Swiss Alps Ricotta

fx

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 08:30:51 GMT

Hello Bill, thanks for your kind words, I bet your American friends will just love the Gruy�re. You are very right about the train, we have so many drop-dead-picturesque mountain trains and I never use them, they would definitely deserve an article if I find some food connection!

BILL IHRINGER

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:56:22 GMT

Your articles about cheese made in the Gruyeres and in the
Valais/Bern area are terrific.
Your desription of your experiences is first quality.
Keep on doing this, I"m familiar with both regions (being from Switzerland) having been there a lot of times, I"m getting a small group of friends together for a trip in 2009 (they ask me to when I used to talk about the Gruyere the Lake Geneva and the Lugano areas,supported with picturs. These areas are not well known to most US travellers, but are some of the most beautiful areas in Switzerland.
n.b. Next time try to take the train as part of the journey.
Thanks for your good and realistic Article.

Bill Ihringer
Jonesboro, GA (Atlanta) USA

fx

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:48:20 GMT

Allan, it is most easy to mistake one cheese for another, they have over 1000 types of cheeses in France only!

Allan

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:33:45 GMT

After going back to the store, I wrote down the name of the cheese I was referring to. "Le Vache de Chalais, Fromage au Lait du Dauphine."

My poor memory (and French) led me to confuse Chalais and Alpage. It appears that the cheese I had was from Provence. The differences in the cheeses should have tipped me off that they weren"t related.

fx

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:53:23 GMT

Mike, indeed it is a great thing that these alpine cheesemakers are still in business, all over the country in fact. In many other countries such artisan food has disappeared, but somehow we managed to keep it. I don"t think that those who make these cheeses are in it for the money though, it is rather passion and tradition that drives this cart.

fx

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:52:01 GMT

Laura, you must not be alarmed. My videos will be just as my pictures, just with sound and movement.

fx

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:51:26 GMT

Oh finding such ricotta is really easy around here, you can find it in almost every shop. But seeing it made is what makes me tick.

Geoff Ball

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:07:24 GMT

Great photos and story, keep up the great work.

lotsofcravings

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:51:38 GMT

Looks like you really travel to great extents to find exotic cheeses like this... Malaysia is still filled with manufactured slices of cheese... =(

Laura D.

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:37:31 GMT

Thanks for another delicious post. So it"s true about the videos? I"ll try to keep an open mind, but my heart is really with still photos--they capture a moment in time that a video never can. Well, I look forward to seeing them anyway.

Mike O'Connor

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:25:15 GMT

I am simply in awe of FX and his efforts to enlighten us about European cuisine. What an incredibly good posting!

I had no idea concerning what cows eat versus what"s in the cheese. I can see why the Swiss government subsidizes the alpine grazing bit. Too much to lose.

fx

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:15:59 GMT

No, that"s not my car and I don"t like that color anyway!

Z

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:50:40 GMT

Is that your Range Rover FX? I"ve been trying to find one in that color for myself for almost a month now :).

fx

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:31:14 GMT

Constantin, yes I know that recently I"ve published mostly food experiences, but since I"ve started working on video I felt less and less like taking still pictures of my recipes. It is d�j� vu, d�j� fait for me and the videos ought to be even better, so if you can wait a little you should be satisfied!

fx

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:28:29 GMT

Paul, aye, she should have but perhaps she felt the presence of the readers of FXcuisine through my lens and decided to take her hat off!

I"ll see about the home cheesemaking, certainly an attractive proposition!

fx

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 02:25:35 GMT

Jason, oh indeed I am doing videos right now, but hey, I try to do this to the same level as the article and it takes a lot of time. But don"t worry, you"ll have Swiss confort food for every season!

Jason

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 21:15:06 GMT

FX, thank you for such a great trip, I really enjoyed the information about the vegetation and the cows and of course the final product. Are you going to do videos? A "vlog" would be really cool. Request: Perhaps you could do a instructional story about how to make a Swiss winter comfort food?

As always keep up the great work.

Paul Mckenna

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 16:20:42 GMT

Francois, you need to make your own cheese.
I need to see you in front of a jacuzzi sized copper cauldron.

You know it makes (no) sense.

Paul

PS Mathilde didnt wear a hat or hair net when working on the whey mixture...

constantin

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 12:58:17 GMT

FX: this is all very nice and interesting, but what about cooking a nice little dish for us again !? Cheers, C

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:41:37 GMT

Thank you Suzanne, I really hesitated before putting the article in chronological order with most landscape and plant pictures at the end, feared people would not see them. Glad you did!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:38:36 GMT

Allan, this sounds great but a very different type of cheese. Was it not sheep milk cheese from Corsica? I don"t know of any cheeses in the Alps that have chestnut leaves, but hey, there are more than 1000 cheese types in France alone.

Allan

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 10:18:23 GMT

I found some alpage cheese in our local organic food store in Tampa, FL. It was a French soft cheese and was wrapped in chestnut leaves. A bit too ripe and sour for my taste, but whenever I am led back to Europe, I look forward to tracking down some of the Swiss variety.

Suzanne Gagnon

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 09:14:38 GMT

Another wonderful, fascinating and inspiring post-- just what is needed as the bite of winter takes hold here in Vermont. Those sunny panoramas and fascinating cheesemaking really wake me up! Thank you!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:45:25 GMT

Ahmet, I have updated the article to explain the difference between the two curdlings, one is rennet that curdles casein, the second is acid that curdles other proteins left in the whey.

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:43:46 GMT

Clare, oh yes Mathilde is a strong woman! It is really pleasing to see such a modest, kind, soft-spoken woman bust the prejudices about what women can do and be.

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:42:14 GMT

Thanks, I really recommend you visit the Swiss Alps, you absolutely do not need to be a mountaineer to enjoy them!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:41:09 GMT

Indeed Mathilde is not a shrinking violet, when you come to think of it she has 4 kids and a very involved occupation!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:40:12 GMT

Mike, there are lots of online shops nowadays that sell rennet and all sort of cheesemaking supplies - just google those words and yeah shall find!

Mike

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 08:27:43 GMT

Francois, master of the fromage!

Do you know perhaps where one buys rennet? I"ve been looking for it far and wide (I have a cottage cheese project in the works).

-mike

babyg

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:52:10 GMT

I was just thinking as I was waiting for your main page to load how much I would like to read another article about cheese making! You totally read my mind ^.^
Very interesting, and as always in the cheese making part, beautiful scenery!
Also, cheese makers must have the strongest teeth and jawbones in the world from holding onto those cheesecloths...

Allea

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:39:53 GMT

Your pictures make me wanted to visit Alpine ^_^ very very beautiful scenery!

Clare

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:35:06 GMT

Great post as usual! actually one of the first things I noticed in the pictures were Mathilde"s fabulously toned arms! Cheese making is definitely good exercise!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:24:00 GMT

Chiffonade, indeed this is a huge cauldron, it is built in with a hole in the cement and an underground gas heater. Serious stuff!

Many cheesemakers use their teeth to grab the cheesecloth, it makes for a very gracious movement, like one of those long-legged birds coming to drink in some African lake.

I think you could make your own ricotta salata without much difficulty, seems like a very beginner-friendly cheese to me.

There will be one more cheese article this year!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:19:21 GMT

Mark, thanks for your kind words! The whey that drained off the first cheese is the same as what"s in the cauldron already. There is a type of ricotta, in Italy, where they add 10% fresh milk to the whey before recurdling it.

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 07:11:45 GMT

Glad you liked it Joanie!

Joanie

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 06:59:28 GMT

FX, Another wonderful tour! Thank you so much.

Mark Du Pont

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 06:31:23 GMT

You have the coolest site! The panoramic in this posting is incredibly good as are all your beautiful photographs. I too am curious as Ahmet regarding the 2nd rennet. Is the 1st addition of the whey drained from the previous cheese added to assist flavor as well as curdling?

Arrivederci,

Mark

chiffonade

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 05:38:04 GMT

The first thing that caught my eye about this story was the huge cauldron! What a beautiful piece of equipment. The Cheesemistress" use of her mouth only further proves we sometimes need 3 hands.

As the cheese was formed, I kept thinking it reminded me of ricotta salata. Then, lo and behold, you agree! Ricotta Salata is a real "sleeper" of a cheese. Not out there in your face like Reggiano or Grana Padana but when you see it on a plate or in the cheese case you say, "YES! Ricotta Salata!"

Thanks for another "cheesy" tale. I always click with great anticipation the link to your next adventure when I find one in my e-mail.

<3 Chiffy

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:52:55 GMT

Ahmet, thanks for the editing! I will hit the books to find out how the secondary curdling occurs and report back.

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:52:19 GMT

Sarah, isn"t that a good line?

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:51:05 GMT

Cris, I am sure that you do not lack good cheeses in Barcelona. Keep that one for a future Swiss trip, no need to fly it over with the great Spanish cheeses at your disposal!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:48:42 GMT

Thanks Alys, indeed I like my idioms and double entendre, hope it doesn"t read too heavy in English!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:46:53 GMT

Thank you Rosa!

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:46:43 GMT

Astrid, in German you would call this Alpk�se and I"m sure you"ll find some in many shops, maybe even at the Gourmet shop downstairs of Globus.

fx

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:45:35 GMT

Luiz, I have some Portuguese friends and would very much like to visit some small cheesemakers in Portugal as well as Port wine makers and many other things!

Luiz Fernando Xavier Farah

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:35:31 GMT

First let me congratulate you again, for the superb work in the net and in the kitchen.
Second, since you are in a Cheese period, I strongly suggest you to makea exploratory tour with the cheeses of Portugal.
the Serra da Estrela, the Azeit�o, the Envendos, the Picante da Beira Baixa, are just a few of the great cheeses produced there.

keep writing I will keep reading.

Astrid

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 04:04:55 GMT

Lovely post, lovely pictures (especially the first one with the light on the lady"s face). Would you happen to know how to say "fromage d"alpage" in German? I live in Zurich and would love to try to find some.

Rosa

Tue, 9 Dec 2008 03:26:28 GMT

I love serac cheese! It is so delicious just with some olive oil and sea salt... Thanks for the report and stunning sceneries/pictures!

Cheers,

Rosa

Alys

Mon, 8 Dec 2008 20:26:01 GMT

Fabulous to see the way of the "alpage" or should I say whey ...
I thought for a moment that you were calling the fireweed picture "gentian" but it was cleared up in the text shortly.
This seems to be your day for playing with words.
"mould-resistant plastic moulds" as well as "out of the whey". Must be fun for you to play in English as well as with your food.
:-)

Cris

Mon, 8 Dec 2008 13:17:13 GMT

Oh, I"s seems very interesting this kind of ricotta, but I"m afraid it would be hard to fine in Barcelona.I"ll try.