Characteristics:
Gammelost, made from sour skim
milk in Norway (principally in the
counties of Hardange and Sogn), is a semisoft, blue-mold, ripened table
cheese, with a rather sharp, aromatic flavor. The principal ripening molds
are species of Mucor, Rhizopus, and Penicillium. The rind is brownish
and the interior is brownish-yellow with a blue-green tint; the color darkens
with age. The cheese is round and flat, usually about 15
cm 6 inches in diameter,
and from 12,5-15 cm 5-6
inches thick. It weighs usually between 2,7-4 kg,
6-9 pounds
although some cheeses may weigh more than 11 kg
25 pounds.
The cheese is made by one method in Hardanger and by a slightly different
method in
Sogn.
The Method of Making:
In the Hardanger method, about 0.5 % of lactic starter is
added
to skim milk and, after souring for a day or two at 19°C
66°F., it is put into a
vat and warmed slowly to 63°C 145°F. After about 30 minutes at that tempera-
ture, the curd is dipped into cloth bags and pressed heavily. After press-
ing, the curd is removed from the bags, broken up, and packed in cloth-
lined forms which then are covered and placed in boiling whey for 3 1/2
hours. This practically sterilizes the cheese and changes its texture. The
next day the cheese is removed from the forms and put in a warm place
for a day or two to dry, after which it is pierced with metal needles that
have been inoculated with a mold - Penicillium roqueforti, or a related
species - that develops a greenish-blue mold throughout the cheese. It is
then placed on shelves in a curing room which is maintained at a temperature
of 10-13°C 50-55°F. and a relative humidity of 90%. A
Mucor racemosus, which
is propagated by hand rubbing the surface with mycelium from older cheeses,
develops on the surface of the cheese. The cheese is inverted daily or at
least every other day, and rubbed or cleaned if necessary. The curing
period is about 4 week or somewhat longer.
In the Sogn method, 1,5 to 2 % of starter is added to the
skim
milk, and it is soured at a temperature of 22-24°C
72-75°F.; on the second day,
the milk may be transferred to the cheese vat where souring is completed
at a temperature of 25°C 77°F. When the milk has reached the desired stage of
souring (a later stage than in the Hardanger method), it is heated slowly
to the boiling point. The whey is removed, and the curd is heated to
about 90°C 195°F, then placed in forms to drain. The forms are covered with
cloths and kept in a warm place. After the whey has drained off, the curd
is removed from the forms, crumbled fine, inoculated with mold M.racemosus,
and
repressed. The next day the cheeses are removed from the forms, dried
in a warm place for 4 or 5 days, and then taken to the curing room. The
curing process is the same as in the Hardanger method.
In both methods, after the cheese is partly cured, it may be put in
chests
lined with straw that has been treated with heated juniper extract.
The
yield of cure cheese is between 4-5,5 kg
4 -5 1/2 pounds per 100 kg
100 pounds
of skim
milk.
Analysis:
