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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Spiced Orange Slices and Goat's Milk Faisselle

It's been a while since I posted a homemade cheese adventure.  I definitely know it's time to sit down and reevaluate when there hasn't been any handcrafted fromage in my kitchen for a couple of months.  Although, part of that stems from the fact that I have to unplug my extra fridge in the winter.  Our garage isn't heated, so the entire fridge turns into a deep-freeze box.  I have to make sure everything is cleared out and the fridge is clean, open, and unplugged before old man winter sneaks up and it's too late to save everything.  So, no second fridge, no extra space.  I'm pretty sure I'd get the evil eye...and the complaining belly...if I tried to keep enough space empty for "projects" in our everyday fridge.  But...since the coldest of the days have now passed, I once again have extended space for cheese making, curing, beer, and what ever else I may need it for.
Goat's Milk Faisselle
slightly adapted from 200 Easy Homemade Cheese Recipes
yield: ~18-24 oz

1 quart goat's milk
Pinch mesophilic culture
2 drops liquid rennet

In a large pot over medium heat, warm milk to 86°F, stirring gently to prevent scorching. Remove from heat. 

Sprinkle culture over surface of milk and let stand for a~5 minutes to rehydrate. Gently draw culture down into milk without breaking surface of milk, by using an up & down motion to mix in the culture with a skimmer or large spoon. 

Dilute rennet in 1 Tbs. cool water. Add to milk and, using the same up-and-down motion, draw rennet down into milk until well blended. Cover and let set at room temp in a draft-free location for 12 hours. 

Place six small or one large cheese mold in a flat-bottomed baking dish. Gently ladle curd into molds, taking care not to break up the curd. The whey will begin draining out of the holes in the molds right away and will collect in the dish. I found that my curd wasn't firm enough to keep from seeping completely through the holes in my cheese molds.  But I figured I'd go with it and see what happened.

As soon as the curd has drained down below the tops of the molds, cover the dish and place in the refrigerator. The faisselle is ready to use ans soon as it has drained to your desired texture. The longer it drains, the firmer it will become (because the molds are sitting in the whey, it will stay fairly moist). Store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To remove, unmold onto a plate.  After 4 days, only the bottoms of my little molds had some cheese left in them...just up to where the rest that had drained out sat.  I unmolded those the best I could.  Basically it was like a thick, tangy goat's milk yogurt.  Very tasty, especially against the sweetness of the spiced oranges.  I decided to pour it all into one large mold, this time lined with butter muslin to see what would happen.  It is in the fridge now, I'll add an update later today. (*see photo below for results!)
Spiced Orange Slices
 yield: 1 pint

2 large oranges
  8 c. hot water
½ tsp. salt
½ c. granulated sugar
¼ c. lightly packed brown sugar
¼ c. cider vinegar 
¼ c. water
2 Tbs. corn syrup
  4 whole cloves
  2 cardamom pods
  2 cinnamon sticks, 3 inches long
¼ tsp. black peppercorns

Combine whole unpeeled oranges, hot water, and salt in a large saucepan. Bring  to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes or until fruit is tender. Drain oranges, discarding liquid, and cool. 
Cut oranges in half crosswise and then into very thin slices. 

Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, vinegar, water, corn syrup, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and peppercorns in a large saucepan. Stir over high heat until sugars have dissolved. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add orange slices, cover, and cook gently for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove and discard cardamom and cinnamon. 

This recipe is then able to be canned, if you wish (see instructions at forging fromage if you need them).  I just jarred them up and stuck them in the fridge.
*second attempt at "molding" Faisselle using butter muslin...still pretty loose

forgingfromagebutton2 MizHelen‘sFullPlateThursday SimpleLivesThursday

Would you like to comment?

  1. Very interesting combination. I love the idea of the oranges with the cheese paired together. Could this cheese be made without the mesophilic culture?

    Mely

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  2. Beautiful Heather! The combination of the cheese and the spiced fruit make such a pretty picture and mouthwatering combination.

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  3. Lovely! I do love those orange slices.
    I think my goat cheese worked because of the cheesecloth, so hopefully you will get a good product when you re-set it.
    Delicious H! Glad you got your fridge back. So, no beer in winter?

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  4. I'm so impressed that you do this at home. Those orange slices sure add some brightness to this rainy day.

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  5. Loving the idea of these spiced oranges. Warming and bright. We are still cold - if I had an extra fridge - this would not be the time to plug it back in! Happy to see you back on cheese adventures. Crossing fingers that it works out beautifully.

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  6. hmmmmmm...looks just too tempting to resist :-)

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  7. I think I feel some inspiration. I bought the stuff to make some brie a while back and its been in my fridge just waiting to be used but finding a quiet time to focus solely on the mixing and tending of the curds in my house is very rare so I havent gotten to it yet. This definetely lights a fire in rear though to get moving on this project. I'll keep you posted!

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  8. Oh I am SO jealous of your extra fridge space! My roommates and I are sharing one small-ish fridge for the three of us and occasionally...it's a disaster.

    That goat cheese looks delicious and you definitely picked the perfect pairing with those oranges!

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  9. Mely...I'm not 100% sure. I think the culture is used for both aroma and flavor...adds a depth that won't be present if it is not used. That said, it may still work if you are using the rennet. ?? Sorry I'm not more help.

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  10. Love this orange and chesse combo.I have to try this one. Is is okay to try with some home made yogurt culture.

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  11. Swathi...I would think that would work. It is a "culture", so I'd give it a try!

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  12. Let the cheese making season begin..yes yes. The orange slices look so tasty.

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  13. Fabulous and quite a delicious dessert..

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  14. So impressive! I've got to try my hand at homemade cheese! I bet that would be good in the fennel and goat cheese tart I made: http://insidemypresent.blogspot.com/2011/03/foreign-food-fennel-potato-and-lemoned.html

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  15. So beautiful. Love the fresh and decadent-ness of this!

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  16. So gooooooooooooooooodddddd! I can't even decide which I like better, the orange or the cheese :)

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  17. Absolutely Incredible Heather. You have one lucky man there. I think he should offer the fridge up hands down!!!

    Simply amazing!!!

    Thank you so much for sharing...

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  18. That looks really beautiful- I too get a real kick by making my own home made ingredients like this. Loved the combo with oranges- kudos!

    US Masala

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  19. Home made cheese: I tried it once and did not have any luck. It does require a lot of space and some equipment. And living so close to France, sometimes I think, why bother? But then I see posts like this one, which make me reconsider my decision.

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  20. Hi Heather,
    The Spiced Oranges look really great, I am going to make the oranges and will can some of them. I would love to try some of the cheese. Where do I get the Mesophilic Culture and Renner? Is there a Making Cheese for Dummies Book? Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you next week!

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  21. Yum yum yum! I love anything goat cheese :)

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  22. Hi Miz Helen,

    There is a button towards the middlish-bottom of my RH sidebar that says The Cheesemaker...he is located in Wisconsin and ships everywhere (shipping included in prices). Or check over at our forging site (click forging fromage button) and see the supply tab for more options!! =)

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  23. I was going to try cheesemaking until my daughter decided she needed the small fridge to take to college again. I'm waiting to get it back before I start those projects.

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  24. One day I'll make the leap and try making cheese- this looks so good!

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  25. What a delicious combination. Thank you for sharing, my dear. Visiting the blogs that I've come to love this year brings me such comfort. Thank you for being such a sweet and uplifting presence. Have a great Friday.

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  26. I'm hosting a wonderful tea sampler GIVEAWAY! Come check it out when you have time.

    http://utry.it/2011/04/two-leaves-and-bud-tea-company-product.html

    Amy
    http://utry.it

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  27. Wonderful--the oranges are so fresh and pretty with the goat cheese. ;-)

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  28. I am a little confused as to what the oranges would taste like. Never seen an orange prepared like that.

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  29. I'm so impressed that you do this at home. Those orange slices sure add some brightness to this rainy day.

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