Features of the preparation of Morbier cheese with an ash layer. Nutritional value and chemical composition, benefits and harms of the product. Culinary recipes, history of the variety.
Morbier is a French fat, uncooked semi-soft cheese that has a layer of wood ash. The shape of the head is a low cylinder with a diameter of up to 40 cm and a height of up to 8 cm. Weight - 6-7 kg. The consistency of the pulp is elastic, there are small eyes, located chaotically. Color - light yellow or creamy matte. The smell is pungent, a mixture of chili and overripe mushrooms with sour cottage cheese, characterized rather as unpleasant. However, this is exactly what casual tasters say about all varieties of raw milk. But the taste is delicate - grape-apple, with nutty notes. Interesting: it is worth biting off a piece that was stored in the cold, and you get the feeling that there is cotton wool in your mouth, absolutely tasteless.
How is Morbier cheese made?
The ratio of the feedstock to the final product is 10: 1. That is, to press one head, you need to collect 60-70 liters of milk.
Let's look at how to make Morbier cheese. The initial stages are no different from the preparation of other varieties of semi-soft uncooked product. The feedstock is heated to 32 ° C, mesophilic starter is poured onto the surface. When it is absorbed, dissolved rennet and calcium chloride are poured in, everything is mixed.
Guarding lasts 40 minutes, then the layer is checked for readiness, lifting it with a thin knife, and the curd grain is cut into cubes with edges up to 1, 2 cm. Then the contents of the pan are heated to 38 ° C, the cubes are mixed, and they are allowed to settle. The curd mass is thrown onto a sieve lined with gauze.
To prepare Morbier cheese as an original product, that is, with a dark layer of wood ash, the intermediate raw materials are divided into 2 parts (not necessarily equal). Remove excess whey and form two cakes. Collected like a cake, only ash is used instead of cream (at home, it is often replaced with food coloring). Wrapped in cotton cloth of rare weaving or gauze, set on top of oppression for 1 hour. Turn it over, increase the weight of the load, leave it for another 8-12 hours.
Dissolve sea salt in boiling water in a ratio of 5: 1, cool the brine to 13 ° C. Salted, removing the cloth, for 8 hours. In the middle of the cycle, turn over. Spread out on a drainage mat or metal grate and leave at room temperature for a day so that the crust dries, turning it over 2-3 times.
In order for the cheese to mature, cheese makers put it into cellars with a special microclimate (temperature - 10-12 ° C, humidity - 88-95%), keep it on wooden shelves for 12-18 months (to ensure maximum air access from all sides and moisture drainage on its own). During this time, a dense reddish crust forms on the heads.
It is impossible to create such conditions at home. Therefore, the head is laid out on a bamboo sushi mat and placed in a chamber with the same temperature as in the cellar for a week. The whey formed during settling is drained every day, and the cheese cake is turned over.
To make the crust turn reddish, before leaving Morbier for final ripening, the head is immersed in a brine with specific bacteria. After 12 hours, the cheese is dried for 3-4 hours at room temperature, again placed in a special chamber.
Tasting is not earlier than 2 months later. This time is enough for the pulp to acquire a delicate fruity taste.
Composition and calorie content of Morbier cheese
The nutritional value of the product is quite high, although the enrichment of the feedstock is not carried out during production.
The calorie content of Morbier cheese is 363-380 kcal per 100 g, of which:
- Proteins - 23-26 g;
- Fat - 28-31 g;
- Carbohydrates - 0, 63 g.
The pulp contains nutrients that are standard for a fermented milk product of this type: vitamins A, C, PP and group B - thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, cobalamin, niacin; minerals - potassium, calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, zinc. The chemical composition contains a high amount of amino acids and cholesterol, mono- and disaccharides, acids - polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and fatty.
But the list of compounds entering the human body is not limited to this list. Morbier cheese, made according to the classic recipe, contains a fairly large amount of ash, which is not peeled off by cutting off pieces of a delicious product.
Ash contains:
- Dietary fiber that absorbs toxins accumulated in the intestines;
- Calcium carbonate, which accelerates metabolic processes at all levels;
- Calcium silicate - improves taste and enhances the absorption of vitamins;
- Calcium sulfate is a natural preservative;
- Calcium chloride - strengthens the strength of bone tissue and blood vessel walls;
- Potassium - normalizes water and electrolyte balance;
- Magnesium - enhances enzymatic reactions.
Thanks to ash, Morbier can be included in the diet of those who are losing weight, since substances that increase metabolism do not allow the formation of a fat layer. However, it should be borne in mind: the neutral effect of the food product is possible with an active lifestyle.
Useful properties of Morbier cheese
The energy that the body receives, having absorbed a piece weighing 50-80 g, is enough for 2 hours of active sports activities. It is enough to eat a slice of this product 3-4 times a week to get rid of bad breath and normalize bowel movements.
The benefits of Morbier cheese:
- It accelerates peristalsis, helps to get rid of the accumulation of toxins and toxins, eliminates constipation and prevents the development of putrefactive processes in the intestines.
- Normalizes water-electrolyte and acid-base balance.
- Increases immunity, stimulates the production of eumelanin - a pigment that protects against the negative effects of ultraviolet radiation.
- Reduces sebum production.
- Increases the synthesis of collagen and elastin - substances necessary to improve skin elasticity.
- Controls cholesterol levels.
- Prevents the development of diseases of the musculoskeletal system - osteoporosis and osteochondrosis.
- Normalizes memory function and the ability to reproduce information.
- Improves mood, stimulates the production of digestive enzymes.
Morbier, made on industrial lines, with organic food colors instead of ash, less salty, has a more neutral effect on the body. It acts sparingly on the intestines, creates favorable conditions for maintaining the vital activity of beneficial microflora, and at the same time does not affect metabolism. In addition, this cheese has antibacterial and antiseptic properties.
Contraindications and harm to Morbier
This variety should not be introduced into the diet of young children, pregnant women, lactating women, persons weakened by severe diseases, or the elderly.
If the microflora colonizing the small intestine is not sufficiently formed, it will not be able to suppress the bacteria that may develop in the cheese during the ripening period. After all, a real Morbier is made from raw milk, in 2 stages: from the first portion of the raw material, the first layer, which lies covered with ash - a natural antiseptic, waiting for the raw materials to be collected for pressing the next one.
Due to the double salting, the content of chlorine and sodium is quite high. Therefore, you should temporarily abandon the delicacy product in case of renal failure and inflammatory diseases of the urinary organs associated with impaired urine separation.
Morbier cheese can cause harm in persons with a history of intolerance to milk protein and ash substances, chronic gastritis, reflux esophagitis and peptic ulcer disease against a background of high acidity, a tendency to diarrhea and disruption of the endocrine system. Abuse is undesirable in obesity, especially with an inactive lifestyle.
