Using Ash On Cheese

Very interesting article on cheesemakers using ash on cheese. I had never heard of this before but I can admit that I am not a cheese connoisseur by a long shot. I have to say that it certainly is striking to look at.

  Cheesemaking Blog tell us that the ash they sell is made out of salt and oak charcoal and because it is for food purposes it is sterile. It seems a lot of goat cheese in the US are ashed and many from France are. Aside from the stunning look of it, it is also used to prevent a rind from forming when you don’t want it to. It seems that the ash also reduces the acidity of the curds so it help with taste too. They go on to explain how to use the ash if you are making cheese at home.Sometimes it is put between two halves and molded that way so it ends up with a black line through the middle of the cheese, which looks neat too.

Bacteria that is added to the milk to make the cheese is attracted to it and so it will grow through the ash and speed up ripening of the cheese.  This is really interesting, I love learning new things. So if you make your own cheese, especially goat cheese and have never heard of using ash in your cheese you may find it very interesting as well.

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