Farmhouse Cheese - A Hard Cheese Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What cheese is considered a hard cheese? ›

Hard cheeses include Cheddar, Cheshire, Derby, Gloucester, and Leicester (British), Cantal (French), Friesian and Leiden (Netherlands), Graviera and Kefalotiri (Greece), Manchego, Idiazabal, Roncal, and Serena (Spain), Sâo Jorge (Azores, Portugal), and Ras (Egypt).

Farmstead cheese, less commonly known as farmhouse cheese, is produced from the milk collected on the same farm where the cheese is produced. Unlike artisan cheese, which may also include milk purchased and transported from off-farm sources, farmstead cheese makers use milk only from animals they raise.

Farmhouse Cheddar is a more rustic version of traditional Cheddar and is made with the exclusion of the traditional cheddaring process of stacking and milling. Farmhouse cheddar tends to be slightly drier and crumblier than traditional Cheddar but still has a full and sharp flavour.

To make hard cheese, the curd is cut very finely and then cooked at temperatures as high as 55°C. This maximises the amount of moisture (whey) removed before the curd is placed in hoops, soaked in brine, turned regularly and left to mature for six to 36 months.

Colby-Jack, or Co-jack/Cojack, is an American marble cheese made from Colby and Monterey Jack. It is classified as semi-hard in texture and is mild due to its two-week aging process.

Many of the best known cheeses in the world—Cheddar, Parmigiano Reggiano, "Swiss" (aka Emmenthaler) are firm to hard in texture.

With European-style farmer's cheese, the coagulated milk is simply ladled into a sack and drained, yielding a creamy, spreadable finished texture. With American-style farmer's cheese, it's cut into curds, drained, and pressed, creating a firmer, drier texture.

Farmer cheese, cottage cheese, and ricotta are all fresh cheeses made by curdling milk with an acidic ingredient, such as vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid. Farmer cheese is typically dryer and firmer than both cottage cheese and ricotta.

West Country Farmhouse Production Cheddar is a typical English-slightly sharp but with a rich and dense flavour of pasture and onions. Aged in a cloth before adding the wax covering. The cloth that binds this traditional, hand-made Dorset Cheddar allows the cheese to 'breathe' as it matures in the Wookey Hole caves.

Is brick cheese the same as cheddar? ›

Whilst the cheese making process is similar to American Cheddar, it is cultured at a slightly higher temperature which gives it a marginally higher fat content and slightly alters the protein structure. The cheese has a slightly softer taste with a sharper finish than regular Cheddar.

While there is no one type of difficult cheese to make, the hardest cheeses to make are romano, gorgonzola, burrata, parmesan, provolone, etc. The reason being is because they require a longer aging period to ensure they reach their desired texture and require a specific type of culture.

Provolone is a semi-hard cheese with taste varying greatly from provolone piccante (sharp, piquant), aged for a minimum of four months and with a very sharp taste, to provolone dolce (sweet) with a very mild taste.

After all, chhurpi is considered to be the hardest cheese in the world. A traditional product prepared by pastoralists in the highlands of the Eastern Himalayas, chhurpi is a protein-rich cheese with a smoky flavour and hard consistency that gradually becomes chewier the longer you gnaw at it.

Mozzarella is a semi-soft cheese traditionally made from Italian water buffalo milk by heating the curds in water or whey until they become elastic in texture. These days mozzarella is more often made from cow's milk.

Fresh and whey cheeses

Examples include cottage cheese, cream cheese, curd cheese, farmer cheese, caș, chhena, fromage blanc, queso fresco, paneer, fresh goat's milk chèvre, Breingen-Tortoille, Irish Mellieriem Rochers and Belgian Mellieriem Rochers. Such cheeses are often soft and spreadable, with a mild flavour.