If we simply say that suluguni is pickled cheese, like feta cheese, Mozzarella, Adyghe or Chechil, then this will be very little.
He is a visiting card of Western Georgia, a people who can sing the beauty of mountains and a vine, kebab from a young lamb and, of course, made with love, suluguni cheese at home.
Georgians themselves do not pay attention to the scientifically sound origin of the name of cheese, which denotes the raw materials for its production.
With their characteristic poetry and romanticism, they explain that suluguni is a derivative of two words, soul and heart, and these words should be considered the main conditions for making cheese. There is nothing to argue with.
Suluguni has such an ancient origin, and the process of its preparation is so painstaking that only a great love of land and work, the warmth of human hands could give people a refined, unique flavor and spicy taste of cheese, from the heart and soul.
Therefore, if there is an appropriate attitude, we will try to make a home suluguni.
There are only two recipes for cheese: ordinary, which has been known to the inhabitants of sunny Georgia for hundreds of years - such cheese can be often seen in the gastronomic departments of shops, and the second type of cheese, intended for long-term storage, and therefore processed by smoking, can be bought and tasted only on it historical homeland.
How to make suluguni cheese at home - basic technological principles
Suluguni has a white or creamy, soft and layered texture, creamy salty taste. The color shades of cheese depend on the quality of milk - raw materials with a high fat content gives a creamy tint. The fat content of milk varies depending on the conditions of the animals, their age and other physiological factors, seasonal changes in the diet. The raw material for Suluguni cheese is cow's or buffalo milk. Due to the geographical features of animal husbandry, enterprises engaged in the production of suluguni cheese use mainly cow's milk.
Cheese preparation consists of two main stages, each of which, in turn, can also be divided into separate operations.
At the first stage, in fact, they get fresh home-made cheese, such as Imereti cheese, Health cheese and other curd cheeses. To do this, ferment milk, separate whey, curd grain is subjected to self-pressing, incubated for some time in brine. Such cheese is already a very fresh and tasty natural product.
To make suluguni cheese at home, the resulting cheese head is subjected to further mechanical processing and melting, and then a completely different kind of cheese is obtained. When heating the curd cheese, previously cut into small fractions, it melts, and the cheese acquires plasticity. It is kneaded like a dough, stretching and folding layers, which allows you to achieve a layered texture.
Suluguni, which is done in production, is regulated not by the state standard, but by the technical conditions of each individual enterprise. This suggests that there is no single technology for the production of suluguni, and each company is trying to recreate the cheese recipe in its own way. In fact, for a real homemade suluguni recipe, there is only one. The difference between suluguni cheese at home and manufactured at the factory, according to the technical conditions, is only one nuance.
Homemade suluguni is made from fresh whole milk, bypassing the pasteurization stage. Considering that the technology of cheese preparation involves repeated heating of cheese grains and cheese dough to temperatures above 85 ° C for 10-15 minutes, which allows to protect the finished product from the presence of unwanted microorganisms during the ripening and storage of suluguni, there is no need for preliminary pasteurization of milk.
But in the production of suluguni made from pasteurized milk, as required by strict sanitary standards. Therefore, there is a difference in the formulation of the home and industrial way of making cheese. Homemade cheese is particularly natural and easy to prepare - cheese is produced for it in a natural way, without the addition of calcium chloride and rennet, in contrast to the industrial method of making cheese from pasteurized milk.
What are calcium salts and an enzyme for? To put it simply, the pasteurization process loses their milk, so they are added artificially. This is the whole difference between the domestic and industrial method of making suluguni.
A detailed description of the first and second method of homemade suluguni is in the recipes below.
1. Suluguni cheese at home from pasteurized whole milk
Raw Material:
Farm, natural milk, pasteurized 12 l
Calcium Chloride 1.2 mg
Rennet 2.4 mg
Salt
Equipment and tools:
Pots 8 L, 15 L and 20 L
Wooden blades 2 pcs.
Round colander (or strainer)
Large basin for kneading cheese dough
Long kitchen knife
Cutting board
Serum drip tray
Thermal probe with timer (if possible)
Order of preparation:
Pour milk into a pan (15 L) and place it in a larger pan, mounted on the included stove and partially filled with water. If there is no special pan for making cheese, then the method of cooking in a water bath will greatly help - with direct contact with fire, milk or cheese can burn. In a large pot, if necessary, you can add hot water to maintain the required temperature.
Heat the milk to 35-38o C. If there is no special thermometer, then you have to navigate according to your own feelings - the fermentation temperature of the milk should be slightly higher than normal human body temperature. In such a situation, it is better not to overheat.
Pour 50 ml of warm boiled water into measuring cups and dissolve the calcium chloride and rennet separately in them. For accuracy, use medical syringes. The disadvantage, as well as the excess of these components will affect the quality of the preparation of cheese grain and dough, for the worse.
Pour the contents of the measuring cups into the milk and mix for 10-15 minutes until a milk clot forms.
Do not forget to monitor the heating temperature. In order to stably maintain it at the proper level, next to a large pan, place a pan to heat the water and maintain a temperature close to boiling in it. Prepare a bucket to remove cooled water and add hot water.
After 5-6 hours, the clot will become so dense that it can be transferred to the prepared forms mounted on a tray for draining whey. Transfer the curdled mass into the forms with a slotted spoon so that you do not have to clutter up the workplace with large pallets. Pour the remaining serum into sterile jars. It can be used later for other culinary or household purposes.
Combine the forms with a clot when the whey drains a little and the cheese is compacted. Turn one of the forms onto the other and set it aside. They will need to be turned over from time to time so that the cheese is compacted under its own weight. Both halves should "grow together", forming a cheese head with rounded sides, the correct cylindrical shape. For compaction of cheese and draining of whey by self-pressing method, 8 hours is enough.
During this time, the cheese will acquire a dense texture. Put the head on a cutting board and rub the surface with salt. Wrap the cheese in a film and put in the refrigerator for 2-3 days to ripen.
This is one of the varieties of pickled cheeses, and it is already ready for use. But the main goal is the preparation of suluguni, and therefore, two days later, proceed to the second, final stage.
Head the curd cheese, laid out on a cutting board, cut into small cubes. This is necessary so that when melting, the cheese evenly curls up and turns into plastic dough.
Pour hot water (85 ° C) into the basin and put the sliced pieces into it. Take wooden shovels in both hands and start mixing the cheese until the pieces get a stretching consistency. Using blades, collect them into a common mass and knead until a single lump forms. Watch the temperature of the water in the basin and constantly change it, draining the cooled and adding hot from the pan, which at this time should be on the stove, ready.
Continue to knead the cheese dough, kneading it in hot water into a flat cake and immediately folding to provide a layered texture. Place the finished dough in a ripening mold mounted on a pallet. Soak for 2-3 hours in the form in the refrigerator.
At this time, prepare the brine (20%). To prepare it, you can use whey or hot water in which the cheese dough was mixed. Put cheese in brine for a day. Do not forget to turn the head upside down after 12 hours so that the suluguni evenly salts.
Then transfer the head to a bag or container and put it in a cold place.
2. Homemade Suluguni - fresh milk cheese recipe
Raw Material:
Fresh, whole milk, not pasteurized 10 l
Salt
Water
Cooking:
The whole procedure for making suluguni is described in detail in recipe No. 1. The difference is only in the use of raw materials.
3. Suluguni cheese at home - fried suluguni recipe
Products:
Tomatoes
Cilantro
Suluguni
Dill
Sweet onion, red
Vegetable oil, salt and pepper (for dressing)
Parsley
Cooking:
Wash onions and tomatoes, peel and chop thin slices. Place in a baking dish. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and pour dressing with ground pepper, salt and vegetable oil. Put a layer of grated suluguni on top. Put in the oven and bake until golden brown.
4. Homemade Suluguni - Achma Georgian Cuisine Recipe
Products:
Water 150 ml
Eggs 3 +1 pcs.
Salt
Butter, cream (melted) 180 g
Flour 0.8 kg
Suluguni 500 g
Order of preparation:
Grate the cheese. Beat eggs (3 pcs.), Adding water and salt to them. Add the mixture to the sifted flour, knead the steep dough. Divide it into seven parts, two of which should be 70-100 g more. Roll the balls and cool. Place a pot of water on the stove, add salt and bring to a boil. Take out the five small pieces of dough and roll out circles of 20 cm in diameter. From large parts of the dough, make circles 28 cm in diameter. Cover the round baking dish with oiled parchment. At the bottom, lay a large circle, grease it with oil and sprinkle with grated suluguni. The edges of a large circle should hang from the side. Immerse the small circle in boiling water for half a minute, remove it with a slotted spoon and immediately lay on top of the cheese layer in the mold. Oil and sprinkle with cheese. Dip the next small circle in boiling water and repeat the operation. Laying the cooked dough in layers, cover the product with a second large circle, pinch the edges, connecting them. On top, grease the dough with an egg and bake for half an hour at 200-210 ° C. Transfer the finished baking to a plate and chop.
5. Suluguni cheese at home - blue eggplant with tomatoes and cheese
Products:
Blue eggplant
Sulug cheese
Garlic
Salt
Ground pepper mixture
Salt
Greenery for decoration
Tomatoes
Cooking method:
Cut the prepared eggplant in half lengthwise. Sauté in vegetable oil. From garlic, salt, chopped herbs and salt, prepare the mixture and rub it on the inside of the eggplant. Put thin plates of tomatoes on top, sprinkle with grated cheese. Put the vegetables on a greased baking sheet and put in the preheated oven for fifteen minutes. When the cheese is browned, put it on the dish, sprinkled with herbs.
6. Homemade Suluguni - Salad Recipe
Ingredients:
Suluguni
Boiled fillet, chicken
Fresh cucumber
Basil, Parsley
For refueling:
Grape Vinegar (or Lemon Juice)
Olive oil
Spices, sugar and salt
Cooking:
Cut all the ingredients into strips in equal proportions. Stir and pour the dressing to taste to serve. Salad can also be made with smoked chicken.
Suluguni cheese at home - useful tips and tricks
To prepare one kilogram of suluguni, 10-12 liters of natural milk are required. The volume error is due to the quality of milk, which may contain, objectively, a different amount of dry matter.
Fresh suluguni is stored in a container in the refrigerator. Shelf life is up to 30 days. For longer storage, the cheese is smoked
