Ball Cheese III

Finally, it is complete. After over a month of souring, salting, and ripening, the Ball Cheese is finished. And it's actually pretty good! The taste is a little bit like cheddar with a strong, sharp finish. As the original recipe suggested, I ate the cheese with bread, and documented it here:

The verdict: Although the cheese making process is really interesting to me, I don't think I'll attempt this again until I have a farm of my own--or at least a house. I don't think my little apartment was the best atmosphere for souring milk or ripening cheese. Having said that, I'm really happy that I gave this recipe a try and would suggest it for people with an interest in cheese or cheese making. 

Happy adventuring!

Scrapple

Yesterday, I came across a recipe book in my grandmother’s kitchen called Old Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book (1936). Some of the recipes inspired me to write about food that I cannot, and will not ever cook or eat. The first of these foods is scrapple, also known as ponhaws. 

I have never tasted scrapple, but I have seen in on a plate many times. Usually, it is offered in the same sentence as bacon and sausage when you order a stack of pancakes at a diner. ("You want bacon, sausage, or scrapple with that?") What is scrapple, I always wondered. I knew it was some sort of meat product, but the grey color and grainy texture confused me to a point of disinterest. Even so, after stumbling upon a traditional recipe for the mystery meat I couldn't help but share my findings. Here, I will demystify scrapple:

So now I know, and now you know. Scrapple is mystery meat no more. Still, there is something about scraping the inside of a freshly halved hog's head that just doesn't sit well with me. Having said that, I suppose if you are going to kill the animal then it is best to use all of it, right? I know that there is no room for a hog's head in my kitchen but I'm sure there are people out there that would find this recipe intriguing. Any takers? 

Happy adventuring!

Ball Cheese

I have many passions. One of them is food.

Today I begin my journey through the culinary mysteries of America (and beyond) with a recipe from the Pennsylvania Dutch called “Ball Cheese.” That’s right, “Ball Cheese.” I have a particular affinity for the Pennsylvania Dutch because a sizeable portion of my heritage can be traced from Germany to Pennsylvania. A common misconception about the Pennsylvania Dutch is that they are originally from the Netherlands or Holland (thus the term “Dutch”) but in fact, they are originally from Germany. The word “Deutsch,” meaning German, became “Dutch” by way of the English language in America.

While researching interesting and strange preparations of food, I came across a recipe for “Ball Cheese” in the “Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book” by J. George Frederick. The recipe calls for one gallon of sour, thick milk, and takes over two weeks to prepare, so I will leave the recipe here while I work on these little beauties and report back in a couple weeks:

Ball Cheese, Millersville

1 gallon sour, thick milk

Let the milk get thoroughly thick and sour, then put into a cheesecloth bag and let the water drain from it. When drained salt it to taste. Form it into flat round balls about 3 inches in diameter, and lay upon china platters for three days. Then roll the balls in baking soda and wrap in paper. Place the balls in an earthen or glass crock and let ripen for two weeks. Then take them out and rinse in water to remove soda, scraping the balls with a knife. They are then ready to serve, to eat. They are good with rye bread.

A gallon of milk, souring on my tabletop!

Happy adventuring!