How Adyghe cheese is made. Adyghe cheese

Not all residents of our country know where Adygea is located. But Adyghe cheese is known and loved even by losers in geography. And of course, having arrived in the republic, I simply could not help but visit the cheese factory.

1. It all started in the market in Maykop. Having bought a couple of "pigtails" of cheese, I began to ask the saleswomen where cheese is made in the republic.
- "Many places, but most of all in the village of Dondukovskaya."
I went there, remembering that on the package of Chechil cheese, which I bought back in Moscow, there really was a settlement with this name.

2. The village itself is no different from hundreds of others, and if you just drive past it, you will never guess that this particular village is the capital of Adyghe cheese making. At a small market, I decided to find out from local grandmothers where the cheese factory is exactly here.

They do it everywhere, honey. But who will tell you? The secret is. You can look for yourself who has gates on richer houses.

Realizing that you can’t cook cheese with a grandmother, I turned to a man who drove up to the square in a GAZelle with cans.

Well, yes, they do a lot. But almost everyone does it illegally or is simply afraid of inspections, the cheese business here is a "nightmare" not sour. The only ones that remain afloat are large factories, there are only a few of them in the republic, and there is only one in this area, in the neighboring village of Giaginskaya.

But you can’t get into this plant, because everything is very strict and secret there. Production is divided into zones, and a worker in one zone does not even have the right to go to the next one to smoke. And that these zones are almost fenced with barbed wire - that's what a random stranger named Alexei told me.

- "Well, I see you have Moscow numbers, you are probably not from the police. Listen here, my brother is engaged in cheese, I can call and ask him. But keep in mind, this is a long process, it takes a whole day. Are you ready to wait?"

For the sake of cheese, I was ready for anything, so I exchanged phone numbers with Alexei, and just in case I decided to try to "break through" to the secret factory for the production of Adyghe cheese.

3. Twenty minutes later I was already in the village of Giaginskaya, and an hour later I was filming the production of cheese. It was easy to agree: I came, told who I am and why I need to photograph their cheese, and the marketing department staff gladly gave me a tour of the "secret" production.

4. In fact, all the secrets are hidden behind the door of this vat. From the receiving shop, where cow's milk is delivered, whey, consisting of pasteurized milk, some additives and salt, comes through the pipeline.

5. Employees of the workshop collect this substance in a colander.

6. It is still half liquid, but not enough to "leak" through the holes in the bucket.

7. Then the excess water is drained.

8. Sprinkle the cheese mass with salt.

9. And they clean up to "dry" on special racks.

10. After a quarter of an hour, the cheese must be turned over and left in the racks for another 15 minutes.

13. I was very pleased with these multi-colored buckets!

14. After the cheese hardens and cools down, it goes to the packing shop, and the ladles go to the sink.

16. Here the cheese heads are cut into four parts.

18. Manually put into packages.

19. A special machine removes air from the bags and seals them.

20. Labels are glued on packages with Adyghe cheese.

21. And then weighed and laid out in boxes. Everything, Adyghe cheese is ready to be sent to the store :)

22. I myself don’t really like this kind of cheese, it seems bland to me. So I went to another workshop located next door.

23. It is called the suluguni workshop, although not only it is made here, but also all sorts of other smoked cheeses: chechil, pigtail. Many people also call these cheeses Adyghe, but in fact they are not: the "real" Adyghe is what we saw in the previous room: round, unleavened, almost curd cheese.

24. But smoked cheese is just a dream! Let's silently see how it is made? :) The technology is similar to the production of Adyghe, and the pictures are quite visual.

31. Smokehouses.

36. The packaging process is also very simple.

38. I can’t understand only one thing: why such small portions? :)

The simplest of all cheeses and the most delicious is Adyghe cheese, cooked at home. The time for its creation varies within half an hour. As a result, a rather tasty dense mass comes out, slightly reminiscent of cottage cheese and strongly - white cheeses made from goat's milk. But the advantage of Adyghe cheese is that it does not smell like a goat or a cow.

Ingredients for Adyghe cheese

To prepare this delicious and tender snack, you need a minimum of ingredients. To get about one hundred grams of Adyghe cheese, which is called paneer in India, you need to prepare:
— one liter of milk with a fat content of at least 3.5%, can be pasteurized;
— five tablespoons of lemon juice or five hundred milliliters of whey.

Homemade Adyghe cheese. Recipe

The preparation of this cheese is quite simple. The main thing is not to digest the cottage cheese, from which the cheese head should be formed. The recipe for Adyghe cheese at home prescribes to put a pot of milk on the stove to heat up. So that the milk does not burn to the bottom of the pan, the latter should be placed in a frying pan. Milk should be heated gradually over low heat.

While this is happening, you need to add lemon juice or whey to the milk. Both of these contribute to the coagulation of milk, which is why it is formed. When the whey turns greenish and the curd turns slightly rubbery, the latter must be put into a cheese mold covered with a piece of clean cotton cloth and left in a colander, in a cup, until the liquid drains. To make dense Adyghe cheese, the recipe for cooking at home prescribes to put it under load.

As a load, you can take a glass jar filled with water. The smaller the curd mass, the smaller the jar you will need. Adyghe cheese should stand under load for about twelve hours. After that, it should be removed from the mold, salted and placed in the refrigerator. I keep this cheesecake in a closed plastic container. The longer it sits, the tastier it becomes.

Mistakes in the preparation of Adyghe cheese

Many people believe that milk for Adyghe cheese can be sour by any means. To this delusion. Dairy fungus creates kefir, from which it is difficult to form a dense cheese head. Gets rather a curd mass, which crumbles very much. Using store-bought kefir or yogurt as an acidifier, you also cannot cook full-fledged Adyghe cheese at home. Most likely, you will end up with a semi-liquid curd mass that will not form into a cheese head.

Where can I get a cheese mold?

At first, when I was just starting to create Adyghe cheese at home, I simply threw the curd mass onto a piece of cotton fabric with which I lined the colander. But then, in pursuit of the beautiful shape of the cheese head, I purchased a metal stand for ladles, in which holes were made on all sides. I cover it with a cloth and put cottage cheese in it. In this form, after twelve hours, a full-fledged and dense cheese head is formed, famous in India, and throughout the world, paneer.

If you want to make Adyghe cheese at home for a large family or for sale, then you will probably need special forms. They can be bought at the famous in Russia. Or popular, in the West. I would recommend purchasing the molds from the German Amazon. They sell quality products at low prices.

Adyghe cheese, at home, it will turn out in the form of a sausage, if you place the curd mass in a new nylon stocking. This forms a cheese sausage. I have not tested this method. It doesn't seem right to me. After all, the cheese should be dense, not dry. Therefore, it should be under the load, and not just hang down while the whey drains.

Adyghe cheese is a welcome guest on both the festive and everyday tables. In view of the original taste, low fat content and benefits, every housewife dreams of preparing such a treat. The process looks complicated at first glance, but do not be intimidated. Today we will look at step-by-step recipes for making Adyghe cheese at home.

The benefits of Adyghe cheese

The original fermented milk product has a fat content of 40%. It accumulates a lot of mineral compounds and vitamins that a person needs for a full life.

Cheese is famous for its high content of calcium, phosphorus and protein. That is why it is so in demand in the field of dietetics and proper nutrition.

Raw materials are not deprived of amino acids, most of them cannot be produced by the body offline, therefore, they must be supplied with food.

Due to the low calorie content and high nutritional value, cheese is introduced into the menu of those who lose weight. It is suitable even for the most strict diets, despite the fat content.

Due to the accumulation of proteins, the Adyghe product is introduced into the diet of athletes who need to gain muscle mass and “dry out”. Cheese is also an integral part of the diet of nursing mothers, children, pregnant women, the elderly and other categories of people.

According to traditional technology, cheese is produced on the basis of goat, sheep or cow milk. In the manufacturing process, the raw material is heated to a temperature not exceeding 100 degrees. To add flavor at the final stage, salt and other spices are added as desired.

A high-quality fermented milk composition should not be too fatty. Different manufacturers prepare Adyghe cheese in different ways. It can be 14% fat or 40%. In terms of taste, the raw material is moderately salty, spicy with a slight milky sheen.

Adyghe cheese according to the original recipe

whole cow's milk - 5.3 liters.
whole goat milk - 4.4 liters.
natural sourdough (whey) - 3.8 l.
salt - in fact

Make sure in advance that a stainless steel or enameled pan is at hand. It is important that the refractory container exceeds the amount of dairy products by 2 or more times in volume.
Fold the gauze fabric in 4-5 layers, strain cow's milk through it. Now prepare the same filter for the goat composition. After filtering, pour the ingredients into a cooking pot.
Set the power of the stove to the minimum mark, wait an hour. Follow the process carefully. Each time the milk begins to boil, introduce whey in small portions.
Stir the ingredients without interruption so that the mass thickens evenly. You will see that threads will soon begin to appear in the mixture, which are separated from the general contents.
Stir and collect them into one ball to get a milk clot. When the ball appears, turn off the burner and remove the pan with the contents from it.
Prepare a clean and dry pan, put a colander on it, line it with cheesecloth. Pour the entire milk mixture with clots into a colander filter, wait for the whey to drain.
Wait for the moment when the cheese becomes dense due to its own weight, and all the whey drains into the lower container. Then fold the edges of the gauze to make a bag. Hang it up for 2 hours.
Next, free the product from gauze, put it in a colander and sprinkle with ground salt on all sides. Let the product ripen for about 20-22 hours, then transfer to a container and refrigerate. Expiration date - 4 days.

Adyghe cheese from whole milk and cottage cheese

fatty cottage cheese - 2 kg.
milk - 4.5 liters.

When preparing cheese, you must use only home-made products. Take cottage cheese of maximum fat content and grind it thoroughly through a fine sieve. The composition must be combined with 2 liters. milk.
As a result, you should get a homogeneous mass without lumps. Heat the rest of the milk in an enamel pan in parts. Take about 300 ml. composition and achieve a temperature of 90 degrees.
Thus, you need to warm up the entire animal product. After pasteurizing the composition, start pouring the prepared curd mixture into it. Manipulation should also be carried out in portions, away from the walls of the container.
The mass of cottage cheese must be cooled. Curled protein must be caught with a slotted spoon and sent to a colander lined with gauze.
Continue the harvesting process. After that, take the cheese in a bag, wring it out a little and hang it until the liquid drains completely. Give it a shape and put it in the refrigerator for several hours.

fat sour cream - 2.6 kg.
homemade milk - 7.6 liters.

To make cheese, you need to use chilled ingredients. Take 2.5 liters. milk and combine with sour cream in a separate container. Achieve uniformity from the composition. Next, proceed to the pasteurization of the remaining milk.
The temperature of the liquid should be closer to boiling. Keep in mind that milk should never boil. After complete pasteurization of the product, start introducing the sour cream mixture. During the process of making cheese, do not forget to stir the ingredients.
Catch the curdled protein and send it to cool. Next, collect all the curd mass in a container with holes. For a certain time, all excess moisture should drain.
After compacting the cheese under its own weight, you need to salt it a little. Turn over the finished mass and transfer to a food container. Remove the product to a cool place to infuse.

To cook the cheese correctly, it is recommended to use a cooking thermometer. In this way, you can prevent milk from boiling during heat treatment.
Keep in mind that if the milk boils, the cheese will not turn out, the product will be irretrievably damaged. Proper proportions are important when making cheese. For 1 kg. Adyghe product accounts for about 6.5 liters. animal milk.
In the production of cheese, it is allowed to use any fermented milk products. The main requirement is that they are completely natural. If you have a smokehouse in your house, you can make smoked cheese.
First you need to prepare a head of cheese in any of the above ways. Next, the product is placed in a domestic installation for 4 hours. It is necessary to simmer the composition in the cold smoking mode at a temperature of no more than 25 degrees.
Before smoking, the head of cheese must be lubricated with butter. As a result, you will receive a finished product of a completely new taste. The composition of the cheese can also include various herbs, spices and spices.

It is easy to cook Adyghe cheese at home if you follow the step-by-step instructions. The most popular is the product cooked according to the original recipe. As a result, the cheese is milky, low-calorie and pleasant to the taste. But you can also consider options that are more to your liking. Store the product in an airtight container on the middle shelf of the refrigerator.

Video: a step-by-step recipe for making Adyghe cheese

Now, when it is difficult to find high-quality dairy products in stores, housewives are increasingly deciding to make their own at home. An example is the Adyghe cheese, it is often cooked at home, because it is done simply and quickly, but the main thing is that the taste of paneer cannot be compared with the store-bought one.

The cost of a home-made product does not exceed the price of the purchased one, but the benefits and delicate, slightly spicy, taste are many times better than the industrial one.

Recipes for making Adyghe cheese came to us from the national Circassian cuisine.

Traditionally, Circassians prepare the product from cow's milk, but they can add whole goat's or sheep's milk to the paneer. The taste of the cheese is delicate and not too salty (very similar to our feta cheese), this allows you to use it not only as an independent product, but also as a basis for preparing various dishes.

Adyghe homemade cheese: kefir recipe

Ingredients

Kefir - 1 liter + -
- 1-2 tsp + -
- 3 liters + -

How to cook Adyghe cheese at home

In total, it will take 2 days to cook, but you will immediately receive 8 servings of a healthy dairy treat. Try to eat cooked as soon as possible, or cook initially as much cheese as you can use in the near future.

What to serve with homemade Adyghe cheese

Paneer, made with your own hands at home, can be consumed as much as you like. They make sandwiches for breakfast from it, adding pieces of fresh vegetables or lettuce leaves, eat cheese and together with pita bread.

However, in addition to eating alone, Adyghe cheese is often used to prepare all kinds of dishes.

The list of such dishes is endless:

spicy cheese paste with nuts and herbs;
fried paneer with garlic and ground pepper (such cheese can be served with fresh herbs, vegetables or included in any side dish, a side dish of boiled rice is perfect for this);
cakes with cheese;
pies stuffed with cheese;
salad "Caprese";
cheese marinated in spices and olive oil;
vegetarian soups and many other dishes.

Another option for making curd cheese is curd-based cooking. Of course, as in all homemade recipes, it is necessary to use only natural ingredients. This will provide excellent taste to the dish and help you avoid unnecessary difficulties in the cooking process.

Ingredients

Milk (fat content 3.2%) - 1 l;
Soda - 1 tsp;
Cottage cheese (fat content 9-18%) - 1 kg;
Salt - 1 tsp;
Butter - 100 g;
Egg - 3 pcs.

Cooking

After that, we shift the mass into a deep bowl (greased with oil), level the paneer. As soon as the product has cooled, we put it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

That's it - the product is ready. But in order not to damage it when removing it from the bowl, just turn it upside down. Paneer will fall out of the dish, completely retaining all the charms of its shape.

This recipe is convenient in that, by slightly adjusting the cooking technology, you can get a completely different kind of cheese.
To do this, after the first boiling of the curd mass, boil it not for 30, but for 40 minutes, while adding 1 tbsp. l. salt (and not 1 tsp, as indicated in the recipe above). We do not add soda at all.

If we cook the product using this technology, then we will get homemade Suluguni cheese.

Secrets of homemade Adyghe cheese

Instead of kefir, you can use yogurt as a starter. It is desirable that the yogurt is natural, not store-bought.

If you can’t buy homemade yogurt, choose one that contains the minimum amount of harmful additives and has a short shelf life.

The same goes for choosing fresh milk. You can also use curdled milk, whey, lemon juice or acid as a starter.

You can cook paneer, if desired, with herbs and spices. Use whatever you want, just don't overdo it, otherwise the cheese will lose its natural delicate taste.

The shelf life of the "Caucasian" cheese is short. It is recommended to keep it in the refrigerator (at t not higher than +6) for no longer than 7 days.

Avoid storage in the freezer. Cheese actively absorbs odors, so keep it away from other products and be sure to “limit” its freedom with closed containers.

Glassware with a tight-fitting lid is best suited for storage. However, tightly folded parchment, a resealable container, and any other vacuum packaging can be used.

If you really need to extend the shelf life of paneer, then try smoking it, or sprinkle it with coarse salt.

You can read more about the terms and conditions of storage of dairy products in our detailed articles.

Using simple tips, you can easily cook Adyghe cheese at home. By independently adjusting the taste, color and amount of paneer, you can always please yourself and your loved ones. But the main thing is that you can enjoy a tasty and healthy product at any time.

Eat right and stay healthy!

Among the existing varieties of cheese, Adyghe cheese is in great demand among buyers. Such popularity arose due to the unusual, unique taste this product. The secret of this taste lies not only in the ingredients and technology.

The fact is that this variety owes its name to the Republic of Adygea. It is customary for Circassians to make cheese from whole sheep's or goat's milk. The taste of Adyghe milk is also special.

Cooking features

In addition, Adyghe cheese has a softer and more delicate texture. This cheese does not need time to ripen, so its taste has a pronounced sour-milk tinge. This cheese is fresh and smoked. Nutritionists recommend this product due to its moderate salt content and comparatively low mass fraction of fat - 40%. In addition, Adyghe cheese is rich in B vitamins, PP, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and sodium.

In the production of a real store product, milk heated to 95 degrees and sour-milk whey are taken as the basis. When milk and whey interact, milk clots are formed, which are collected and placed in wicker baskets made of willow branches. Thus, along with cooking, product disinfection. The heads of the finished cheese are in the form of a flattened cylinder weighing no more than 1.5 kg.

Unfortunately, the Adyghe cheese that we see on store shelves is not always a 100% natural product. Cheese manufacturers add all kinds of chemical components, flavor enhancers, flavorings, etc. for their better preservation. At the same time, the price of cheese remains high.

How to make Adyghe cheese yourself?

If preferences are still reduced to environmentally friendly products, then do not despair. Adyghe cheese can be prepared at home with your own hands. There are many recipes.

Let's give an example of making homemade Adyghe cheese from curd.

Recipe 1

This will require 1 kg of homemade cottage cheese, 1 liter of milk, 100 g of butter, 2-3 eggs and 2 teaspoons of salt.

Cottage cheese should be poured with milk and heated to a boil. After that, continue to cook it over low heat for another 30-40 minutes.

Then the whey must be drained, the curd mass is well squeezed. Add in cottage cheese eggs, butter and salt. Mix well. Put back on low heat and cook for about 10 minutes. Place the resulting mass in a hot form tightly in a container, cool and refrigerate for 8-9 hours. In total, the preparation of cheese according to this recipe takes no more than one hour.

Recipe 2

If it is not possible to make cheese from cottage cheese, you can do without it.

Here is another example of homemade cheese on kefir and yogurt e. This process will take much longer, 2-3 days. However, the effect exceeds all expectations.

So, you need to prepare 3 liters of milk, 1 liter of kefir and 1.5 teaspoons of salt.

We put kefir on a slow fire and heat until a curd mass appears on the surface. We stop heating, we carefully filter the mixture. Pour the whey into a separate container and leave it for two days at room temperature. This time is necessary so that she has time to ferment.

Two days later, we proceed directly to the preparation of cheese. To do this, pour milk into a saucepan, bring it to a boil and gradually add fermented whey to it. Soon you will notice how the milk begins to curdle and turn into cheese. Now the mixture must be removed from the heat, strain through cheesecloth, folded in 2-3 layers. Add to the resulting mass salt and form a cheese head out of it. It remains only to put it under the press, put it in the cold for about 8-9 hours. During this time, a certain amount of liquid may stand out from the cheese, which must be drained. You can start tasting.

In homemade Adygei cheese, you can add various spices or herbs to your own taste.