Fresh cheese

Fresh cheese

An allrounder for any time of day.

While cheese fans often say that a cheese can never be mature enough, the opposite is true of fresh cheese: the younger, the better. Just two weeks after it was made and it’s already too old. And rightly so!

Fresh cheese is an unripened cheese with a relatively high water content (60-80%), which is consumed straight after it is made and, unless it is further processed, does not and should not keep for long. What exactly fresh cheese is, what it is called and how it is made differs according to the country, region and producer. However, the starting point everywhere is always milk (usually pasteurised) from cows, sheep or goats. And, of course, natural lactobacilli or rennet, obtained from the stomachs of young calves. Both ensure that the milk coagulates and the curd separates from the whey. Once it has been packed into a perforated mould and drained, the result is a cheese with a more or less firm consistency and a delicate, mild, slightly acidic and salty flavour. Adding extra salt is generally not advised; however you may use cream. This can increase the fat content to up to 75%.

When flavoured with herbs, nuts and spices, fresh cheese is a versatile dip to accompany fresh fruit and vegetables, fish or meat. It is just as popular as a simple yet sophisticated filling for petits fours, puff pastry rolls, ravioli and meatballs as it is spread on bread. Fresh cheese is the perfect base for a variety of soups, sauces and salad dressings and gives vegetable stews and gratins a certain kick. Last but not least, fresh cheese and curd cheese are ideal for light-as-air cakes and tarts.

Text: Rainer Meier