Posts Tagged ‘celtic’

How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

About The Basic Preparation Of Foodstuffs: Dairy Products.

CHEESE.

Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually put in too. The whey is then allowed to drain off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are kept until ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the quality of its pasture and the type of bacteria all govern the end result.

Some local environmental conditions are unique and those areas are capable of producing cheeses that are not successfully copied anywhere else: for instance Roquefort and Camembert, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of success: remember that most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now derives from the United States and Canada.

The constituents of cheese are roughly|typically|: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the other 1%. These proportions vary from region to region as some manufacturers use full-cream milk, others skimmed-milk and yet others add extra cream. Others add some extra sugar, although most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and should be considered as ‘concentrated milk’ and stored the same way.

Many people say that cheese should not be kept in a fridge and while storing in water, as for milk, is not an option, a cool larder is ideal. Try the traditional method of hanging it up in cheesecloth in a cool, airy place. If the weather is hot, dampen the cloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

in Europe, cheese is frequently served with a salad or/and bread and is often presented after or instead of the dessert course. Hard cheese can be nigh-on impossible for children to digest and grating it first will make it more edible for them. After being grated the cheese can be scattered on vegetables or fish soups or sauces; combined with egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in sandwiches or salads.

How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that a lot of people find cooked cheese practically indigestible and the reason lies in its make-up. This is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth, but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process to be completed. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese possesses a high fat and protein mixture, but when melted, the fat often covers the protein and stops the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. Therefore, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed in the intestines. Cheese can be made more digestible in the following way:

1] Adding to or combining with starchy foods. The starch will absorb the fat, not allowing it to cover the protein.

2] Adding seasoning. Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking rapidly|quickly|briskly| at fairly high temperatures. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and so, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.

4] Adding alkali: so, generous pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 75g (3 ozs) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.

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The Traditional Use Of Dairy Produce: Part 2 – Cheese

Sunday, April 12th, 2009

The Basic Preparation Food: Dairy Products.

CHEESE.

Cheese is made from milk which has been naturally or artificially soured. The former method is brought about by standing the milk in a warm place and allowing natural, friendly bacteria to turn the milk’s natural sugars into lactic acid. The latter method is effected by adding an enzyme, usually in to form of rennet.

Colouring and salt are usually added too. The whey is then drained off and the curds are pressed into moulds where they are ripened or cured. Some cheeses are subjected to pressure; soft cheeses are not. Curds are ripened or cured by a variety of means. The method, the quality of the milk and its pasture, the breed of cow, sheep or other animal and the type of bacteria all govern the final product.

Some local conditions are unique and those areas produce cheeses that are not successfully replicated elsewhere: for example Roquefort and Edam, although factories do attempt it. Some even have a measure of, as most of the world’s Cheddar cheese now comes from the United States and Canada.

The constituent parts of cheese are roughly: 33% fat, 33% protein and 33% water with salt, colouring, sugar etc making up the other 1%. These proportions do vary from area to area as some manufacturers use full cream milk, others skimmed milk and yet others add extra cream. Yet others add extra sugar, although most do not. All cheeses have a high calcium content and can be considered ‘concentrated milk’ and stored in the same way.

Many people say that cheese must not be kept in a fridge and although storing in water, as for milk, is not a viable option, a cool larder is certainly ideal. Try the traditional method of suspending it from a hook in muslin in a cool, breezy place. If it is hot, moisten the cheesecloth with water to which a little vinegar has been added.

Cheese is often served in Europe with a salad or/and bread and is often presented after or instead of the pudding. Hard cheese can be difficult for children to digest and grating it first will make it more palatable to them. Having been grated the cheese can be scattered on vegetable or fish soups or sauces; added to egg, pasta, rice and oatmeal dishes; put on baked potatoes or pastry; toasted on bread or put in salads and sandwiches.

How To Cook Cheese: A not well known fact is that many people find cooked cheese indigestible. The reason lies in its molecular structure. This is why: cooked starch can be digested by the saliva in the mouth but other foods must pass to the stomach or intestines for this process. They are, however, broken up in the mouth. Digestion of protein begins in the stomach and is completed in the small intestine, while fat is not rendered soluble until it reaches the small intestine.

Cheese has a high fat and protein content, but when melted, the fat often covers the protein and prevents the digestive juices reaching it in the stomach. This results in, its digestion is delayed until the fat has been absorbed by the intestines. Cheese can be rendered more digestible by:

a] Combining it with some starchy foodstuff, since the starch will absorb the fat, thus preventing it covering the protein.

2] Adding seasoning. Cayenne Pepper or mustard will irritate the intestinal lining, causing extra digestive juices to be released.

3] Cooking rapidly|quickly|briskly| at fairly high temperatures. This has the effect of preventing the protein from becoming tough and stringy and thus, harder to digest. You could also add the cheese late to sauces.

4] Adding an alkali: for example, a generous pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda per 3 ozs (75g) will help neutralize the fatty acids and make the proteins easier to digest.

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How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 1 – Milk

Saturday, March 28th, 2009

Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

These fairly basic tips may seem quite irrelevant to most modern householders who own a refrigerator, but modern technology do make people sloppy and so it is very worth while to know ‘why’ we ought do some things. For example, it is worth remembering these tips when your refrigerator is broken or is so small that it will not hold everything you have, such as when camping or boating or on holiday in some (parts of) countries in the world.

MILK:

Milk has been called ‘nature’s perfect food’, because no other food, taken alone, can support adult human life. It is of the utmost importance for the growth and development of adolescents, but it must be clean because bacteria also find it very nourishing and quickly grow in it. If your milk was not bought pasteurized, then it should be scalded and cooled quickly before drinking it.

How To Scald Milk: Rinse a clean saucepan with cold water, pour in the milk and apply heat until bubbles form around the side of the pan. Keep it at this temperature, that is not letting it boil, for 3 minutes. Do not overheat, as milk burns easily. Pour immediately into a clean jug and place in a basin of cold water and cover with a fine cloth to prevent the ingress of flies and dust.

How To Keep Milk Fresh: If milk the is not be preserved in the receptacles in which you bought it, pour it into a clean container, which has been rinsed with cold water. A warm receptacle will cause the milk to stick to the sides and go off much more quickly. Always keep milk covered and in the coolest place in the larder. it is a good tip to remember that draughts usually occur at ground-level and that hot air rises. Never keep milk in an airless cupboard and in hot weather stand the milk in a container in a bowl of water with the cloth covering hanging in the water. The muslin will soak up water, which will evaporate, which dissipates the heat, ensuring that the container remains cool. Keep milk away from strong-smelling foods, as it absorbs smells easily. Never mix old and new milk together.

Sour Milk: When milk comes straight from the cow, it is a little alkaline, but as time passes, lactic acid is created and it becomes what is called ‘sour’. Pasteurizing or scalding the milk retards this process. Milk which is just “on the turn” can be rejuvenated by boiling with a pinch of bicarbonate of soda to restore its alkalinity. However, once the milk has gone too far and has curdled, it can be strained through (cheese) cloth, thus separating the curds from the whey. The curds can be used as a filling for cakes, tarts, scones etc and the whey can be used as the liquid for making scones, cakes and soups etc., because it still retains a lot of goodness.

Evaporated Milk: Evaporated milk is ordinary milk, which has had some of its water content driven off by heat in some way or other before being placed in its container. Once reconstituted by adding water, it will last only a little longer than fresh milk does.

Condensed Milk: This is simply evaporated milk to which sugar has been added before canning. The sugar acts as a preservative and will keep the milk for about a week. Do not keep in the tin, but decant it into a jug.

Dried Milk: Dried milk comes in a variety of forms and particular attention should be paid to the instructions on the label. Specialized products can be bought for babies, invalids, convalescents and dieters, all of which contain varying amounts and types of added vitamins and minerals. Usually, they are very much lower in fat content than conventional milk.

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