Kosher Cheesemaking Hero
In a triumph for the kosher cheesemaking community, Jamie Forest of HonksAndSirens.com is successfully creating camembert at home. (An update with photo is also online.)
For me, it’s inspiring to see folks actually follow through with making cheese, and it’s incredibly helpful, too. Cheesemaking recipes are many, and the books out there are pretty decent, but nothing beats reviewing someone’s detailed, first-person descriptions and photographs of the whole process (well, nothing except actually watching someone make cheese).
Jamie notes, though, that he couldn’t find kosher-certified Penicillium Candidum, the bacteria that gives mold-ripened cheeses their white rind. I don’t know of any, but I’m also not sure if bacteria need certification. Any leads?
Thanks for the props, though I don’t feel like a hero! Actually I just posted an update since we actually sampled one of the cheeses last night.
As far as the Penicillium candidum mold goes, yes it does need kosher certification. Molds can be grown on various different subtrates and it is those substrates that have to be kosher in order for the mold to be kosher. I have word from a reliable mashgiach that there are two companies in Germany (the irony!) that supply acceptable P. candidum. Danisco Deutschland GmbH in Niebull, Germany and WEISBY - GERMANY. I don’t have any other contact info for these firms, nor have I tried contacting them yet. But I plan to.
I am Jamie’s mom. And although I am partial (of course), if anyone can make a delicious, truly delicious (and completely kosher) cheese, Jamie can. He is dedicated to learning this endeavor. He has always enjoyed challenging himself and as he has told me, “It is like science and I’ve always enjoyed science”. He is also a gourmand. The combination of the two will benefit people interested in kosher cheese.
BS”D
The moldy rind of a kosher or kosher-le-Pesach cheese can be homgenized in water and sprayed onto other cheeses. In this way, a kosher Penicillium camemberti or caseocolum can be propagated to inoculate other cheese.
Craig Winchell, amateur cheesemaker
Jamie, admit it you are a hero to kosher cuisine just as the other Jamie (jamieoliver.com) is a hero to british cuisine :)
I am the wholesale distributor for the Barkanit Dairy products out of Israel. They have a phenomenal line of aged goat and sheep cheeses with blue and ash rinds - kosher. If you have any questions about which retail outlets on the East Coast carry them, feel free to contact me.
Brent
718-698-5154