Making cheese is a simple pleasure, I love the quick and low tech method of curdling some milk with lemon juice and sitting down to a plate of fresh milky ricotta.
When we get into the more complex cheeses it is time to scrub up and enter 'the lab' as we call our processing space. We've learnt the hard way that a bit of laziness can ruin a batch of cheese so now it is clean, sterilise and scrub up for cheese.
Fleurieu Peninsula is renowned premium dairy country, and even our own backyard - now a sea of vines - was once a land of milk rather than wine. The block next door ran cows up until ten years ago. The region has historically had farm house cheeses that disappeared as farms grew and bulk milk sales became the norm. There are a few well known producers that have returned to making farm house cheeses and producing local milks that celebrate terroir.
The traditional Italian Ricotta, unique in that it is made from the whey that separates from curd during cheese-making. At Producers we make Ricotta using whole milk, this method is not unknown in Italy and we prefer the creamy result. As you would expect, the Milk makes all the difference in flavour and texture, we use our local milks: Alexandrina Cheese Company and Fleurieu Milk Company Jersey Milk for our cow’s milk Ricotta. For goat’s milk Ricotta and curd we source from milk from Hindmarsh Valley Dairy.
There are several methods of acidifying the milk to bring out the curd, we use a mixture of Lemon and White Wine Vinegar. Whole Milk Ricotta will give almost two kilos of cheese from 10 litres of milk.
Home Made Ricotta Method
Heat milk to 90 degrees C, stirring continually.
As the milk reaches temperature, take off heat and stir in acid (vinegar approximately 5% of milk volume, lemon juice around 10% of volume – experiment as it depends on the strength of your lemons and vinegar), the milk will coagulate.
Strain the curds for around five minutes.
Transfer the curd to a mixing bowl and blend in desired fat and flavouring, eg: salt, pepper, butter, cream or olive oil.
Try Sheep or Goat’s Milk for a tangier Ricotta. Every batch we make is different. If you take longer to heat the milk your curd will be softer. How often and how vigorously you stir the curd during cooking time will affect the size of curd formed, texture changes with vigour used when mixing in flavouring.
Irrisistible spread onto freshly baked crusty bread, serve with sliced tomatoes, bake the curd or add to cakes and tarts. A favourite of ours is to make a simple salad of parsley, shallots, olives mixed with a generous amount of robust olive oil served alongside Ricotta and toasted tomato bread. Very creamy Ricotta is perfect for making cakes and puddings, as well as a savoury filling for pasta. The leftover whey can also be used in recipes.
The whole point of Ricotta is freshness, we make it the day we want to eat it, but for use in recipes it is fine kept in the refrigerator covered with glad wrap or in sealed container for a couple of days, we don't keep it over four days.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Citrus planting and Poormans Orange Willunga Farmers Market
The Spring rains grow our hope for a good season. Budburst is well underway, the start of the grape growing cycle. The enthusiastic soft new leaves grow before your eyes, I can't resist plucking them and wrapping them around new season's goats cheese, flashing under the grill makes meltingly delicious mouthfuls.
We started our stall at Willunga Farmers Market a few weeks ago. Getting out of bed pre-dawn was the hard part, regardless of romantic notions that farmers are up before the sun I'd rather snuggle in a warm bed than put up a tent in drizzling rain. After that it was all joy. We packed up the ute with old fashioned home made lemon curd, candied citrus peel, lemon syrup, fresh mandarins, grapefruit jelly and marmalade; bottles of fresh pressed olive oil, brown bags of almonds, cartons of chooks' eggs, a bowl of chinese dates and a basket of jerusalem artichokes launching ourselves into the marvellous Market world.
This was firsthand experience of the true Farmers Market contract between stallholder and shopper - this is not passive consumption, these are our co-producers! I was the green one, seasoned shoppers told us what we should grow, how we should make things, what they do with their own. It was delightful to hear all the stories and so many comments of 'used to make curd' or knew someone, or had an aunt that made the best marmalade. Ethusiastic debate arose on what chinese dates taste of - try black tea, persimmon, date, cabernet grapes, straw and tar. And the part that money can't buy is the appreciation, how deeply pleasing it is when a return customer confirms these are the BEST eggs they've ever eaten and that our lemon curd is superb. I'd always wanted to write a book on our Farmers Market, now I think I'd like to write one on the shoppers, what a wealth of information.
The enthusiastic response to our citrus laden stall gave us great inspiration for planting, the warm damp soil made it irresistible and we headed out to Perry's for more citrus. The greatest discovery this season is Poorman's Orange... with all the punch of Seville with a touch more complexity to the bitterness.
Perry's don't recommend that you put chook poo direct on your citrus trees, however if you have free ranging chooks fossicking around the trees it is just the right amount of food for the trees.
I've just finished an article for Sumptuous about how chooks are great as Citrus feeders. Try yarding chooks around your citrus for your own experiment. Scratching chooks are good gardeners anytime, tilling the soil and keeping pests down, but when it comes to citrus trees they deliver a daily gift of growth boosting fertiliser.
There are so many reasons to keep chooks, fertiliser is only one. Chooks make living a low-waste life simple with their enthusiasm for recycling your food scraps. Think of the binfuls of landfill averted as you are enjoying the luxury of fresh poached eggs.
Tips on growing chooks try www.planetpoultry.com
We started our stall at Willunga Farmers Market a few weeks ago. Getting out of bed pre-dawn was the hard part, regardless of romantic notions that farmers are up before the sun I'd rather snuggle in a warm bed than put up a tent in drizzling rain. After that it was all joy. We packed up the ute with old fashioned home made lemon curd, candied citrus peel, lemon syrup, fresh mandarins, grapefruit jelly and marmalade; bottles of fresh pressed olive oil, brown bags of almonds, cartons of chooks' eggs, a bowl of chinese dates and a basket of jerusalem artichokes launching ourselves into the marvellous Market world.
This was firsthand experience of the true Farmers Market contract between stallholder and shopper - this is not passive consumption, these are our co-producers! I was the green one, seasoned shoppers told us what we should grow, how we should make things, what they do with their own. It was delightful to hear all the stories and so many comments of 'used to make curd' or knew someone, or had an aunt that made the best marmalade. Ethusiastic debate arose on what chinese dates taste of - try black tea, persimmon, date, cabernet grapes, straw and tar. And the part that money can't buy is the appreciation, how deeply pleasing it is when a return customer confirms these are the BEST eggs they've ever eaten and that our lemon curd is superb. I'd always wanted to write a book on our Farmers Market, now I think I'd like to write one on the shoppers, what a wealth of information.
The enthusiastic response to our citrus laden stall gave us great inspiration for planting, the warm damp soil made it irresistible and we headed out to Perry's for more citrus. The greatest discovery this season is Poorman's Orange... with all the punch of Seville with a touch more complexity to the bitterness.
Perry's don't recommend that you put chook poo direct on your citrus trees, however if you have free ranging chooks fossicking around the trees it is just the right amount of food for the trees.
I've just finished an article for Sumptuous about how chooks are great as Citrus feeders. Try yarding chooks around your citrus for your own experiment. Scratching chooks are good gardeners anytime, tilling the soil and keeping pests down, but when it comes to citrus trees they deliver a daily gift of growth boosting fertiliser.
There are so many reasons to keep chooks, fertiliser is only one. Chooks make living a low-waste life simple with their enthusiasm for recycling your food scraps. Think of the binfuls of landfill averted as you are enjoying the luxury of fresh poached eggs.
Tips on growing chooks try www.planetpoultry.com
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Glistening Beetroot
By popular demand … Chef Nigel Rich’s beetroot recipe
I made this beetroot dish for our Sea & Vines event in June – after four requests for the recipe I got around to writing down the method I learnt from Nigel.
Turn a wild beetroot crop into a deeply glistening jewel.
Peel and slice the beetroot, quite thin, we use a Mandolin. Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper, paint on a film of clarified butter and then layer the slices, overlapping about half of the next slice (dish size choose one that snugly fits a handy weight – I often use a square tin and bread board topped off with a brick to serve in squares, or I made one cake-round and served in wedges that looked great too). The first layer is the most important as when you invert it will be the top, aesthetics are important so let your artistic flare go here, alternate direction of layers creating interesting texture throughout, subtle finesse. The mouthwatering dressing between every layer is made of freshly grated orange zest and zingy pomegranate molasses, quantities are up to your own taste this is all about drizzling and sprinkling with flourish – zest the orange skin very finely and keep moist in the juice, ground black pepper, salt flakes, pomegranate molasses (there are lots of different brands, Nigel’s favourite is Alwadi) and clarified butter (just a drizzle).
Layer to the height you like keeping in mind this will be pressed overnight. Top with baking paper and tightly wrap with foil. Bake in the oven, around 180 degrees for several hours (depends on how old the beetroot is). When the fabulous aroma of baked beetroot arrives it is time to check, looking for the stunning juices to be released, oozing and luscious. The final check for readiness is texture, use a skewer or knife to feel for softness but retaining form. When cooked let cool before weighting and refrigerate overnight. Next day turn it out and serve whole or sliced into squares, wedges etc. A topping of goat curd and fresh herbs is good, or crushed pistachio nuts and drizzle of pistachio oil. Let me know your variations and suggestions.
I made this beetroot dish for our Sea & Vines event in June – after four requests for the recipe I got around to writing down the method I learnt from Nigel.
Turn a wild beetroot crop into a deeply glistening jewel.
Peel and slice the beetroot, quite thin, we use a Mandolin. Line a baking dish with greaseproof paper, paint on a film of clarified butter and then layer the slices, overlapping about half of the next slice (dish size choose one that snugly fits a handy weight – I often use a square tin and bread board topped off with a brick to serve in squares, or I made one cake-round and served in wedges that looked great too). The first layer is the most important as when you invert it will be the top, aesthetics are important so let your artistic flare go here, alternate direction of layers creating interesting texture throughout, subtle finesse. The mouthwatering dressing between every layer is made of freshly grated orange zest and zingy pomegranate molasses, quantities are up to your own taste this is all about drizzling and sprinkling with flourish – zest the orange skin very finely and keep moist in the juice, ground black pepper, salt flakes, pomegranate molasses (there are lots of different brands, Nigel’s favourite is Alwadi) and clarified butter (just a drizzle).
Layer to the height you like keeping in mind this will be pressed overnight. Top with baking paper and tightly wrap with foil. Bake in the oven, around 180 degrees for several hours (depends on how old the beetroot is). When the fabulous aroma of baked beetroot arrives it is time to check, looking for the stunning juices to be released, oozing and luscious. The final check for readiness is texture, use a skewer or knife to feel for softness but retaining form. When cooked let cool before weighting and refrigerate overnight. Next day turn it out and serve whole or sliced into squares, wedges etc. A topping of goat curd and fresh herbs is good, or crushed pistachio nuts and drizzle of pistachio oil. Let me know your variations and suggestions.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Winter Rain & Rabbits Can Swim
Rain on the tin roof crowding out climate change.
White clouds hugged Willunga Hills, while Huey sent her down in sheets.
Today the rain is exceptional, beautiful, more beautiful than any other time following three years of drought and heatwaves and that nagging fear that the rain may never come again.
Our creek is flowing for the first time in four years. The sound of water gushing down the creek and into the dam with frogs calling is the most delicious lifegiving music I could imagine.
I followed the creek today, as if I don't know where it comes from, stood on the bridge and watched the brown water gush over rocks, under tree roots and on down to the dam.
I scared a rabbit, in his rabbit-like panic he tacked back and forth then plonked into the creek.
Frantic dog paddling began, he bumped into the bank and scrambled up the other side.
I didn't know rabbits could swim. All animals can swim if they have to, can't they? Instinctively paddling for survival. But not all humans. Perhaps they think too much.
White clouds hugged Willunga Hills, while Huey sent her down in sheets.
Today the rain is exceptional, beautiful, more beautiful than any other time following three years of drought and heatwaves and that nagging fear that the rain may never come again.
Our creek is flowing for the first time in four years. The sound of water gushing down the creek and into the dam with frogs calling is the most delicious lifegiving music I could imagine.
I followed the creek today, as if I don't know where it comes from, stood on the bridge and watched the brown water gush over rocks, under tree roots and on down to the dam.
I scared a rabbit, in his rabbit-like panic he tacked back and forth then plonked into the creek.
Frantic dog paddling began, he bumped into the bank and scrambled up the other side.
I didn't know rabbits could swim. All animals can swim if they have to, can't they? Instinctively paddling for survival. But not all humans. Perhaps they think too much.
Friday, July 3, 2009
oil press
Our Olive Harvest is nearly finished. One more old Verdale heavy with fruit waits for the pick.
There are still some cherry pink Manzanillo and sleek black plump Kalamatas hanging on for pickling.
Oil harvest is a gentle time. Making fresh bread is essential, dipping into the fresh pressed pungent oil while it is still warm from the oven. Every drop of this season's press is mouthwateringly delicious, we drink it.
We'd like to congratulate ourselves on good farming, picking the fruit at the right time and getting it to the press gently and quickly, for pressing in our well maintained Olio Mio with precision learnt through years of patience and practice. However the truth is that this delicious drop of oil is more about the growing season. The one element we play no part in.
The timing has a major influence on the style and quality of oil, so just prior to harvest we spend a lot of time in the grove plucking the fruit from each tree, gently crushing the fruit in our hands to release the juice, inhale the deep olive aroma and rub the oil into our skin, this to check flavour ripeness and oil content. The window for perfect ripeness is down to a few weeks in the year. The oil flavour of any variety can be completely changed by harvesting green through to fully ripe producing distinctly different styles. When all things are equal there are strong genetic varietal characteristics.
As with all farming we are at the mercy of wind, rain and sun.
Having successfully tended the grove to provide a crop we handle with care, press to perfection and then it is all about storage. Keeping the precious extra virgin oil away from oxygen, heat and light.
There are still some cherry pink Manzanillo and sleek black plump Kalamatas hanging on for pickling.
Oil harvest is a gentle time. Making fresh bread is essential, dipping into the fresh pressed pungent oil while it is still warm from the oven. Every drop of this season's press is mouthwateringly delicious, we drink it.
We'd like to congratulate ourselves on good farming, picking the fruit at the right time and getting it to the press gently and quickly, for pressing in our well maintained Olio Mio with precision learnt through years of patience and practice. However the truth is that this delicious drop of oil is more about the growing season. The one element we play no part in.
The timing has a major influence on the style and quality of oil, so just prior to harvest we spend a lot of time in the grove plucking the fruit from each tree, gently crushing the fruit in our hands to release the juice, inhale the deep olive aroma and rub the oil into our skin, this to check flavour ripeness and oil content. The window for perfect ripeness is down to a few weeks in the year. The oil flavour of any variety can be completely changed by harvesting green through to fully ripe producing distinctly different styles. When all things are equal there are strong genetic varietal characteristics.
As with all farming we are at the mercy of wind, rain and sun.
Having successfully tended the grove to provide a crop we handle with care, press to perfection and then it is all about storage. Keeping the precious extra virgin oil away from oxygen, heat and light.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Pressing Olive Oil
The scent of olive juice is in the air. There is always a sense of celebration for the first press of new season's oil. This year we discover a delicate peppery liquid gold. So sweet and mild that our guests enjoy it straight from the press. Most years my favourite grassy early harvest bites their throats until it tames to a peppery finesse in Spring.
winter days
The last of autumn leaves have blown off in the wind, bare brown vines with wild witches' hair of rusty orange canes await the winter prune. The vivid colour of oranges and jonquils radiate against slate skies. We light the first of many bonfires mesmerised by flames spiralling into the night sky.
These winter days are ideal for preserving the last of sumptuous yellow quinces. Peel, core and quarter quinces. Make a simple syrup combining equal sugar and water, split vanilla pods and star anise. Let them blip away on the lowest heat for several hours until quinces are tender and deep red in colour. A spoonful of the thickest cream, best enjoyed by a wood fire.
These winter days are ideal for preserving the last of sumptuous yellow quinces. Peel, core and quarter quinces. Make a simple syrup combining equal sugar and water, split vanilla pods and star anise. Let them blip away on the lowest heat for several hours until quinces are tender and deep red in colour. A spoonful of the thickest cream, best enjoyed by a wood fire.
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