Apr 5 2023 - Rethinking Cheese

 

"Where previous plant-based meats and cheeses have been made from plant materials manipulated to resemble animal products, molecular farming uses plants as a “machine” to produce actual animal proteins." And one of the hard parts of reproducing cheese is that distinctive stretchiness and meltiness.  “Plants, in particular soybeans, are very efficient at making proteins,” says Richani. And they’re flexible: by modifying a plant’s protein-encoding RNA, scientists can direct it to produce any kind of protein desirable. This can include casein, the main dairy protein found in milk that gives cheese its unique properties. Once plants expressing the casein produce seeds, the protein can be harvested, and then combined with plant fats and minerals in a cheesemaking process. Then there will be competition for the already available nut-based "cheeses" that are advertised to have the meltiness qualities. One of the luxury alternative cheese brands is SriMu.  Look at the reviews of their products: "Founder Julie Piatt makes the Rolls Royce standard of dairy-free cheeses. It’s luxury at its most delicious. This isn’t everyday cheese—it’s an indulgence, and it’s meant to be savored. ... most of her sales are based on a subscription box service online (she ships nationwide). The flavors are intense—this is not your American-style mild cheddar—they hit you in the face and evolve as the cheese melts in your mouth. Varieties include brie (Elder), smoked gouda (Gold Alchemy), blue (Spire), camembert (Bertie), gorgonzola (Dolce Vita), red pepper cheese ball (Bonfire), and fresh mozzarella (Cloud 9). Just be warned: it’s easy to get hooked on the life of luxury cheese." This is so amazing - to be able to create the texture and appearance of cheese with whatever flavour combinations you want.  This is food wizardry.  This is the website HERE.   There's a location in Canada - Teas 'N' Cheese in Port Stanley.  But a mere 2 hour drive for an alternative-dairy cheese.  Or we can order online with delivery to Canada. One of Longwood's great gardens is the Wisteria Garden.  These are vines trained as trees  in a Japanese style. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Oct 25 2022 - Grilling

 

Do you stop grilling and barbecuing when the temperatures start to drop?  Gerry and I were at the large fireplace store in St. Catharines.  Given all the big - really big barbecues -  it seemed to me that there a lot of grilling and barbecuing all year long.   And I noticed a lot of different flavours can be added with the different kinds of wood/wood chips available.  Surveys say that 1/4 of Canadians barbecue in winter.  In Ontario it is 45%!  That's brave and dedicated.  The headlines say it:  "Just because it's 20 below zero, doesn't mean you can't throw a nice steak or a few burgers on that outdoor grill! What's the difference with cold weather barbecuing?  I think there's one big difference:  Scrape off the snow flakes - a layer of snow or ice can gather on the barbecue.  All the others like - look for little critters, keep a bottle of warm water on hand for a bit of grease, cook in an open space, preheat the grill, etc.  These seem mundane.   But what about this delicacy?  Cold smoking cheese and vegetables.  Cold smoking is the process of adding smoky flavors to food without using enough heat to cook the food. That makes perfect sense for smoking cheese. For cold smoking, you want to keep your grill or smoker under 90°F so you don’t end up with a mess of melty cheese in your grill.  Colder days are best - so when better than late fall, and winter to bring some rich flavours to your table. These ideas come from the angrybbq.com  on how to cold smoke cheese. "You want a cheese that is hard or semi-hard that can hold up to the smoky flavors from burning wood. Cheddar is one of the most common cheeses to smoke, and you don’t have to go with just a normal sharp cheddar. If you have a favorite cheddar that already has some extra ingredients, such as peppers, you can smoke it to add even more flavor. Speaking of peppers, grabbing a block of pepper jack to smoke is a good move. Other common cheeses include gouda, provolone, parmesan, and hard mozzarella.  You want to balance your wood choices with your cheese. If you are only looking for a subtle smoky flavor, going with a fruitwood like apple or cherry is a great option. Oak, pecan, or hickory bring a much stronger flavor, so be aware when using them. Some even say they can bring a bacon-like smokiness to cheeses, so cheddar is a great option for stronger-flavored wood smoke. Using a smoker box or tube can be a huge help since you are looking to smoke the cheese, not cook it. These allow you to put wood chips or pellets in them and slowly release smoke throughout the grill without generating much heat. " Here are Autumn leaves in Kingston.  Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblog.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Sep 23 - Handle that Dangerous Cheese Caerphilly

Cheese at the end of the meal seems to upend the dessert theory we described yesterday.   Historically it was served after the mains but before the dessert course.  This is the sequence that France adopted from Russian culture where cheese was before the pudding.  However, there is a tradition of the cheese course with traditional after-dinner drinks such as port and brandy.  This is the sequence that was adopted in England.   Other than this, there seems little interest (on the internet) in the history of the cheese course in cuisine.  There are many articles on how to prepare and serve a cheese course today.   On considering cheese, I realized I had no idea how cheese varieties come about. So I turned to Wikipedia: "Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk (including the animal's diet), whether they have been pasteurized, the butterfat content, the bacteria and mold, the processing, and aging. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents. The yellow to red color of many cheeses, such as Red Leicester, is produced by adding annatto." It turns out to be cheese processing.  Cheeses start the same with rennet traditionally used to separate the milk into solid curds and liquid whey.  The cheese sets into a very moist gel.  Some soft cheeses are almost complete - they are drained, salted and packaged.   Hard cheese are heated forcing more whey from the cut curd.   Then there is stretching: That's what happens to mozzarella and provolone.  The curd is stretched and kneaded in hot water, developing a stringy, fibrous body. Cheddaring is a process - the cut curd is repeatedly piked up, push more moisture away.  The curd is mixed for a long time, taking the sharp edges off the cut curd pieces and influencing the file product's texture.   Washing is key for some cheeses - edam, gouda and colby are washed in warm water, lowering its acidity and making for a milder-tasting cheese. It is at the ripening stage when cheese ages that microbes and enzymes transform texture and intensify flavour.  This is where Roquefort, Silton, Gorgonzola get their blue veins. Our photo today is a laneway at the corner of Honsberger and Fairlane in Vineland.  With my new camera - a Canon 6D - I know where it is exactly - 43°10'18.683" N 79°19'55.703" W.  We see it before the autumn colours start. While it is near Brian's lily field, there creeks that cut off the roads.  One winds one's way north and south along these narrow roads and laneways with mature orchards. One experiences the roads of Niagara from times gone by.  Both Brian and I are reminded of Niagara-on-the-Lake from our youth.  It had narrow roads with over-arching orchards.  So we will follow this Blossom Trail this year to see what treasures it reveals.