Synonymous with Finland
When it comes to Finnish food, cinnamon rolls and this bread cheese = leipäjuusto. It is a non-fermented cheese with a chewy texture. The cheese itself doesn’t have much flavor, and it is served with cloudberry jam, which is also synonymous with Finland.
In Finland, it is a standard cheese that you can buy in any supermarket. But of course it is not so common outside Finland. However, it is easy to make at home, because it is not fermented.
Making Cheese with Rennet
As I said, it’s easy. But there’s one thing you need to get. Rennet.
Let’s go through a brief look at how cheese is made using rennet.
Milk contains about 3.3% protein. Of that, about 80% is casein and about 20% is whey protein. The chymosin in the rennet reacts with casein to make cheese.
Casein forms clumps called micelles in the milk. These micelles are negatively charged and repel each other, making them very stable. This is why milk does not turn into cheese no matter how long you leave it.
Chymosin cuts the casein molecules at certain points.To be more precise, it only cuts off a certain part of the casein molecule, the κ-casein. The cut end dissolves in milk, but the remaining large part does not. They bind with other particles via phosphate and calcium to form a large mass that precipitates. This precipitation is the card from which cheese is made.
Is Rennet Essential?
Rennet is a must for making Leipäjuusto. However, it is a very difficult material to obtain in Japan.
One way to make cheese at home is to add lemon and vinegar to milk. Is it possible to make breaded cheese using this method?
A Taste of Finland at Home
Here are some other Finnish recipes you can make anywhere.
Recipe
Finnish Bread Cheese – Homemade Leipäjuusto
- milk (unadjusted) 2 L
- salt 1 tsp
- rennet (liquid 1 teaspoon
- Measuring spoon
- pot
- Thermometer
- silicone spatula
- colander
- Gauze
- The rennet in this recipe is liquid. If you use the powder one, please follow the instruction with it.
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- Put milk and salt in a pot.
- Place the pan over medium heat and warm to 36°C.
- Turn off the heat, add the rennet and mix well immediately.
- Cover with a lid and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. During this time, the whole mixture will harden.
- After 30 minutes, break up the chunks with a silicon spatula or ladle.
- Cover with a lid and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. During this time, the whey (liquid) will separate from the curd (solid).
- Place a colander over the pot. Line the colander with gauze.
- Pour the contents of the pan into the gauze little by little. The whey will be separated and the card will remain on the gauze.
- Wrap the card in the gauze and squeeze hard to remove the whey. The whey can be used for baking or ricotta cheese making.
- Put the strained card back on the colander with the gauze, and weigh it down with a plate. *1
- Place in the refrigerator and let drain overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
- Place the cheese in a heatproof container.
- Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes, until the surface is cooked.
- Serve with cloudberry jam.
- I used a cottage cheese recipe to try making Leipäjuusto.Can We Make Leipäjuusto Without Rennet?Leipäjuusto, bread cheese is famous food in Finland. We can make it at home easily. The only difficulty is to get rennet. Is rennet a must?pieceofoishi.com2021.11.08
Form it at this stage. If you use a colander with a round bottom, you will get a dome-shaped cheese. If you want to make the flat shape you see in Finland, use a colander with a flat bottom, like a sieve.
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