Camembert: recipe for making Camembert at home

Camembert at home

French Camembert cheese can be made at home. The main thing is not to deviate from technology and select high-quality ingredients for the future dish.

Ingredients

To prepare Camembert at home, you need to stock up on the following set of products:

milk – 4 l;
mesophilic starter – 1/4 tsp;
Penicillium Candidum mold - on the tip of a knife;
10% calcium chloride solution – 0.65 ml;
liquid rennet – 1.2 ml;
salt – 4 tsp.

Cooking technology

Preparing camebery at home involves the following sequence of actions:

Pasteurization of milk, cooling it to 30° C.
Adding starter and mold to raw materials. It is important to let the milk sit for 3 minutes so that the powders added to it can be rehydrated. To ensure this happens, slowly stir the liquid with a slotted spoon for about 10 seconds.
Adding a solution of calcium chloride and rennet to the raw material. Both substances are diluted in separate containers, and then poured into milk and mixed thoroughly.
Maturation of the clot. This will take from 1.5 to 2 hours, after which a plastic mass will form in the pan, from which the whey will separate.
Isolation of cheese grain. The formed cheese curd is cut into cubes with sides of 1.5-2 cm and infused for 5 minutes. Then they are gently mixed for 10 minutes so that the cubes break up into an elastic cheese grain.
Forming the cheese head. At this stage of work, you need to prepare molds with a drainage container, put the cheese grains in them, and wait until all the whey has drained.
Self-pressing. This stage lasts about 2 hours, after which it is important to turn the homemade camembert over to the other side. In the next 3 hours, the procedure should be repeated 6 more times at equal intervals.
Aging in the refrigerator. Place homemade cheese in the refrigerator, where it will mature for 10 hours straight. This is necessary so that white mold grows on the surface of the cheese wheel.
Cheese ambassador. Here it is important to weigh the head of cheese to understand how much salt to use: 1% salt by weight of the head. The substance is carefully distributed over the surface of the cheese wheel, after which it is put back into the mold to dry slightly.
Final maturation. Place the homemade cheese in a storage container and refrigerate for 10 days.

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I always check the readiness of the cheese curd before cutting it into cubes. Make a shallow cut at an angle using a knife, then lift the cut part. Smooth edges and filling of the cut area with whey indicate the readiness of the cheese curd.
Olga Klimenko, cheesemaker

Recipe options with this cheese

If the housewife has prepared Camembert at home, she should ask what recipes exist with this cheese. In tandem with good wine, it feels great on the table and as an independent dish.

But if you use the delicacy as an ingredient in a salad, soup or dessert, then, as they say, you will lick your fingers!

Here are some interesting recipes with this cheese:

Zucchini maki with camembert. Cut the zucchini into thin slices and fry in olive oil. For the filling, cut the avocado, red pepper and Camembert into cubes. Next, carefully insert the vegetable cubes into the cheese slices and wrap them in the zucchini. Place the poppies on a nice plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Mini channel with Camembert. Heat the milk by dissolving the butter in it. Remove the pan from the heat, adding egg yolks, flour, 3/4 of the cheese, previously cut into small pieces. Pour the dough into the molds, bake for 20 minutes, remove from the mold and let cool. Top with a slice of cheese, chopped onion and mint leaf.
Baked Camembert with prunes and bacon. Fry the bacon slices until golden brown and place on a paper towel. Divide the cheese into 8 parts, insert a strip of bacon and 1/2 of a prune into each part. Bake the dish in the oven for 10 minutes and serve warm to your guests.

Baked trout

Red fish with the taste of fatty cheese is a great occasion to gather with loved ones at the same table. Baked vegetables will be a ready-made side dish for an unusual dish.

Required Products:

fresh frozen trout – 300 grams;
small tomatoes – 200 grams;
zucchini - 1 medium size;
onion – 1 piece;
garlic - 3 small cloves;
capers – 100 grams;
Camembert cheese from Zhukovka – 100 grams;
butter – 50 grams.

Cut the zucchini into small pieces, cut the tomatoes into two parts. Finely chop the onion and garlic with a knife. Separate the fish from skin and bones, cut into pieces. Divide the capers into two halves, first removing the stem. It is better to cut the cheese into large cubes to preserve the taste and aroma as much as possible.

Place foil in two layers on a baking sheet, distribute vegetables, garlic and parsley evenly over the entire surface. The next layer will be red fish, seasoned with spices. The cheese is placed on top along with thin pieces of butter cut along the bar.

Before baking, the foil is clamped, cooking time at 200 degrees is approximately 15 minutes. After the complete cycle, the foil is opened and the dish is served.

How to fry camembert in a frying pan

In order for the cheese to maximize its taste, it must be fried properly. We offer two simple options.

Option 1. With cranberry sauce

You need to prepare the following ingredients:

Camembert – 3 circles;
egg – 1 pc.;
premium flour – 2 tbsp. l.;
33% cream - 2 tbsp. l.;
breadcrumbs - 4 tbsp. l.;
butter – 40 g;
lettuce leaves – 70 g;
cranberry sauce – 100 ml.

Preparation:

It is necessary to carefully scrape off the white coating from the Camembert so as not to damage the skin. If you ignore this point, the cheese will flow during frying, as the flour will not stick well.
You need to pour flour into one plate, and crackers into the second. In a small bowl, lightly beat the cream and egg.
The cheese heads need to be rolled first in flour, then in egg and breadcrumbs, pressing down a little.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the camembert over low heat for a couple of minutes on each side until it is golden brown.
Place lettuce leaves on a plate, place cheese on top and top with cranberry sauce.

Fried camembert with cranberry sauce serves as a hot appetizer or a full-fledged original dessert. Serving this cheese well with white or red wine.

Option 2. With blueberry jam

You need to prepare the ingredients:

Camembert – 250 g;
blueberry jam – 4 tbsp. l.;
whole grain bread – 6 slices;
olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

A cast iron frying pan or one with a non-stick coating must be heated with oil over high heat.
Fry the cheese on each side until golden brown, turning occasionally. The Camembert should warm up well inside and become soft.
Transfer the cheese to a plate and pour over the blueberry jam.
Serve fried cheese with slices of whole grain bread.

The benefits and harms of Camembert

Properly made fermented milk product is very useful. Camembert cheese is easily digestible, it contains many vitamins, micro- and macroelements, essential amino acids and bacteria.

Cheese mold contains healing substances, since the components present in the composition promote the production of melanin, which protects the skin from sunburn.

Camembert is recommended for use in cases of exhaustion, tuberculosis, and AIDS. This product is ideal for people who are engaged in mental as well as physical activities.

The product prepared according to the technology contains a huge amount of calcium and phosphorus, which is why Camembert is indispensable for fractures, arthrosis or arthritis.

Just 50 grams of this cheese per day has a beneficial effect on the nervous system, prevents caries, and strengthens tooth enamel. Since the product contains almost no lactose, it is indicated even for those who cannot tolerate dairy products and regular milk in particular.

In addition to the positive properties of Camembert, it can be harmful.

Cheese is contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women, as well as for children under 7 years of age, since unpasteurized milk can provoke listeriosis. People with cholesterol levels above average, hypertensive patients and those with an individual intolerance to Camembert substances should refrain from consuming the product.

About Camembert cheese technology

The delicate product is made from cow's milk, to which sometimes a small portion of skim milk is added.

The thickness of Camembert is a little more than three centimeters, the diameter is a little more than eleven centimeters. This fermented milk product weighs 340 grams. To get twelve of these cheeses, you will need 25 liters of fresh whole milk.

Note that cheese production is often characterized by difficulties when the weather is hot, which is why Camembert is mainly produced from autumn to late spring. The milk comes unpasteurized in 27-liter tubs with lids. The best product comes out of 2 servings - 1/2 of the clots are put into molds in the evening, the rest - in the morning.

So, rennet is introduced into 4.5 liters of milk, while maintaining a regime of +27 ° C, in an amount of 0.5 ml. After two hours, the product curdles and the milk must be stirred periodically; it is important to prevent the cream from settling. Because the plant may not have the mold characteristic of Camembert, a mold culture is prepared from a piece of excellent cheese, which is sent into milk until the rennet coagulates. Next, the curd is poured into metal molds that are equipped with straw mats on a drying board, which is installed at an angle.

The product is left overnight, and the next morning it becomes 2/3 smaller than its original size. Then in the morning the whole procedure is repeated again, but before the next clot is poured, the surface of the previous clot is carefully disturbed. A day after the second curd is added, the product will already be dense enough to be able to turn it over. This process requires experience and even art. If the curd starts to fall away from the side walls of the metal mold, you can salt it.

Next, the fermented milk product is laid out on the shelves. Turn the cheese twice throughout the day. As soon as the formation of good white mold is visible, the product is sent to the drying room. In the latter, you can control humidity as well as temperature. The most comfortable mode is at +13 ° C with slightly humid air. If acceptable conditions are created, mold development proceeds faster, and quite quickly a blue tint forms on the surface, which is why the cheese has a bluish-gray type.

If the air is dry, the mold may be black or dark green in color. Next, the product is placed in another room - the basement - where the temperature is within +10 ° C, coupled with high humidity. Note that mold growth slows down significantly in such conditions, and the mold turns reddish-brown. The cheese now acquires viscosity and can be considered ripe.

This process was under control at the dawn of the 20th century. Cheesemakers, in turn, began to use a special type of specially created mold that gave an attractive snow-white crust - Penicillium camemberti. Meanwhile, the official standard, in particular the white crust, for Camembert cheese became widespread only in the 70s of the last century. By the way, at the beginning of the 20th century, doctors discovered that Normandy cheese, due to these fungi, can be successfully used in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. When cutting, the camembert should be quite dense. A fairly solid middle, which is surrounded by a semi-liquid mass next to the crusts, indicates poor quality preparation of the product.

Camembert is transported in light wooden boxes or packed in straw, 6 cheeses each. It must be sold quickly, because the product is not stored for a long time.