How to make cheese "pigtail" at home?

Pigtail cheese is a fairly popular dairy product. It received its name due to an unusual appearance, which resembles a female braid. Initially, this cheese was exclusively Armenian dish.

Such cheese is presented on the shelves of large supermarkets and small shops, and the production of cheese product is organized in many enterprises of the country. However, you can make a "pigtail" by yourself.

It is necessary to understand that the manufacture of cheese "pigtails" (in fact, this cheese is called Chechil) does not require much effort and special skills. The main thing in this business - to have an adequate supply of patience and perseverance.

Make an unusual product at home in several ways.

For cooking you will need:

• 9 liters of milk (per 1 kg of finished products);
• pepsin or rennet (can be purchased at the pharmacy);
• purified water;
• whey or sour milk (optional).

The first step is to make the milk sour. To do this, leave it at room temperature for several days (depending on the air temperature and the quality of the milk itself).

After the milk is sour, it should be poured into a saucepan or other container and put on a slow fire. Then you need to wait until the flakes start to appear on the surface of the milk - this is curd mass.

Now it's time to add pepsin (at the rate of 1 g of pepsin per 300 g of sour milk). The mixture must continue to heat on the fire - it should heat up to 50 degrees.

At that moment, when the flakes begin to accumulate and form dense clots, the product needs to be kneaded (preferably with a wooden device).

Then from the resulting mass on the working surface you need to make a dense tape (thickness should be no more than 0.5 cm). After it is formed, it is necessary to cut the cheese mass into thin long strips. From the cut strips need to weave a "braid".

However, this is not the end - Chechil homemade cheese should ripen. To do this, immerse it in cold water and then in saline. If it is necessary that in the end the cheese is smoked, then after these procedures you need to send it to the smokehouse.

This method of cooking Chechil cheese was used in the ancient East.

For cooking you will need:

• milk;
• leaven;
• salt.

First you need to bring the milk to 40 degrees. Then you need to add the leaven. After that, you need to connect the components by mixing and place the container in a warm place - it is necessary that the product coagulates.

After such a procedure in the mass should form lumps.

Then you need a colander and gauze. In a colander you need to put gauze on which to place the lumpy mass formed and remove excess liquid.

It is necessary to give the cheese "breathe" and put it in water with a temperature of about 80 degrees. Cheese should not tear and reach.

Now Chechil needs to be cut into small pieces and put them in cool, purified water for half an hour. After that, you should drain the cold water and pour the cheese with other water (its temperature should be 65 degrees). Now the product will become more viscous and elastic.

Then the product must be put in a funnel, which must be suspended above the container. Under its weight, the curd will slowly flow out of the funnel, forming thin ribbons. This process can take about 6-8 hours. From the tapes obtained weave a "pigtail".

Another recipe for delicious Armenian cheese.

For cooking you will need:

• milk (about 4 liters);
• purified water;
• 1 g of rennin (a kind of rennet);
• salt.

The first step is to put the milk in a thick-walled pot; here it should be brought to a temperature of 38 degrees. Then you need to add rennet.

Immediately remove the liquid from the heat and let it brew for about 60 minutes.When the mass thickens, it should be carefully divided into small parts with a knife and allowed to stand for another 40 minutes.

When you get two separate products - cheese mass and whey, you must put the cheese mass in hot water. Then you need to divide it into long thin threads. These tapes must be put in saline solution (20%). After that, you need to form a "pigtail".

Smoke cheese "pigtail" or Chechil need in a home smokehouse.

To make cheese really tasty, you need to follow a few simple rules:

• Before placing the cheese in the smokehouse, it should be wrapped with parchment paper, and then put into a canvas bag (any available thick fabric can be used);
• at the time of smoking cheese is best hung in a smokehouse;
• it is also important not to overdo the cheese - you need to carefully monitor the time.

If done correctly, the home product will be an excellent alternative to the store option.

For details on how to make cheese "pigtail" at home, see the following video.