Making Asiago cheese complete with step by step directions, photos and recipes

Deejays Home Made

Asiago Cheese

This process will be similar to most cheeses initially but uses a cheese culture purchased from The Dairy Connection rather than a home made culture. This process will also require a cheese press and must be aged for 5 months.

Equipment

A thermometer reading from 0 to 250°F

A basket or colander for draining

5 quart or larger Stainless steel pot

Cheese cloth

A cheese press

Ingredients

1 gallon Whole Milk

1/4 teaspoon Thermophilic Type C Culture

1 Junket Rennet Tablet

Kosher, sea salt or flaked cheese salt

Directions

1. Let milk warm to room temperature.

2. Slowly heat the milk to 89-93 °F over a 20 minute period.

3. Add Starter culture and let sit for 30 to 45 minutes.

4. Add rennet wait for clean break - about an hour.

5. Cut curd into corn kernel-sized pieces.

6. Slowly heat curds and whey while stirring until they reach 104 °F in

20 minutes.

7. Cook at 104 °F for 15 to 20 minutes until curds are no longer sticking together.

8. Heat to 116-118 °F in 20 minutes.

9. Cook at 116-118 °F until curd is firm springy and easy to rub apart

in the palms of your hand.

10. Allow curds to settle to the bottom of the pot for 20-30 minutes.

11. Gather all curds in a cake and drag a coarse cheese cloth underneath to bind them Lift curd cake out of pot in the cloth and let the whey drain off for a few minutes.

12. Place curd cake into your press and press about one hour until the wheels are formed.

13. Take off press, remove cloths, turn wheels, and replace with smooth cloths dipped in brine, and press again.

14. Turn wheels 1-2 more times during pressing if possible. Leave on press overnight; keep the room at 72-76 °F.

Next Day

15. Next morning remove wheels from press and brine at 50-55°F. After 24 hours brine the wheels for 4-5 hours per lb.

16. Turn the wheels in the brine once per day and sprinkle dry salt on the tops.

Aging

Age at 55-59 °F and 85% RH with moderate ventilation.

After removing from brine scrub rinds with a brush dipped in saturated brine or rub by hand with dry salt every 3-4 days for 2 months. Turn the cheeses over every time you do this.

After 2 months

The scrubbing or rubbing can be done just enough to prevent discoloration. The rind will become harder and leathery and change from straw-colored to light brown.

Defects are observed after two months when the cheeses become huffed and gassy inside. The cheeses may even split apart because of excessive gas formation. The flavor should be more like “Swiss” and the texture very open with lots of gas holes and lateral slits. This is due to a high level of Propionic bacteria in the milk and is common if the salt content is too low and/or aging room temperature is too high.

This cheese can age for 2 years or more and will have a darker brownish colored rind.

It’s a little more complicated but simple none the less! ENjoy!

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