Good afternoon, dear readers! Probably, you had to meet with the concept of "pepsin". And for some reason it is constantly used in conjunction with the definition of "beef". Although it is known that this enzyme is used to make cheeses, including homemade ones.

How to unravel these biological-linguistic labyrinths, now I will try to tell you.

First, let's understand the basic terms.

Main " actor» of this story - rennet and its components. This substance is produced in the stomachs of ruminants, and more specifically, by the glands of the fourth section of the stomach, which bears the strange name "abomasum".

This is a natural compound and is used as a catalyst in the production of cheese. The two main constituents of rennet are pepsin and chymosin. The purpose of chymosin is the primary breakdown of milk components, as a result of which the insoluble protein casein is formed. The latter, in turn, undergoes "factorization" already with the help of pepsin.

As a result, milk is divided into two fractions - curd-like protein mass and milk whey. Moreover, the protein component after contact with two elements of rennet is already broken down into amino acids, which are easily processed by the body.

The main thing to know about the functions of pepsin is its ability to help digest protein. Without it, we could drink milk in buckets, and not get the right portion of the “building” component so important for tissues.

That's the story!

Historians assure us that we owe the discovery of what pepsin is in cottage cheese to the Arab nomads. It is clear that they did not know such a word, and they simply had no time to engage in subject cheese making. As is often the case in the long and fascinating biography of the development of human society, everything happened by accident.

Traveling through the hot desert, the wanderers carried milk with them. The containers were bags made from the stomachs of livestock. After some time of travel, the nomads found that the milk had curdled, turned into a clot, floating in a translucent whey.

These components and the mechanism of milk curdling were subjected to close analysis only in the forties of the last century, at the same time the concept of “beef pepsin” appeared. And to this day, pepsin is natural substance, it is not produced artificially.

You can buy rennet in pharmacies and specialized stores, it is available in the form of a liquid or powder. Used in cooking to give meat dishes greater softness, as well as for the manufacture of cottage cheese and cheese of different varieties.

Cheese-boron in detail

Why is pepsin synthesized in the stomachs of livestock and a number of other artiodactyls?

Initially, rennet was programmed by nature as an aid in the breakdown, assimilation of milk protein by newborn calves, lambs, goats and other young ruminants. In addition, it is also present in the gastric juice of birds.

As for the other component of rennet, that is, chymosin, we will not go into details. chemical analysis, but let us dwell on a very important point.

To start the mechanism of its functioning, a certain environment is required: the presence in the gastric juice of hydrochloric acid, calcium ions and pH (pH) less than 5 units. This must be taken into account when planning both the manufacture of cheese at home, and its use, competent mixing with other food products.

Remember that if the acidity of the stomach is low, an alkaline environment prevails, then chymosin in it loses activity, milk and other protein products will be poorly absorbed. Accordingly, you should not eat homemade and industrially produced cheese, say, along with lemons or apples, berries, apricots and bananas, and other "alkaline" delicacies.

Another tip: don't make your own sourdough starter. It is difficult to calculate the desired proportions of acidity, and the process can take from 12 hours to a day. If we do not guess with the optimal level of acid formation, the cheese will lose its delicate taste. If the acidity of the fermenting composition is excessively high, the product will acquire a bitterness that is not always pleasant to the taste.

Otherwise, our cheese can quickly deteriorate, as pathogenic bacteria can develop in it.

When thinking about how to make tender homemade cheese, and not too expensive in terms of finances, it is better to choose the option using ready-made beef pepsin.

Beef pepsin at the preparation stage is thoroughly cleaned of fat and other insoluble impurities. At the exit to finished product such impurities should not be more than 3% by weight. The preparation is made by the extraction method, then comes the salting out stage, the final moment is freeze-drying. Chymosin in the composition on average about 10%.

The production process resembles the technology for the production of medicines and should ideally have the same careful control at different stages and at the final stage of testing. finished products.

Themselves cheese makers

So, we decided that we would prefer industrial pepsin in our culinary research. It will cause milk coagulation in an hour or even a slightly shorter period of time, depending on the variety and other parameters of the feedstock.

By the way, about the cost-effectiveness of home cheese making. Just one bag of "store" pepsin is enough to ferment 100 liters of milk, and at the output we get about 12 kilograms of finished products, delicious and healthy cheese.

Choosing a Cheese Recipe home cooking, please note that if you choose the option of cheese making without the use of pepsin, then milk with a low percentage of fat content, as well as ultra-pasteurized, is not suitable for it. The use of pepsin expands the range of possible feedstock. Varieties with varying degrees of fat content are already suitable here, even powdered, with some skill, can be “tame” and turned into the desired cheese. Only milk with an excess of preservatives will not work.

The practice of both industrial cheesemaking and amateur culinary experiments proves this with success. With purchased rennet, you can create masterpieces: various soft cheeses, as well as brine varieties, feta cheese, cottage cheese in endless variations of additional components, shades, and “raisins”.

With beef pepsin, any of these components of a true gourmet menu acquires a delicate softness, even texture without annoying lumps, hard grains. Yes, and the piquancy of taste sensations is added.

One of the options for making rennet cheese.

We dissolve pepsin in water at room temperature, pour it into milk heated to 35 degrees. After half an hour or 40 minutes, we will see that a cheese clot has formed. Bring to readiness in a water bath at a temperature of about 40 degrees. When we get the cottage cheese of the desired consistency, we filter the mass, wrap it in a cloth, squeeze it under pressure. Optionally, additional ingredients can be added to the still soft mass.

Surely, after reading this article, I interested you and one recipe for making cheese at home will not be enough for you. It is so?

What will you find in this book?

  • recipes for dishes from homemade dairy products. Dishes like sour cream butter, cottage cheese, cheese, kefir, yogurt, cream, whey.
  • many color photographs;
  • simple cooking tools;
  • affordable theory for cooking at home.

By studying this book and implementing its recipes in your kitchen, you and your family will truly appreciate the taste of the prepared dishes. After all, they will be not only tasty, but also useful.

You can order this miracle helper Here.

Related articles:

Dear friends, here we are "made" homemade cheese with the help of this special ingredient: beef pepsin.

And if you know or tried to cook homemade cheese according to a different recipe, share it in the comments. It will be interesting for me to read, and then try it in practice.

That's all for me, see you soon!

The invention relates to the dairy industry and is intended for the preparation of cheese. The method of preparing cheese includes preparing milk for clotting, which involves maturation of milk, its normalization in terms of fat, pasteurization and coloring, the introduction of lactic acid starter and rennet into milk for its clotting with the formation of a clot, the processing of a clot with the formation of cheese grain, the formation of cheese grain , pressing, salting and ripening. Before the introduction of lactic acid starter and rennet, pectin is introduced into milk at a temperature of 30-35 ° C with stirring in an amount of 0.5-5.00% by weight of milk, while pectin is introduced in the form of a milk-pectin emulsion at a ratio of pectin - pasteurized milk (1:1) - (1:5), respectively. EFFECT: invention makes it possible to prepare cheese with high consumer properties: nutritional and physiological value, water-holding capacity, improved structural-mechanical properties and resistance to oxidation during storage. 1 tab.

The invention relates to the dairy industry and can be used in the preparation of cheese.

A known method of making cheese, including preparing milk for clotting (ripening, fat normalization, pasteurization, coloring), introducing lactic acid starter and rennet to coagulate milk, obtaining a clot, processing it to separate whey, mixing the clot to form cheese grain, molding and pressing, salting and ripening of cheese (Technology of cheese and whey processing products / Z.S. Sokolova, L.I. Lakomova, V.G. Tinyakov. - M.: Agropromizdat, 1992, - p. 244-254).

The disadvantage of this method is that the resulting cheese is characterized by insufficient water-holding capacity, which can lead to the separation of whey from it, especially when defrosting, when the so-called melting of the cheese takes place. In addition, the cheese obtained in this way has a low nutritional value, as well as insufficiently pronounced melting characteristics and the sticking effect leading to sticking of the cheese on the knife, and, most importantly, the high rates of oxidation of the fat contained in it during storage.

The objective of the invention is to create a highly efficient method for making cheese with high consumer properties: nutritional and physiological value, water-holding capacity, improved structural and mechanical properties and oxidation resistance during storage.

The problem is solved by the fact that in the method of making cheese, which includes preparing milk for clotting, providing for the maturation of milk, normalizing it for fat, pasteurization and coloring, introducing lactic acid starter and rennet into milk for clotting with the formation of a clot, processing the clot with the formation cheese grain, cheese grain molding, pressing, salting and maturation, before the introduction of lactic acid starter and rennet, pectin is introduced into milk at a temperature of 30-35 ° C with stirring in an amount of 0.5-5.00% by weight of milk, with this pectin is administered in the form of milk-pectin emulsion at a ratio of pectin - pasteurized milk (1:1)-(1:5), respectively.

When preparing cheese by the claimed method, the resulting product is characterized by high structural and mechanical properties, namely: the cheese dough is plastic, there is no effect of brittleness on the bend, after defrosting there is no effect of melting and sticking to the knife.

As we have shown experimentally, the use of pectin in the claimed ratio of components makes it possible to obtain cheese with new properties. The introduction of pectin allows to increase the water-holding capacity of cheese, and also reduces the course of oxidative processes of fat contained in cheese, due to its high antioxidant properties.

In addition, cheese with the introduction of pectin acquires a higher nutritional value and physiological activity due to the radioprotective and immunomodulating properties of pectin.

The preparation of cheese by the claimed method allows to increase its yield by 0.9-3.0%, as well as to increase the shelf life by 15 days compared to cheese obtained by the known method.

The claimed method of making cheese is illustrated by examples.

Example 1. In 10 kg of milk that has undergone maturation, normalization for fat, pasteurization and tinting, with an acidity of 19 ° T, heated to a temperature of 33 ° C, 50 g of pectin is introduced in the form of an emulsion in pasteurized milk at a ratio of pectin - pasteurized milk 1: 5, after which lactic acid starter and rennet are introduced into the mixture. After thorough kneading, the mixture is left for 30 minutes to coagulate the milk, after which the clot is processed, the cheese grain is molded and pressed, salted, and the cheese is sent for maturation.

Example 2. In 10 kg of milk that has undergone maturation, normalization for fat, pasteurization and tinting, with an acidity of 19 ° T, heated to a temperature of 33 ° C, 250 g of pectin is introduced in the form of an emulsion in pasteurized milk at a ratio of pectin - pasteurized milk 1: 2, after which lactic acid starter and rennet are introduced into the mixture. After thorough kneading, the mixture is left for 30 minutes to coagulate the milk, after which the clot is processed, the cheese grain is molded and pressed, salted, and the cheese is sent for maturation.

Example 3. In 10 kg of milk that has undergone maturation, normalization for fat, pasteurization and tinting, with an acidity of 19 ° T, heated to a temperature of 33 ° C, 500 g of pectin is introduced in the form of an emulsion in pasteurized milk at a ratio of pectin - pasteurized milk 1: 1, after which lactic acid starter and rennet are introduced into the mixture. After thorough kneading, the mixture is left for 30 minutes to coagulate the milk, after which the clot is processed, the cheese grain is molded and pressed, salted, and the cheese is sent for maturation.

In parallel, cheese was prepared in a known way.

The indicators of the obtained products are shown in the table.

From the data in the table it follows that the cheese prepared by the claimed method has high organoleptic and physico-chemical parameters and is a physiologically valuable product.

Claim

A method for preparing cheese, including preparing milk for clotting, which involves maturation of milk, its normalization in terms of fat, pasteurization and coloring, the introduction of lactic acid starter and rennet into milk for its clotting with the formation of a clot, the processing of a clot with the formation of cheese grain, the formation of cheese grain , pressing, salting and ripening, characterized in that before the introduction of lactic acid starter and rennet, pectin is introduced into milk at a temperature of 30-35 ° C with stirring in an amount of 0.5-5.00% by weight of milk, while pectin injected in the form of milk-pectin emulsion at a ratio of pectin: pasteurized milk = (1:1)-(1:5), respectively.

From goat's milk, cheese is obtained with a specific flavor, appreciated by lovers.

To ferment milk, special ferments or citric acid with acidin pepsin are used (these are pharmacy tablets with enzymes suitable for fermentation). For some reason, cheese starter cultures are sold in bags designed for 100 liters of milk. If you think that the bag is a decent size, then it is not. The bag has a mass of only 1 g. I had no choice but to estimate the amount by eye: I cut the package and literally squeezed out a few grains of sourdough.

To make homemade cheese, you need to control the temperature of milk (either goat or cow), so you need a culinary thermometer or a multicooker with yogurt or multicooker functions of 30-40 degrees. You will also need a colander and gauze. To make goat milk cheese at home, prepare the ingredients according to the list.

I used to citric acid and acidin with pepsin fermented milk for cheese, for example, in a recipe for mozzarella. and I was glad to finally try a special sourdough. Sourdough can be ordered from online stores. Thinking this way and that, how much should I measure the starter culture for 1 liter of goat milk, I simply squeezed out a few grains through a small cut on the bag. I think it could have been even smaller than what I have in the photo.

  1. Dissolve the sourdough grains in a small amount of water.
  2. Then pour water with sourdough into milk heated to 35 degrees. Stir and leave for a while, gradually the milk curdles and flakes form.
  3. The resulting mass must be filtered through cheesecloth, folded in several layers.
  4. After draining the whey, place the cheese mass under. impromptu press.
  5. It is necessary to take out the cheese mass from under the press 2-3 times, crumble it into pieces and then place it under pressure again.
  6. When the cheese mass is already very dense, place it for about an hour (and some will interfere all night) in a salt solution (about 0.5 liters of water and salt - from 2 tablespoons).
  7. To do this, first cut the cheese into slices or cubes.
  8. Salted in such a simple way, the cheese is almost ready to serve.
  9. But you can take a few more steps: knead it again, put it under pressure again, and then serve it, or let it ripen in the refrigerator for five more days.
  10. In the photo - homemade goat cheese, aged in the refrigerator for four days after preparation.
  11. Serve ready-made goat cheese as a snack, as part of sandwiches or salads, and it can also be a filling for khachapuri and other similar pies or cakes.

Today, more and more people are thinking about healthy, and most importantly, natural food. I remember the recipes of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers, which can be firmly established in the cookbook of a modern housewife. These recipes are also good because they can be modernized and some ingredients can be replaced in them. Our article will tell you how to make homemade cheese from milk with pepsin.


Subtleties of cooking

Pepsin is an enzyme in the stomach that curdles milk. Exists great amount preparations with this enzyme, but it is best to purchase the pharmacy "Acidin-pepsin", as it is guaranteed to be safe for the human body. The disadvantages include the low solubility of tablets and the curdling time of milk (more than two hours).

All pepsin cheese recipes have one common feature – Pepsin, when milk is heated, coagulates the milk protein into a cheese ball. Depending on choice final product, cheese can be hard, semi-hard, soft, pickled and melted. The choice of recipe depends on taste preferences: someone likes Cheddar, Dorblu or Camembert, and someone likes Mozzarella.


However, getting a natural product at home is quite simple, although there are several nuances here.

  1. Milk should be fresh and homemade. The main thing in such milk is that it is not normalized and, accordingly, the fat content is higher than what is sold in stores. An important factor there will also be the origin of milk: cow or goat. The first is universal and is suitable for cooking both hard and soft cheese. Hard cheeses are not made from goat's milk, as they are of poorer quality.
  2. Food salt without additives. Iodized salt does not change the taste of cheese better side so it's best not to use it.
  3. Brine for cheese such as Suluguni or Mozzarella. It is worth remembering that the salinity of the cheese depends on how much time it has spent in the brine. If you want saltier - keep longer and vice versa.
  4. All kinds of seasonings are sprinkled on the finished product and only in processed cheeses additives are mixed into the cheese lump.


Recipes

The recipe is simple and includes only three components: milk, acidin-pepsin and salt. The drug is sold in tablets, so it must be crushed before use. The consumption of pepsin is approximately the same - 1.5-2 tablets per 1 liter of milk. Two basic recipes with the addition of acidin-pepsin are described below.

Cooking cheese with heat

To make cheese you will need:

  • a form for cheese (if there is no special one, then a colander will do);
  • gauze, if there is no special form;
  • goat's or cow's milk, preferably homemade;
  • acidinpepsin;
  • salt.

Add crushed tablets to a small amount of warm boiled water, mix thoroughly. Acidin-pepsin does not dissolve well, it may take 10 to 15 minutes. The resulting solution is added to hot (not more than 40 degrees) milk, stirring constantly for five minutes. After about forty minutes, the mixture will begin to curdle. The future cheese must be cut into small pieces with a long knife, first vertically, in strips 3-4 centimeters wide, then horizontally at an angle as close as possible to 90 degrees.

This is necessary in order for the cheese lump to ripen evenly. Then, for about 2 hours, the mixture is heated over low heat, stirring occasionally. The heating temperature should not exceed 40 degrees, otherwise the cheese lump will disperse into flakes. As soon as the mixture becomes viscous and reaches for a spoon like rubber, it must be salted, placed in a mold or colander lined with gauze, and let the whey drain. Serum can be stored in the refrigerator for later use.



Option without heating

The recipe is similar to the previous one: a solution of pepsin is added to warm milk. The resulting mixture is covered with a lid, placed for about six to seven hours in warm place. After the formation of a dense cheese lump, it is placed in a form for decanting whey.

The calculation of the product yield is simple: approximately 100 grams of cheese is obtained from one liter of milk. Depending on the fat content of milk, cheese may be a little more or a little less. The content of animal fat in the product also depends on the milk. Salt is added to taste (some people like a more salty product, while others like lightly salted cheese.



According to these two recipes, the product is soft, it is not recommended to store it for more than five days. For hard cheese you need a press, it can be special or made from improvised materials. The degree of hardness of the cheese depends on the severity of the press. Under pressure, the cheese should spend about one and a half days, periodically it must be turned over and wiped dry.

The resulting product should ripen, crust. To do this, it is placed on a plate covered with cotton cloth in the refrigerator for one or two weeks. Every day it is turned over. It's okay if the cheese is a little rounded, as holes form in it due to carbon dioxide. Such a product is stored for about two months.

You will learn more about how to make cheese from milk with pepsin at home in the following video.

· Dissolve the amount of pepsin required for a given amount of milk in a cup of cold water at the rate 1g (one sachet) per 100 liters of milk . While stirring, add it to warm milk at a temperature of 35 C. If you need to use 8-10 liters of milk, then take 1/10 of the bag.
If you make cheese all the time and little by little: then you need to dilute one sachet in 200 ml of pre-boiled and cooled water and store in the refrigerator in a jar with a tightly closed lid, periodically measuring the right amount. (The solution will keep for 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.)

· Swiss sourdough cheese

Stir the starter into strained fresh milk, cover with a warm blanket, keep under it for 2 days, put the curdled milk in lined baskets and let the whey drain for 1 day. Wrap the mass in canvas bags, put them under pressure for 1 day, wipe the mass through a sieve (if the mass is still liquid, then hold it under pressure, and dilute the thick mass with the mass that was not under pressure),

form into small truncated ends in tin molds, sprinkle with salt and let it salt for two days. Lay on grates covered with clean straw, stand, turning, for 2-3 weeks, and when the cheese is covered with a bluish fluff, transfer to the pantry for ripening and keep in it until a yellowish crust appears under the fluff.

  • Chechil cheese

Pour the pasteurized skimmed milk, cooled to a temperature of 30-33C, into a well-washed dish, add pepsin, then, avoiding milk cooling, hold under the lid until a clot forms. The readiness of the clot is determined with a teaspoon immersed obliquely in the clot, and if it breaks off when lifting the spoon, leaving no flakes, then it is ready. Put the resulting clot on several layers of gauze (or a rare cloth) and let the serum drain. Then, with a blunt knife, cut the clot into small cubes, put it on the canvas again, shape it into a bag and let the whey drain again for 8-10 minutes. The mass must be cut again, wrapped in a bag and kept under pressure (1 kg) for 10-15 minutes. After that, cut the mass again, put it under the press again with a heavier load and hold it for the same time. The 7 cm thick layer formed in the process is cut into bars with a square base 10-12 cm long, cool, watering cold water and place the sticks in a strong solution table salt(20% salt). Sprinkle salt on the sticks floating in the solution, hold for 12 hours, sprinkle with salt again, dip in brine.