History
Between the wars, farms along the Narew kept a few cows each, and surplus milk was turned into cheese. Once a week it was taken by cart to the market in Białystok or to regular customers. Zygmunt Gloger and Adam Mickiewicz mentioned the wooden cheese racks used for drying cheeses at manor houses. After 1950 production was taken over by dairies, but today farmers are making cheese themselves again. It has been on the list since 2006. The best milk comes from the Polish Red cow.
Recipe
Home-made rennet cheese with herbs
Ingredients
- 6 l whole milk (not UHT)
- rennet, in the amount given on the packet for 6 l of milk
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk or mesophilic culture
- salt for the brine: 200 g per 1 l of water
- for flavour: 1 teaspoon caraway, nigella seeds or 2 garlic cloves
Method
- Heat the milk to 32°C, add the buttermilk and leave for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the rennet dissolved in a little cold water. Leave undisturbed for 40–60 minutes, until the curd breaks cleanly when cut with a knife.
- Cut the curd into 1–2 cm cubes and stir slowly while warming to 36–38°C over 30 minutes.
- Drain off the whey, stir in the flavourings and transfer the cheese to a mould lined with cheesecloth.
- Press for 4–6 hours, turning several times. Immerse the cheese in the brine for about 3 hours.
- Dry and mature in the fridge or a cool cellar for 2–4 weeks, turning daily.
Where to taste and buy
Ser narwiański is sold by farms along the Narew, at markets in Białystok and at local fairs.
Description based on the entry in the Ministry of Agriculture's List of Traditional Products. The quantities in the recipe are our own suggestion for the home kitchen. Product sheet on gov.pl →
Stay in Klejniki
Most of these flavours are within an hour's drive of our house. A kitchen with a wood-fired range is waiting, in case you feel like baking something.
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