Regards,
Posted on 06/21/2024 7:22:22 AM PDT by Red Badger
Cheese is a wonderful thing. Recently linked to healthy aging, it dates back to at least the Ancient Egyptians, has been a symbol of socioeconomic status, and flavoring human lives for thousands of years, in which time we’ve come up with all sort of curious curdled creations, from rainbow colors to 3D sculptures.
Where we’ve been arguably less explorative is in our species selection when it comes to cheese production, which is mostly limited to cows, goats, sheep, and buffalo. Could we not, at least theoretically, branch out among the milk-producing mammals? What we’re really trying to ask is…
Can we make whale cheese?
We approached chemist Dr James Reynolds of Loughborough University with the big question, who explained that – in theory – it should be possible to produce cheese from any mammalian milk. The key obstacles we face largely center around ethics, safety, and practicality, as few would deny that lassoing a 150,000 kilogram (330,700 pound) cetacean for its milk is not moral, wise, or the foundation of a profitable cheese venture.
“However,” said Reynolds, “the internet has been speculating about different mammalian milk, so let's fly a kite and see what it would be like in theory.”
What might whale cheese taste like?
“Whale milk – if you could obtain it by some means – would be able to produce cheese,” said Reynolds. “However, research conducted on the milk of blue and fin whales that was published in Nature back in 1953 showed that the fat and protein content of whale milk is much higher than it is in cows’ milk, with the fat content being approximately 40 percent and protein content being between 10-12 percent in whale milk versus 4 percent and 3.3 percent respectively in Jersey Dairy cow milk. The amount of lactose was observed to be lower.”
So, what does that mean for our crackers and whale cheese evening?
“With this much fat present in the sample, it would suggest that whale cheese would have a rich creamy texture.”
It's possible it would carry a slightly fishy flavor, too. As the brave few to have tried boiled penguin egg can attest to, marine diets can have a big impact on flavor.
What influences the taste and texture of cheese?
If you’ve made it as far as milking your mammal of choice, there are several different ways in which you can turn it into cheese, and the approach you take – be that a certain milk source or bacterial culture – can have a big influence on the final product.
“According to a US study, milk consists of 87.7 percent water, 4.7 percent lactose sugar, 3.6 percent fats, 3.2 percent protein, and 0.7 percent minerals,” said Reynolds. “The lactose sugar and a group of milk proteins called caseins (which make up approximately 80 percent of the total milk protein) play important roles in the process of converting milk to cheese.”
For the majority of cheese, it begins with heating to 70°C (158°F) to pasteurize the milk and kill off pathogens (like the bird flu that recently infected some farm cats). Two important components are then added: a bacterial culture (called a starter culture), and an enzyme preparation called rennet which contains the chymosin enzyme, and is the reason why parmesan isn’t vegetarian.
That mixture gets fermented and as the bacteria grow and divide, the lactose sugar in the milk becomes their energy source. The metabolism of lactose lowers the pH until the mixture is acidic enough for the chymosin enzyme to become active, triggering the casein protein to coagulate and curdle the milk. This process forms a solid curd that can be skimmed, sliced up, and pressed into a mold for ripening.
“Cheese can then be ripened for various periods of time, and in general, the longer its ripened for the stronger the flavour (e.g. mature cheddar vs regular cheddar),” said Reynolds. “The cheese can also have fungi added at this stage which will grow as the cheese ripens, blue cheeses like Roquefort and Stilton are inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti which forms the characteristic veins which give them their flavour.”
“Making a change to any of the ingredients, or how a step is performed, will cause the cheese produced to have different properties. The composition of the milk in terms of the amount of lactose, fat, and protein present will influence the taste and texture. The higher the fat content, the smoother and creamier the cheese will be,” Reynolds added.
“Likewise, using a different type of bacteria for the starter culture will change the flavour of the cheese produced. Cheddar, for example, is produced using Lactobacillus species which are fermented at around 30°C [86°F], while many Italian cheeses like Parmesan use thermophilic bacteria like Streptococcus thermophilus which are fermented at higher temperatures of greater than 40°C [104°F].”
Rare cheeses
Dairy cow milk is a common choice for cheese making, both for its comparative ease in terms of access, and the composition of proteins, lactose, and fats, that enables cheesemakers to create a range of products spanning different flavors and textures. There are, however, some rare and artisanal cheeses that may surprise you.
“Pule cheese, which is made from a blend of goat and Balkan donkey milk, for example, is one of the world’s most expensive cheeses,” explained Reynolds. “[And] the holes in Swiss cheese are formed by carbon dioxide gas bubbles generated by the Propionibacterium freudenreichii bacteria used as a starter culture in making Emmental cheese.”
And if none of that takes your fancy, there’s always the stomach-churning casu martzu.
The Wisconsinites read that and responded, “Ya, sure. The cheese part is easy enough but how do I get them in the stanchion?”
For the whale or the maker ... or maybe both?
Finest in the district, sir!
Time to stock up on some baklava here!
Human milk is just the opposite to whale’s. Not too much proteins or fats, a lot of sugar.
Not good for cheese!
And what leads you to that conclusion?!
Well, it’s so clean.
I recently watched a long video about olive oil; it seems the very best stuff rarely leaves the region where it’s made, isn’t exported, and we don’t know what it’s like.
That’s probably true of a lot of artisanal foods.
It’s certainly uncontaminated by any cheese!
It’s certainly uncontaminated by *cheese*!
You beat me by 51 seconds!
I’ve been deliberately wasting your time.
The Makah indian tribe in Washington has been allowed to harvest 25 gray whales over the next ten years.
Someone should contact them.
And who’s going to milk the whale?
A first for Free Republic. The first Whale Cheese thread ever.
https://freerepublic.com/tag/whalecheese/index
Regards,
“Who is going to milk the whale?
And yes, I know someone will try...”
In the article they cite a study from the 1950s where they had access to whale milk of two species...so someone got that milk for study back then. Sadly given the era that milk was likely acquired post mortem from a whalers kill.
” I recently watched a long video about olive oil; it seems the very best stuff rarely leaves the region where it’s made, isn’t exported, and we don’t know what it’s like.
That’s probably true of a lot of artisanal foods.”
Can confirm, I have some close Lebanese friends who go home from time to time to their families land where they have olive trees that are hundreds if not a thousand years old on them. They bring back don’t ask me how but a private jet was involved olives in brine and fresh pressed EVOO that’s unrivalled here. Nothing at any price in the USA comes close to that olive oil it’s singular in taste and quality. The only oil that’s come close in taste was in neighboring Israel also family made and not for commercial sale. They also brought Lebneh back by the 5 liter container worth.
Brunch was fresh baked pita, Lebneh and an olive tapanade made with the olives and other spices. Pita, then lebneh drizzle with EVOO and drop little chunks of the tapanade on top.. Heaven on earth. Paired with kibbeh nayyeh washed down with cardamom tea followed by ice cold Arak.
Sunday brunch of champions and a regular thing at the Najjar family compound outside of Austin in the Hill Country.
I recently bought za’atar, to try to make and season homemade lebneh; but it won’t be anything like the ‘real stuff’.
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