Bel Paese is a semisoft cheese with a light milk aroma. It originated from the Lombardy region of Italy. Bel Paese is an excellent melting cheese. It is a great substitute for mozzarella. It also makes a great snack or dessert. Bel Paese is also a great cheese to make for beginners. Here’s a recipe on how you can make your own Bel Paese cheese at home.
Yield
900g cheese
Aging
3 to 8 weeks
Ingredients
7.5 L full cream cow’s milk (best to use pasteurized/ unhomogenized milk)
1/64 tsp Danisco GEO17- Geotrichum Candidum
1/16 tsp Bioprox 265 Mesophilic Starter Culture
1/32 tsp Danisco MM100 Mesophilic Starter Culture
5. 1/16 tsp Danisco TA 61 Thermophilic Starter Culture
1/4 tsp liquid rennet
½ tsp Calcium Chloride mixed in ¼ cup non chlorinated water (only for pasteurized milk)
Salt or Calcium Chloride for brine
Equipment
large pot
thermometer
curd knife and curd cutter
ladle or spoon for stirring
cheese cloth
cheese hoop
draining mat
Instructions:
Reminder: Sanitize all your equipment before you make cheese.
1. Heat the milk to 420 C. Add the calcium chloride. Stir well while heating.
2. Turn off the heat and sprinkle the cultures over the surface of the milk. Let it rehydrate for three minutes.
3. Stir the milk in an up and down motion so the culture is thoroughly mixed with the milk.
4. Cover the pot and allow the milk to ripen for 60 minutes.
5. Slowly bring the heat up to 420 C. Heat the milk for 10 minutes.
6. Add the rennet and stir for 1 minute.
7. Let the milk sit for 20 to 25 minutes to allow the cultures to work and the rennet to coagulate the milk. The milk should begin to thicken at around 10 minutes.
8. After 20 minutes, check for a clean break. Cut the curds using a curd cutter and a curd knife to 3/8 inch cubes. The curd size needs to be small for Bel Paese cheese.
9. Let the curds rest for 5 minutes.
10. Stir gently but thoroughly while maintaining a temperature of 420 C for 30 minutes.
11. Let the curds settle again for another 5 minutes.
12. Using a ladle, remove the whey up to the level of the curds.
13. Line the hoop/ mold with cheese cloth. Transfer the curds to the cheese hoop.
14. Pull the cheese cloth to the top to cover the curds and let it rest for 30 minutes to drain.
15. After 30 minutes, open the cheese, turn and redress. Cover your mold with a draining mat. Leave the cheese to drain and rest for 7 hours, turning it over every hour.
16. Remove the cheese from the mold and unwrap. Soak it in the brine solution for 7 hours.
18. Remove the cheese from the brine. Put it on the draining mat and pat it with a lint free cloth or a paper towel.
19. Put the Bel Paese in a ripening box and ripen it for 3 weeks at a temperature of 40 C with 80% to 90% humidity. You can use your regular kitchen fridge for this. Turn the cheese over and drain the remaining whey every two days.
20. After 10 days, you’ll notice that the cheese may get slimy. This is caused by the yeast. Gently wipe the slimy surface off with a light brine solution (1 to 2 tbsp of salt mixed in 1 cup of cool water) and pat it dry. Wipe the cheese twice a week during the 3 week ripening period.
21. After three weeks, the Bel Paese can be eaten or you can wrap it with cheese wrapping paper and store it at 40 C to allow it to further ripen for another 5 to 6 weeks.
Bel Paese can be a bit form if ripened for 6 to 8 weeks, but it will still have a rich and very creamy taste. You can eat Bel Paese with fruits like apples, figs and pears, and red or white wine. It is also a great cheese to use in casseroles, pizza and Panini.
