Maribo

Maribo is a kneaded cheese and one of the more advanced cheeses to make.
It needs at least 4 weeks to mature and even longer if you need to mature it in the fridge. It takes some patience but it is well worth the effort.

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Ingredients for for 2 kg cheese:

20 litres of whole milk
8 pinches starter culture or 1 dl buttermilk or soured milk 
8 ml rennet
475 g salt

Cheese coating

Required tools:

Pot with lid
Collander
Sieve spoon
Long knife
Dropper
Thermometer
Timer
Plastic gloves
Cheese trays 
Cheese mats
Large cheese mould with lid

Steps:
  • Pour milk into the pot and slowly heat it to 32°C
  • In a small amount cold water, mix starter culture. Add the mix to the milk and gently stir for half a minute.
  • Put a lid on the pot and wrap it in a towel to keep it warm. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
  • Mix rennet with a small amount of cold water – add it to the milk and stir thoroughly for half a minute.
  • Cover the pot with a lid and a towel once again and leave it for 35 minutes.
  • Prepare a brine: Boil 3 litres of water. Add 450 g of salt and stir until the salt is dissolved. Leave the brine to cool (20°C) until tomorrow.
  • The milk has now coagulated and the curd has developed. 
  • Cut the curd into ½-1 cm cubes using a long knife.
  • Cover the pot with lid and the towel once again - leave it for 5 minutes.
  • With a sieve spoon, stir the curd gently for 15 minutes.
  • Remove 7-8 litres of whey.
  • Add 4 litres of warm water (55°C) while gently stirring. Add the water in small portions over 30 minutes to slowly raise the temperature of the curd to 37°C.
  • Continue stirring for 10 minutes.
  • Drain off all whey.
  • Add 25 g of salt to the curd and knead the curd with the salt for 5 minutes.
    Use plastic gloves for optimal hygiene.
  • Place a large mould in a pot, eventually on top of two cheese mats. Line the mould with a scolded cheese cloth. Now, fill the mould with the curd. Fold the excess cheese cloth over the top of the curd. Make sure there are a minimum of folds and creases across the top before you put the mould lid on - this could cause an uneveness to the cheese crust.
  • Apply pressure to the cheese - use a cheese press or use the following instructions:
    Add a solid bowl - or similar - on top of the mould lid. It must reach at least 3 cm above the brim of the mould. Now, get a bucket or pot with a smaller diameter than the cheese pot and place it on top of the solid bowl. Fill the inserted bucket/pot with water to create pressure on the cheese.
  • Leave the cheese under pressure for ½ hour.
  • You may leave the cheese under pressure for another ½ hour or better do the following: Release the pressure and take out the cheese, flip it over and put it back into the mould and apply pressure again - this time you double the pressure, if possible. Leave the cheese under pressure for another ½ hour.
  • Release the pressure from the cheese and take out the cheese.
  • Soak the cheese in the brine you made earlier - for 4 hours. 
  • Place the cheese in a cheese tray with cheese mat and leave it at 20°C for 1 day. Flip over the cheese regularly to dry the crust.
  • Apply cheese coating.
  • Eventually apply a second layer of cheese coating after 1 week.
  • Mature the cheese for 3-4 weeks at 16°C - then 1-2 weeks at 12°C. If you can not provide these temperatures, mature it in the fridge but be aware it prolongs the maturation time.
  • Should mouldy patches appear on the crust during maturation, carefully scrabe and wash them off, and finish of by saltning it and adding a new layer of coating.