force off whey). After draining the curd, I cut it into ¾” cubes and then molded them into their form.  They were pressed under their own weight- one on top of the other.  This cheese had a nice stiff shape after draining, and did not seem to shrink as it was smoked.

Smoked Cheese # 3:

Same techniques as cheese # 2, with the addition of a small amount of heat applied (by way of the cheese vat) to 90 degrees after renneting.  This step causes the curd to tighten, and force off a tiny bit more whey than in cheese # 2. Same (referential cheddaring) technique of cheddaring & milling was used to achieve a dryer, harder cheese body.

All of the above cheeses were smoked for approximately 8 hours. They had a lovely smoked aroma (akin to smoked fish!).  The smoking is considered to create an anti-microbial barrier on the cheese, but I decided to wax them, in hopes that the aroma/flavor of the smoke would penetrate the cheese if it is in the closed environment of the wax.

I am in the process of making the 4^th cheese, it will be smoked tonight, with either Hickory wood or Cherry wood.  I am leaning towards the cherry, because it is a fruit wood, and therefore more subtle, and because it is said to produce a very dark coloring and “a slight pinkish color on light flesh fish and poultry” according to the smoking chart I mentioned.

Smoked Cheese # 4:

Same techniques as above, with variance after renneting.  After renneting, I used a step that is done in Gouda-making.  To do this, I drained off about 1/3 of the whey, and slowly added very hot water to the remaining curd/whey to bring the temperature up to 100 degrees.  This achieves two things: it tightens the curd, forcing off more whey, and elevating the PH of the cheese (and therefore lowering the noticeable acidity in the final product).  I also pre-drained the curd, cutting it into 3/8″ cubes before molding it into the baskets, and pressed the baskets under about a pint of water (a little over 1 lb).  This created a really nice, hard cheese body… I am almost considering not using the molding baskets during smoking, as I don’t think the cheese will deform.

I am looking forward to sampling these cheeses… it will still be a little over a month for the first ones, as I am planning on aging these for a minimum of 60 days (raw milk cheese regulation).

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