Crowdie | |
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Country of origin | Scotland |
Source of milk | cow's milk |
Crowdie is a type of soft, fresh cheese made from cows' milk, traditionally from Scotland. [1]
The cheese was traditionally made for domestic use by crofters and smallholders in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, using milk from the family cow. Its origins date as far back as the Viking era and possibly even earlier to the time of the Picts. [1]
Crowdie is a variety of lactic cheese. [2] These rely primarily on the action of the bacteria converting the milk lactose to lactic acid to create curds. When the milk acidity becomes high enough, the milk will coagulate even without the use of rennet. [3]
Crowdie used to be made by letting raw skimmed milk warm on a windowsill or by the fire until it was thickened naturally by the lactic acid which formed as the milk soured. The thickened milk was then heated gently until curds were formed. [1] The warm curds were hung up to drip in a muslin cloth to drain the whey, then mixed with salt and sometimes a little cream to make a soft, crumbly cheese with a high moisture content and short shelf life. The natural souring of the unpasteurised milk gave the cheese its fresh, slightly citric taste. [4]
Following World War II, crowdie production on a domestic scale declined with the passing of crofting traditions. Its survival is credited to Susannah Stone, who continued to make it near the Ross-shire village of Tain. [4] Apparently, one day in 1962, after making too much, she offered the surplus to a local grocer. Her traditional crowdie became popular enough that she and her husband began to produce it commercially with their other traditional Scottish cheeses. [5]
Crowdie is now usually made from pasteurised milk in which most of the bacteria have been killed, so lactic acid is added to the milk to begin the souring process. [1]
The cheese is often eaten with oatcakes and recommended before a ceilidh, as it is said to alleviate the effects of drinking whisky. [4] There are several variations on the basic crowdie: one variety known as "black crowdie" or Gruth Dubh is made by mixing crowdie with double cream and rolling it in a mixture of pinhead oatmeal and crushed black peppercorns. [6] Hramsa is a crowdie mixed with wild garlic and white and red pepper. Galic hramsa is rolled in crumbled flaked hazelnuts and almonds. [1]
One of the most popular ways of eating the cheese is to turn it into a dessert called "cream crowdie" or "cranachan", traditionally eaten as part of a Burns supper. The recipe usually includes double cream, oats, whisky, honey and raspberries. [7]
Brie is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated. It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mould. The rind is typically eaten, with its flavor depending largely upon the ingredients used and its manufacturing environment. It is similar to Camembert, which is native to a different region of France. Brie typically contains between 60% and 75% butterfat, slightly higher than Camembert.
Cottage cheese is a curdled milk product with a mild flavour and a creamy, heterogeneous, soupy texture, made from skimmed milk. An essential step in the manufacturing process distinguishing cottage cheese from other fresh cheeses is the addition of a "dressing" to the curd grains, usually cream, which is mainly responsible for the taste of the product. Cottage cheese is not aged.
Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a culture, or any edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then allowing it to coagulate. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins (casein) to tangle into solid masses, or curds. Milk that has been left to sour will also naturally produce curds, and sour milk cheeses are produced this way.
Goat cheese, goat's cheese or chèvre is cheese made from goat's milk. Goats were among the first animals to be domesticated for producing food. Goat cheese is made around the world with a variety of recipes, giving many different styles of cheeses, from fresh and soft to aged and hard.
Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream. Cream cheese is not naturally matured and is meant to be consumed fresh, so it differs from other soft cheeses such as Brie and Neufchâtel. It is more comparable in taste, texture, and production methods to Boursin and mascarpone. Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production.
Cheesemaking is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrated form. Cheesemaking allows the production of the cheese with diverse flavors and consistencies.
Paneer, also known as panir, is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting soft cheese made by curdling milk with a fruit- or vegetable-derived acid, such as lemon juice.
Acid-set or sour milk cheese is cheese that has been curdled (coagulated) by natural souring, often from lactic acid bacteria, or by the addition of acid. This type of cheese is technologically simple to produce.
Skyr is a traditional Icelandic cultured dairy product. It has the consistency of strained yogurt, but a milder flavor. Skyr can be classified as a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese consumed like a yogurt in the Baltic states, the Low Countries and Germany. It has been a part of Icelandic cuisine for centuries.
Soured milk denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk. Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through bacterial fermentation or through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar. The acid causes milk to coagulate and thicken, inhibiting the growth of harmful bacteria and improving the product's shelf life. It is not good for making cheese.
White cheese includes a wide variety of cheese types discovered in different regions, sharing the sole common characteristic of their white hue. The specific type of white cheese can vary significantly depending on the geographical location.
Quesillo refers to different Latin American, Spanish, and Filipino foods or dishes depending on the country:
Tvorog is a European, non-liquid, white fermented milk product, traditional for Eastern, Northern and Central Europe, obtained by fermenting milk with subsequent whey removal. It is officially customary to classify traditionally prepared tvorog according to its fat content. According to GOST RF, tvorog is divided based on physical and chemical indicators into the following categories: fat-free, low-fat, classic and fatty. Also, according to the method of manufacture, such types of tvorog are distinguished as simple, soft, and grained tvorog, which is a type of low-fat tvorog.
Cheese is a dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk. During production, milk is usually acidified and either the enzymes of rennet or bacterial enzymes with similar activity are added to cause the casein to coagulate. The solid curds are then separated from the liquid whey and pressed into finished cheese. Some cheeses have aromatic molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout.
Kesong puti is a Filipino soft, unaged, white cheese made from unskimmed carabao milk and salt curdled with vinegar, citrus juices, or sometimes rennet. It can also be made with goat or cow milk. It has a mild salty and tart flavor. When an acidifying agent is used, it resembles queso blanco or paneer. When rennet is used, it resembles buffalo mozzarella. Moisture content can also vary, ranging from almost gelatinous to pressed and firm. It can be eaten as is, paired with bread, or used in various dishes in Filipino cuisine. It is usually sold wrapped in banana leaves.
Caprino is an Italian cheese traditionally made from whole or skimmed goat's milk. The name of the cheese derives from the Italian word for goat, capra. With modern methods of production, the cheese is made from cow's milk as well or a combination of both cow's and goat's milks. The two major styles of caprino are fresco ("fresh") and stagionato ("aged").
There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most commonly and traditionally used is based on moisture content, which is then further narrowed down by fat content and curing or ripening methods. The criteria may either be used singly or in combination, with no single method being universally used.
Chhena or chhana is a kind of acid-set cheese originating from the Indian subcontinent that is made from water buffalo or cow milk by adding food acids such as lemon juice and calcium lactate instead of rennet and straining out the whey.
Quark or quarg is a type of fresh dairy product made from milk. The milk is soured, usually by adding lactic acid bacteria cultures, and strained once the desired curdling is achieved. It can be classified as fresh acid-set cheese. Traditional quark can be made without rennet, but in modern dairies small quantities of rennet are typically added. It is soft, white and unaged, and usually has no salt added.