Serac cheese is prepared from whey similar as ricotta. It’s a mild flavoured cheese that can be used in salads or spreads. You can also make variations with other types of milk.
The serac is a cheese from the Alps, from Switzerland and Savoie. It is made from whey and the name comes from “serum”. The Corsican broccio or the Provençal brousse are made in the same way. It was a way of not wasting anything and of getting everything that was possible from milk.
For about 150 g (3 oz) of serac.
Ingredients:
4 l (140 oz) whey + 20 ml extra
1 l non-chlorinated water
60 g salt (1/4 cup)
Instructions:
Serac cheese preparation
Keep 200 ml of whey in a warm place in a closed container for 3 days to ferment and acidify. Put the 4 l of whey into a saucepan and bring it to boil. Add the 200 ml fermented whey and take of the heat source. Let stand for 10 minutes. The liquid will separate and you will observe white flakes that swim in a clear liquid.
Straining the cheese
Prepare a Kefirko Cheese Maker and pour the contents of the saucepan, ladle after ladle, into the mesh basket. Obviously, everything will not go in at the first attempt. So, fill the mesh basket, wait for it to drain, the level will drop, and then fill it again. You can use the Kefirko jar with bigger capacity (1,4 l/50 oz). Do this until you use up all the whey. Don’t forget to empty the liquid from the bottom jar, otherwise it will not drain. The total draining may take several hours. When you can’t see any more drops under the mesh basket, use the pressing spring and leave under pressure for 24 hours.
The next day, dissolve the salt in the water. Take the cheese out from the Kefirko Cheese Maker and immerse it in the salty brine. Let it stand for 4 days in a cool place, turning the cheese every 12 hours.
Drain the cheese and let it dry on a straw mat. It can be eaten fresh, salty or sweet, you can also refine it in the cold place (cellar) for about 1 month, the taste will be even stronger.
