FAT COW
“A distant cousin of Gruyere and Emmental”
Sitting somewhere between Gruyere and Emmental in appearance and flavour, it is delicious on its own or cooked in dishes you would normally prepare with Swiss cheeses.
Based upon a Bavarian semi-hard, washed rind cheese. Similar in make/style to a cheddar but with greater effort to reduce moisture and stabilise the pH so that the brevibacterium on the rind helps to create a “mountain” style with nutty, sweet notes. To pair prefer something subtle for the flavour of Fat Cow is easily dominated.
Milk Type - Dairy Cow
Style -
FAT COW
The making of FAT COW
Every cheese is crafted in Tain, ScotlandWe collect milk from local farms around Tain. Once the milk is received in our dairy, the milk goes through the pasteurisation process and will then be placed in vats. Cultures are added to begin the process of acidification. After a time, depending on how much acidity is required, rennet is stirred in, and the milk coagulates.
Cutting and Draining the CurdOnce a firm set has been achieved the curd is then stirred to help form a skin on each curd particle and to allow the process of syneresis to reduce the gel.
Small pieces of curds will contain less whey and go on to produce hard cheeses like Fat Cow.
Shaping the cheese – MouldingOnce cut, stirred and drained the curd will be placed into moulds and will continue to acidify and drain but by removing most of the whey you steal the moisture, some warmth and a lot of lactose on which the cultures like to eat and develop, in this way you can stall the process so that you end up with the right moisture, size and texture depending upon cheese style.
Salting and MaturationYou can add salt to cheese in three ways. Salt needs to be added both to flavour and preserve the curd. With Fat Cow we float the cheese in brine after it has been taken out of the moulds.
Fat Cow is then hand washed with Brine and brushed to ensure the creation of a consistent rind. Matured for a minimum 4 months.
