A few days ago , I have been desiring so much some fresh cheese, the same I use to taste in my childhood! Fine, soft, and delicate cheese with its unmistakable scent of milk… and so... I cooked it! The most famous fresh Italian cheese is called “Giuncata”. Its name descend from the traditional molds made with canes (canes = giunchi in Italian), used to store it. The Giuncata is a soft, and tasty cheese, and it's and healthy as well! It’s ready in a few hours to be enjoyed with tomato salad, cured meats or even simply speared on a slice of bread!
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- ½ gal. (1.85 lt) whole milk Grade A pasteurized
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- ½ tsp liquid rennet
- 1 tsp table salt
A FEW WORDS BEFORE STARTING
The best milk to make a good fresh cheese would be not pasteurized. But, nowadays, unless you know a responsible farmer, it’s very difficult to get it; Therefore, opt for milk pasteurized as little as possible. To promote the cheese fermentation process, it’s strongly suggested add some spoons of yoghurt. Because we will work with basically three ingredients, the success of our cheese depends on high quality products. To control the temperature a cooking thermometer is essential; It’s possible buy it here for a few dollars, or buy in a specialized shop.
FIRST STEPS
First, pour the milk into a large pot and heat over low heat, until the milk reaches 100 ° F. At this point, turn off the heat, add the yogurt, and mix with a wooden spoon.
RENNET
Let the milk rest far from the heat, until it has reached a temperature of 95 ° F, then add rennet. Mix well, cover with a lid and let stand at least 1 hour without moving the pot for any reason.
CUT THE CURD!
Once the mixture will become a dense curd, as a flan, cut it as checkerboard into cubes 2 inches wide. Then, cover and let stand 20 minutes. After this time, cut the curd again into smaller cubes. Let rest another 20 minutes.
“GIUNCATA” ITALIAN FRESH CHEESE
Pour the curd into cheese molds. Fill the molds as much as possible, pressing the curd. When the molds are all full, put on a grid over a baking sheet to collect the licking serum. Cover the molds with plastic wrap, and transfer everything into the fridge. Let rest the cheese, until it will be reduced at least by half. It will take about eight hours. It is possible eat the cheese immediately, or store it for up to two days.
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HOMEMADE SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
PRINTABLE VERSION
- ½ gal. (1.85 lt) whole milk Grade A pasteurized
- 2 tbsp plain yoghurt
- ½ tsp liquid rennet
- 1 tsp table salt
- A FEW WORDS BEFORE STARTING
The best milk to make a good fresh cheese would be not pasteurized. But, nowadays, unless you know a responsible farmer, it’s very difficult to get it; Therefore, opt for milk pasteurized as little as possible. To promote the cheese fermentation process, it’s strongly suggested add some spoons of yoghurt. Because we will work with basically three ingredients, the success of our cheese depends on high quality products. To control the temperature a cooking thermometer is essential; It’s possible buy it here for a few dollars, or buy in a specialized shop. - FIRST STEPS
First, pour the milk into a large pot and heat over low heat, until the milk reaches 100 ° F. At this point, turn off the heat, add the yogurt, and mix with a wooden spoon. - RENNET
Let the milk rest far from the heat, until it has reached a temperature of 95 ° F, then add rennet. Mix well, cover with a lid and let stand at least 1 hour without moving the pot for any reason. - CUT THE CURD![/b
]Once the mixture will become a dense curd, as a flan, cut it as checkerboard into cubes 2 inches wide. Then, cover and let stand 20 minutes. After this time, cut the curd again into smaller cubes. Let rest another 20 minutes. - [b]“GIUNCATA” ITALIAN FRESH CHEESE
Pour the curd into cheese molds. Fill the molds as much as possible, pressing the curd. When the molds are all full, put on a grid over a baking sheet to collect the licking serum. Cover the molds with plastic wrap, and transfer everything into the fridge. Let rest the cheese, until it will be reduced at least by half. It will take about eight hours. It is possible eat the cheese immediately, or store it for up to two days. 
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