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All that is left of my first homemade cheese.
This was an acid coagulated cow's milk soft cheese, with added flavor from kumquat peel.
I started with 1/2 gallon of milk, the juice of 2.5 myer lemons, and the peels of 2 kumquats finely chopped. After draining about 2 hours with the occasional squeeze, this yielded about 3/4 pound of curds which I packed in the bottom of a container.
With the added citrus flavors from using the lemon juice instead of a pure acid and adding the kumquat peel, it went really well in a spinach salad.
It kept for about a week, which is consistent with the book's guess.
I like this one. I decided not to blacken the outside of the firecracker and see if the translucent string cheese would look interesting. And it did.
The string cheese was from the dollar store. A simple shot. i also used a black background which is rare for me. I just wanted white cheese and black background. It might even work as a black and white photo.
We are staying home today. We already had and early Thanksgiving this past Sunday which went fine. Kathy and I went on a short hike in Ventura and then went into the hot tub. My long suffering right knee feels good and Kathy's hip is hopefully getting better.
I'd like to take some long hikes this winter so hopefully things will continue good.
Cheers.
Plain and tasty, my dessert at a restaurant in Rocamadour: just Rocamadour cheese together with salad, honey and walnuts, Lot, Occitania, France
Some background information:
France is certainly a paradise for cheese lovers. There are around 350 to 400 different types, but many of these often have multiple variations, so it is more accurate to say there are around 1,000 varieties of French cheese. 63 French cheeses have the AOC designation. The abbreviation stands for "Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée" and is the official French protected designation of origin, which guarantees the origin of traditional French food products.
Rocamadour cheese is a French cheese that takes its name from the village of Rocamadour in the département of the Lot. It was first recorded in writing in 1451, in an agreement between the Bishop of Evreux and a local lord, whose vassals used the cheese for paying taxes. Rocamadour cheese belongs to a family of goat cheeses called Cabécous. It has benefited from being accorded an AOC designation since 1996. Rocamadour is a very small, soft and creamy white cheese with an average weight of 35 g, a flat round shape and a thin, soft rind. It is 4 to 5 cm wide and has a thickness of 1 to 1.5cm.
The unpasteurised raw milk for the cheese is supplied from Alpine or Saanen goats. The goats must not be fed with fermented feed. The cheese is made in molds, either individually or in a traditional multi-mold plate. It is matured in two phases: a drying phase of at least 24 hours at a temperature of 23°C or less, with a humidity level of more than 80%, and a cellar phase at a temperature of at least 10°C and a humidity level of more than 85%. Rocamadour is usually sold very young after just 12 to 15 days of aging and is customarily consumed on hot toast or in salads. But it can also be aged further. After several months it takes on a more intense flavour and is typically eaten on its own with a red wine towards the end of the meal.
Rocamadour is a commune and pilgrimage site in the department of Lot in southwestern France. The village , which has more than 600 residents, is nestled to a steep rock above the gorge of the Alzou river, a tributary of the Dordogene river. The town is located in the far north of the Occitania region and at the heart of the natural preserve Causses du Quercy, about 60 km (37 miles) to the south of the city of Brive-la-Gaillarde and about 166 km (103 miles) to the north of the city of Toulouse.
Rocamadour and its many caves already housed people in the Paleolithic as shown in the cave drawings of the Grotte des Merveilles. The Grotte de Linars cave and its porch served as an underground necropolis and a habitat in the Bronze Age. During the Iron Age, the Cadurques people arrived from middle Germany. In the 8th century BC., they colonised the current department of Lot while using their iron weapons.
In the Middle Ages, Rocamadour as it still exists today, was erected on three levels. These levels reflect the three orders of medieval society: the knights on top, linked to religious clerics in the middle and the lay workers at the foot of the rock near the river. Documents mention that in 1105 a small chapel was built in a shelter of the cliff at a place called Rupis Amatoris, at the limit of the territories of the Benedictine abbeys of Saint-Martin at Tulle and Saint-Pierre at Marcilhac-sur-Célé.
In 1112, Eble de Turenne, Abbot of Tulle settled in Rocamadour. In 1119, a first donation was made by Eudes, Comte de la Marche. In 1148, the first miracle of Rocamadour was announced and the location began to attract pilgrims to the Virgin Mary of Rocamadour. The 12th-century book Livre des Miracles written by a monk from the sanctuary illustrates that at that time Rocamadour had already become famous as a place of pilgrimage.
In 1159, King Henry II of England, husband of Eleanor of Aquitaine, came to Rocamadour to thank the Virgin Mary for the healing of his wife. The statue of the Black Madonna dates from the 12th century. Géraud d'Escorailles , who was Rocamadour’s abbot from 1152 to 1188, built the religious buildings, which still can be seen today on Rocamadour’s second level, financed by many donations from visitors. These works were finished at the end of the 12th century.
In 1166, an excavation for a grave in front of the entrance to the chapel of the Virgin uncovered an intact body, presented as that of Saint Amadour. Rocamadour had finally found its patron saint. At least four stories, more or less tinged with legend, presented Saint Amadour as being close to Jesus. The body was burned during the French Wars of Religion and today only fragments of bones remain, on view in the crypt of Saint-Amadour. Saint Amadour is also the saint, from whom the place derives ist name, as "Roca de Amadour" simply means "Rock of Amadour" in English.
In 1211, the pontifical legate during the Albigensian Crusade, Arnaud Amalric, came to spend the winter in Rocamadour. In addition, in 1291, Pope Nicholas IV granted three bulls and forty day indulgences for site visitors. The end of the 13th century saw the height of Rocamadour's influence and the completion of the buildings. At that time, the castle was protected by three towers, a wide moat and numerous lookouts. And at that time, Rocamadour had also become one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Western Europe.
But the 14th century saw Rocamadour’s decline. In 1317, the monks left Rocamadour. The site was then administered by a chapter of canons appointed by the bishop. In the fourteenth century, a cooling climate, famines, epidemics like the Black Death ravaged Europe and hence, also the area of Rocamadour. In 1427, reconstruction was started, but without financial or human resources. A huge rock crushed the chapel of Notre-Dame, which was rebuilt in 1479 by Denys de Bar, Bishop of Tulle.
Subsequently, during the French Wars of Religion, the iconoclastic passage of Protestant mercenaries in 1562 caused the destruction of religious buildings and their relics. Rocamadour was burned and looted, while many statues, paintings, bells, ornaments and jewels were destroyed. Even the relics were desecrated and destroyed, including the body of Saint Amadour. According to witnesses, the Protestant captain Jean Bessonia broke it with a blacksmith's hammer, saying: "I am going to break you, since you did not want to burn". During the French Revolution, the site was looted once again.
The Via Averna, a byway of the Via Podiensis and hence, one of the Ways of St James to Santiago de Compostela, leads through Rocamadour. For that reason, Rocamadour was also listed by UNESCO in 1998 as part of the World Heritage Site "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France".
Since the early 20th century, Rocamadour has become more of a tourist destination than a pilgrimage center, although pilgrimage continues and remains important. The site's gravity-defying churches and the Black Madonna statue remain a spiritual draw for both Catholic pilgrims and for visitors who practice earth-based or New Age religions, being drawn to stories of Rocamadour's "strange energies" and pre-Christian origins.
By the way, if you look up in Rocamadour’s monastic second level, you will most likely see a sword stuck in the rocks. It is said, that this sword is Durendal, the sword of Roland, a legendary paladin and partially historical officer of Charlemagne in French epic literature. The sword is famous for its hardness and sharpness. Legend has it that in an attempt to break Durendal, Roland cut a huge gash in the mountainside with just one blow.
Another local legend holds that instead of dying in Iberia with Durendal hidden under his body, Roland called on the Archangel Michael for assistance and with the help of the Archangel, was able to throw the sword several hundred kilometres across the border into France, where it came to rest in Rocamadour. Unfortunately the sword was stolen in 2024, not for the first time in history.
The commune of Rocamadour has also become a member of the association "The most beautiful villages of France" (in French: "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France"), which promotes small and picturesque French villages of quality heritage. Currently 176 villages throughout France are pooled under the umbrella of the organisation.
The oh-so important cheese rolling competiton takes place annually on Coopers-hill, (Gloucestershire).
It is a race, and the aim is to be the first to grab a cheese thrown from the top of the hill by the "cheese master". Because it's horribly steep, people can't run fast enough and end up tumbling down the hill at the speed of sound.
Quite a few people are injured in the process, it goes without saying, but it's great fun to watch!!!
This photo will be published in the "Festival" book from Lonely Planet.
After pasta, chicken and peas and carrots we had cheese and salumi. then fresh mozzarella di bufala. and then cafe...and then limoncello...
Abel & Cole's recipe for Easy Peasy Yogurt Cheesey:
www.abelandcole.co.uk/this-weeks-recipes/easy-peasy-yogur...
Stopped in at "Cheese Louise," a local cheese/wine shop, today to take in a few pieces for our art show going on there. (Some were sold and taken off the wall.) And had a long talk with the owner, Bill Kriegler.
My mid-afternoon snack was this "4 Cheese Snack," with a glass of "Fat Bastard" white wine. Exquisite little snack.
Barely Buzzed - Utah
Lamp Chopper - Holland (not Utah as stated in the sketch)
Gruyere - Switzerland
Fiscalini Cheddar - California
My favorite by a very slim margin over each of the other three, is "Barely Buzzed."
Grandmothers selling "oscypek", a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland, and "Serowy warkocz wędzony", braided smoked cheese...
This was random. I had pesto, and I had cheese. I like cheese for the melt-factor, mainly. This cheese (havarti, I think) is reallllly mild.
Cheese Well . This spring is associated with the fairies who appreciate offerings. Cheese is traditional, but most travellers leave coins these days. John o' groats & Duncansby head to lands end. End to end trail. Walkerburn. Scotland. Great Britain. UK. Day 40
Murray's Cheese Shop founded in 1940 by Murray Greenberg.
Our love affair with Murray’s Cheese began in 1994, when we were newlyweds on a budget, often buying cheese from the small Bleecker Street store to eat with some freshly baked bread purchased from Zito & Sons Bakery.
The lack of opportunities to market finished produce beyond local shops in Bumthang, Bhutan has dented Youser Lhamo’s entrepreneurial aspirations. Youser and her husband set up a small cheese factory in the area. After Youser’s husband died in 2011 , she had to take over the factory. Her son and daughter, who are now grown up, help Youser with administration and finance of the factory. Today the family makes emmental, gowda and the popular soft cheese that is bought by the locals. Youser procures fresh milk from 36 farmers covering eight villages in the area. She found her early years into the factory quite challenging as she had to work in the factory as well as cook, clean the house and look after her small children. However, today the work has become a part of Youser’s life. Since cheese factories are not that common in the area, even members of the royal family have visited the factory and encouraged Youser. The factory sells mainly to local hotels and restaurants but also receives orders from the locals and tourists who visit the shop and buy directly. Lamenting the limited channels for selling cheese, Youser is keen to expand and change with the times.
Photo Credits: Vidura Jang Bahadur
another wonderfull PICKLE sandwich salami soft cheese with tomato rocket home made pickle in a local sourced bread bap
Isabel Verhelle in her unique cheese shop, Diksmuids Boterhuis, in Brugge, Belgium. The shop has over 200 different types of cheese as well as fine meats from Italy, Spain, France and of course Belgium and other assorted delicacies. The shop is beautifully presented. A lovely experience to visit.
If you’re in Bruges then this is definitely a place to visit. I’ve just finished eating a slice of the finest cheese tart I’ve ever tasted, which we bought when I took the picture. Thanks Isabel.
Find out more here: www.diksmuidsboterhuis.be/
Grandmothers selling "oscypek", a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra Mountains region of Poland, and "Serowy warkocz wędzony", braided smoked cheese...