Butterkase is a creamy, semi-soft cheese with a golden rind. It has a subtle, savory and buttery flavor that will make you crave for more. It makes a great cheese for fondue and goes well with sharper flavored cheeses like cheddar and gruyere. With its short aging period and simple process, Butterkase is a great cheese to make, especially for home cheese makers. Here’s a recipe for making this delectable cheese.

Yield

Approximately 1 kg of Butterkase cheese

Aging Time

2 months or less

Ingredients

10 L (2.6 gallons) full cream milk (pasteurized, unhomogenized)

¼ teaspoon Bioprox TPC thermophilic starter culture

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) liquid rennet dissolved in 1/4 teaspoon cool water

½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) Calcium Chloride mixed in ¼ cup water

Cheese salt and cold water (for brining)

Equipment

Large pot

Good thermometer

Curd cutter/ curd knife

Slotted ladle

Large colander

cheese cloth/ butter muslin

draining mat

cheese hoop

Instructions

1. Heat to 39° C (102° F).

2. Sprinkle the thermophilic culture on the surface of the milk. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes to rehydrate. Stir well in an up and down motion for 3 minutes.

3. Cover the pot and allow the milk to ripen for 40 minutes.

4. Add the calcium chloride. Stir well.

5. Add the rennet while stirring the milk in up and down strokes. Continue to stir for 1 minute.

6. Cover the pot and let the milk sit undisturbed for 40 minutes.

7. Check for a clean break. Once you have it, cut the curds into ½ inch cubes.

8. Cover the pot again and let the curds rest for 5 minutes to heal.

9. Stir the curds gently for 20 minutes. The curds should shrink a bit after this process.

10. Let the curds settle down for 5 minutes.

11. In the meantime, heat 5 L (1.3 gallons) of water to 60° C (140° F).

12. After 5 minutes, remove half of the whey from the pot. Be sure to measure how much whey you’ve removed.

13. Stir the curds gently to prevent matting.

14. Pour in an equivalent amount of hot water to the whey removed into the pot with curds.

15. Stir the curds for 10 minutes, and allow to settle for another 10 minutes.

16. Line the cheese hoop with cheese cloth or butter muslin. Ladle the curds into the cheese hoop.

17. Pull the cheese cloth up to prevent creases and fold. Place a follower on top of the hoop.

18. Press the cheese at a pressure of 5 kg (11 lbs) for 30 minutes.

19. Unwrap the cheese, turn, redress and press again at 11 kg (24 lbs) for 9 hours.

20. Make the brine. Add 900g of salt to 1 gallon of water and chill.

21. Soak the cheese in brine solution for 9 hours. Flip the cheese after 4 ½ hours.

22. Place the cheese on a draining mat and air dry for 2 to 3 days, flipping it every 12 hours.

23. Wax or vacuum pack your cheese.

24. Ripen the butterkase at a temperature of 12° C (54° F) for 4 to 8 weeks at 85% humidity.