the simple havarti cheese recipe

[Seabr33ze]

I finally got around to trying out Havarti after having some, and I ended up using a recipe my mom's been using for years. The process is pretty straightforward.

Ingredients

• Milk
• Starter cultures
• Rennet
• Dill and minced onion
• Salt for brining

Instructions

First, you heat the milk to around 88°F, add your cultures, and let them get to work for about 30 minutes. Then, you stir in the rennet and let it set until you get a good, clean break.

Next, you cut the curds, let them sit for a bit, and gently stir them while keeping the temp consistent. This is the part that takes the longest, but it's key. After that, you drain about half the whey, and this is where my mom's trick comes in: you wash the curds by adding hot water in two stages to get the temp up.
Once you've drained the liquid, you mix in the dill and onion, and then you press the cheese. After it's pressed, you can either put it in a salty brine or just rub it with dry salt for a few days, then air dry it.

I let mine age for about a month, but my family won't eat white cheese, so I added some annatto, and ended up adding a little too much! The result was a bit too orange, but it tasted great, and I can't wait to see how it tastes after a few more months of aging.
It's really good for grilled cheese, wraps, or grated into pasta dishes

 

[b.fr0mag3]

Cool that you're getting into Havarti and that your mom has her own recipe! It's such a great cheese for so many things! I've always loved how versatile it is, especially for melting. The dill and onion combo sounds delicious, and adding annatto sounds interesting! The important thing is that it tastes great and at least you know just how much to add for next time! I'm curious, what kind of starter culture did you use? Sometimes a different culture can make a huge difference in the final flavor profile and how much of that buttery, sweet taste comes through after aging.

 

[SweetAndSour]

@Seabr33ze oh, I like your mom’s 'washing the curds' trick! That two stage hot water wash is exactly what gives Havarti that semi soft, elastic texture and helps keep the pH slightly higher, it's the key for its famous mildness.
just remember that you need to keep a close eye on the temperature when doing the hot water wash! The goal is usually to get the curds up to about 100°F or 102°F by the end.
If you go too hot, you'll toughen the curds. if it's too cool, you'll lose that characteristic soft texture.