Old Stolwijk farmer's cheese cutable

Stolwijk farmer's cheese old sliceable,

Old Stolwijk farmer's cheese with character, this delicious old farmer's cheese is made in a traditional and artisanal way in the vicinity of the South Holland village of Stolwijk.

After the traditional preparation of the raw (unpasteurized) milk, this cheese has been ripening on wooden shelves for more than 1.5 years for its optimal taste.

this Stolwijk old farmer's cheese is just slicable and delicious for a sandwich or as a snack,

Boerenkaas a protected name,

Boerenkaas is Dutch cheese that is largely made by hand from raw milk. The name has been protected by the European Union since 2007 as a guaranteed traditional specialty. Only Dutch cheese that has been prepared on a cheese farm according to a traditional and controlled method of preparation may be sold as farmer's cheese.

Farmer's cheese and factory cheese,

The main difference between farmhouse cheese and factory cheese is the raw material, the milk. On the farm, raw milk is used, cooled milk from the night before and still warm milk from the same morning.

At the cheese factory, the milk is first pasteurised, i.e. heated to a temperature of approximately 65°C for fifteen seconds. This kills a number of bacterial species.

A second difference is that the factory uses standardized milk. This means that the fat content of the milk has been brought to a certain level. The fat content can vary on the farm.

A third difference is that on the farm the cheese is largely made by hand. The production process of this Dutch delicacy takes place entirely on the cheese farm. Due to its preparation, this product has a very regional taste, because natural factors such as climate, the quality of the local soil, the grass growing on it and the crops grown on it for livestock feed play a major role in the development of its typical taste. role.

Farmer's cheese production,

The unpasteurized milk is heated to 29 degrees Celsius. Then first starter culture is added, then rennet to convert the milk into solid matter. When the milk has curdled after about half an hour, the curd is finely chopped (pieces the size of large peas). Now part of the whey is scooped off. Hot water is added (twice with cow's milk, where the curd is first heated to 33 degrees and a quarter of an hour later to 36 degrees),  After stirring the curd very slowly for half an hour, it is put into cheese molds after fifteen minutes of rest and well pushed. Then the still very young cheese is allowed to drain for a while in the mold, but upside down and resting on the lid (the follower). Then the cheese is removed from the mold and put back in upside down and provided with a cheese mark. Then the cheese goes into the press. First with half weight; after a few hours it is turned again and pressed more heavily. The cheese is taken out of the press, turned again and usually 10 to 12 hours after the start of cheese-making, sometimes only taken out of the mold the next morning and placed in a brine bath, often sprinkled with a little salt to prevent it from drying out. Depending on the weight of the cheese, 1 to 6 days. The cheese is also occasionally turned during brining. Finally, it goes into the ripening room of the farm and is turned daily in the first week, later less often. The climate control in this room is manually controlled and depends on the natural atmosphere. The cheese is given a protective layer to prevent mold (cheese coating). After about six weeks the cheese is good, albeit young. For older cheese: young matured, matured, extra matured, old, overaged or crumbled cheese just wait and keep turning. Boerenkaas (meaning cheese produced on an authentic cheese farm) always receives a diamond-shaped quality mark, cheese from a dairy factory has a round stamp.