The EssentiaList

by Catherine Haug, April 10, 2011

(photos by Shelli R. & Catherine Haug)

K.Kreamery Milk

ESP is offering a panel presentation on June 15, 2011 on Cheese Making at Home; and we offered a previous presentation by Fran W. in 2009 on (Making Cheese and Tofu).

While our panel members Fran and Shelli both use raw goat’s milk for their cheese, many of us do not have access to raw milk (it is illegal to sell raw milk in Montana). Fran discovered that store-bought Organic ultra-pasteurized milk will not curd for cheese, when she tried to make a sample for her 2009 presentation.

Now we have access to HTST pasteurized milk from Kalispell Kreamery (processed at a lower temperature than ultra pasteurized). Will it work the same as raw milk? Are modifications necessary?

(See my articles Food Safety & Pasteurization for more on the different types of pasteurization; and Cheese Making: Waxing the Round for how to preserve your cheese for storage). (more…)

by Catherine Haug, April 15, 2011

Traditional sourdough was discussed in my post on Sourdough, and will be the topic of our May 2011 gathering. While alternative sourdough starters will not be a presentation topic at that event, several members of our community are interested in alternative starters including:

• gluten-free
• other cultures such as kefir (rather than traditional wild culture) (more…)

by Catherine Haug

(photo, right, from Wikipedia)

Sourdough loaves

ESP has scheduled an event on Sourdough,for our regular May 18, 2011 gathering. As a lead-in to that event, here’s some information to tempt your taste buds and culinary yearnings. And remember to bring a glass or ceramic jar (NOT metal) to the event, for a bit of free starter!

For a printable version of this post, see The EssentiaList: Sourdough (pdf).

Long before the invention of bakers’ yeast, sourdough was used as leavening for all kinds of baked goods including those pancakes and biscuits made famous by Western movies &  TV shows (e.g., Wagon Train, Rawhide). But perhaps the oldest and most well-known food made from sourdough was bread. (more…)

by Catherine Haug (Jan 22, 2011)

The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) recently published their Expert Report Recommendations (1), based on the findings of the WCRF/AICRreport, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective (2007). This was a review of over 7,000 independent studies on diet and cancer. Amongst the recommendations is a caution to avoid processed meats:

“There is strong evidence that … processed meats are causes of bowel cancer, and that there is no amount of processed meat that can be confidently shown not to increase risk …

Try to avoid processed meats such as bacon, ham, salami, corned beef and some sausages.” (more…)