MINGER
Orange annatto soft washed rind – a direct rip off from our friends across the channel, a mimic of Reblochon/Pont-l’Eveque – the desire is to produce a meaty protein substitute, unctuous in texture and taste. Try with a dry white wine.
A Minger should ming – in a good way!
All about Minger
The making of Minger
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 and depending upon how much moisture we wish to retain in any specific cheese style we will cut the curds. As a basic rule the smaller you cut the curd the more moisture you will release, so bigger pieces of curd will retain more moisture and will be perfect for our MINGER
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.
MINGER is then washed every other day with a brine of salt and Annatto and matured for 13 days. Once the rind has developed and a bit of ming then the cheese is wrapped and allowed to mature for another week.
