Why it works: Whey and butter work together. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Cheese
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the rennet by soaking it in a jar of water with salt for a few hours.
Use 1 pint to 1 quart of the rennet solution based on its strength.
Mix the curd with the coarse sea salt thoroughly.
Press and finish
Press the curd in a wheel and lever press for 2 days.
After pressing, rub the cheese with annatto soaked in strong lye.
Rub the cheese with whey butter and turn it daily throughout the season.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Whey + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together35 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Curd
- Forms the body of the cheese once set and pressed into a wheel.
- Rennet
- Coagulates the milk proteins so the curd can form and be pressed.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the curd and helps draw out moisture as the cheese firms.
- Annatto
- Colours the rind for appearance.
- Whey butter
- Coats the rind, adding fat and aiding its surface during ripening.
The step that matters
Using the right amount of rennet solution. Rennet strength varies, so the amount used decides how firmly the curd sets. Too little may leave the curd weak; too much can make it bitter or set too fast. Adjusting to strength helps the curd form properly.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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