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Choose to reuse this Plastic Free July
If there’s ever a time to get started with the zero-waste movement, it’s now! This July, we want to encourage you to be part of a global movement to reduce single-use plastic waste. To help you get started, here are some tips for reducing and reusing single-use plastics this July, and from now on! If there’s ever a time to get started with the zero-waste movement, it’s now! This July, we want to encourage you to be part of a global movement to reduce single-use plastic waste every day – at home, work, school, and even at your local café. If you want to participate but don’t know where to start, we’ll be sharing some tips for reducing and reusing single-use plastics this July, and from now on! Plastic Free July was created in 2011 in an to raise awareness around reducing single-use plastics. The movement has grown from strength to strength and in 2019, there were over 250 million participants. On the Plastic Free July website, you can pledge to participate in many ways: - Choose to observe the challenge for a day, a week, a month or beyond - Avoid single-use packaging or choose to go completely plastic-free - Make changes on a personal level, at work, at school, in your community or anywhere else you are involved. Now, avoiding plastic for an entire month may seem difficult or maybe near impossible, but it’s important to remember that Plastic Free July is not about being perfect, it’s about reducing plastic waste in a way that fits into your lifestyle. With the world still facing the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be difficult to find the substitutions you’re looking for, so don’t be hard on yourself. Remember, the health and safety of you and your loved ones come first and foremost. If the month can help open your eyes to the plastic pollution epidemic, then you can consider it a success. There’s no better time to get involved. But, where do I start? 1. Say no to the “Big Four” Replace single-use plastic bags, water bottles, takeaway coffee cups and straws with reusables. Most of us can simply say no to straws but for the others, think shopping bags made from organic fibres, metal or glass water bottles and a ceramic mug or metal thermos for your daily grind. 2. Start Building Up Your Reusable Collection Take things a step further by reducing more single-use plastics like produce bags. You can easily make your own or buy them from your local supermarket. Better still, if you only need a couple of onions or lemons, try skipping the bag entirely. Another idea is to stash a set of metal utensils - a knife, fork and spoon - in your bag and use a reusable container for lunches, storage, takeaways, and shopping. You can also start hoarding glass jars; use these for everything; storing and shopping for bulk foods and making food (like fermented sauerkraut). Lastly, invest in some beeswax wraps to avoid that sticky plastic film we’ve become all too familiar with. 3. Eat the Real Stuff There are many ways to cut out processed foods that are most commonly purchased in plastic packaging. We’d recommend sticking to natural, simple foods. For recipe inspiration, take a look at our recipes for homemade versions of your favourite foods. We bet they'll even taste better than their packaged, processed counterparts. Or, get your hands on one of our kits and start fermenting yoghurt, making cheese, brewing kombucha and more. We even have something for our vegan friends too! 4. Ask, Ask and Ask Some More Not sure if your local takeaway fills reusable containers? Just ask! Most places won’t know what you’re talking about, so hand over your container and ask the server to put food in it. Maybe even throw in why you’re doing this to raise awareness. 5. Do It With a Friend By taking the challenge with a friend, partner or colleague, you'll be able to enjoy the support of other like-minded individuals – and have fun while doing it. There is power in numbers! 6. Google It If you can’t think of an alternative to your regular single-use plastic item, ask Google for a ‘life hack’. There is tons of information out there; it’s up to us to find it! By making a small change, you can be part of the solution to plastic pollution. Help play your part towards cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities. Best of all, this Plastic Free July will help you find alternatives that can become new habits forever. How will you be taking part this July?
Apple Ginger Beer for Father's Day
Father’s Day is just around the corner if you call the US or UK home. It’s one of those days where you don’t want to spend a fortune, but a little bit of acknowledgment for everything your Dad or father figure has done is always appreciated. Gifting something you’ve made yourself is the best way to win him over, you’ll be the favourite in no time. We’ve come up with a new Apple Ginger Beer recipe that we highly recommend you try out. It’s the perfect refreshing beverage, the strong, spicy notes of ginger with a slightly sweet, more complex apple base. If you’re like us and prefer it to be heavier on the ginger, don’t be scared to throw in a few more chunks of the good stuff. If you want to try some different flavours change the apple juice for an alternative; pear, cranberry or pineapple. Just make sure the sugar content is the same as the apple (around 10g/100mL on the nutrition panel). If it is more or less then adjust the added sugar and water levels accordingly. Too much sugar may cause speedy fermentation resulting in more alcohol and exploding bottles. If you’re based in NZ or Australia now is a great time to start practising your recipes so they’re perfect in time for September. Alcoholic Apple Ginger Beer Ingredients 400 g (14.1 oz) brown sugar 3.25 L (3.4 US qt) water at 35oC 20 g (0.7 oz) dried ginger or 2/3 cup (1.3 oz) of fresh ginger juice ½ cup (125 mL) lemon juice 1 packet Mad Millie Ginger Beer Yeast 1 L (1 US qt) Apple juice White sugar for carbonation Method Dissolve the sugar in 1 L (1 US qt) of water, mix in the ginger and lemon juice. Add to the fermenting jar. Add the apple juice and remaining water to the fermenting jar. Add the yeast and carefully swirl to mix. Half fill the airlock with water and fit to the top. Ferment for 1 week at room temperature (20oC/68oF). After 1 week sanitise 6 x 750 mL glass bottles, a jug and a funnel with boiling water. Use the 0.75 scoop on the 3-way sugar measurer to add 1 scoop of white sugar to each bottle. Pour the ginger beer into bottles. Seal and ferment for 2 weeks at room temperature (20oC/68oF) then enjoy!
Why cheese needs milk
World Milk Day has been celebrated this week which gave us a timely reminder of why we really do love the creamy white stuff. More and more, milk is getting a bad reputation as we shift to an environmentally focused lens on our food and beverages. While we wholeheartedly agree that we need to reduce our consumption of certain products, we do think some things are still ok in moderation. Milk is one of these, with its nutritional benefits it’s a product that is hard to beat. Plus, without milk we can’t make cheese!! We have had a few questions from time to time enquiring if our Fresh and Italian Cheese Kit recipes can be made with plant-based milks. The answer is no and let us explain a bit more as to why. There are various different steps in cheese making, depending on what type of cheese is being made. However, the important ones where your milk really comes into play is the ripening and then separating your milk into curds and whey. Ripening This is your step where you are heating the milk up to a nice warm temperature and adding your culture. The culture is predominantly lactic acid bacteria which turns the lactose sugar naturally present in the milk, into lactic acid. Lactose is the sugar that some people have trouble digesting and are therefore lactose intolerant. This is why the alternative of plant-based milks works well for lactose intolerant people, it contains no lactose. Separating into curds and whey The addition of rennet and the separation of curds and whey involves the acid produced by the bacteria (which requires lactose) as well as the milk proteins and fats. The rennet enzymes work together with the acid and create a tangled structure of milk proteins and fats, this is your curd. The leftover moisture and soluble proteins in the milk create the whey. Once you have the curd you’re in business with your cheese making! So for those asking, no you can’t use our Fresh or Italian Cheese Kits with plant based milk BUT you can take a look at our Vegan Cheese Kit. This little wonder has been developed for those that are specifically avoiding milk but don’t want to miss out on the delights of cheese. Using raw nuts as the base there are recipes for Marinated Feta, Soft Mozzarella, Firm Mozzarella, Halloumi, Ricotta, Cream Cheese and Mascarpone. Each recipe is made to try and give our plant-based friends the best cheese possible, with the bonus of nutty goodness. We hope you enjoy your milk or nutty cheese journey and make sure you get in touch with any questions or feedback on our kits. We love to hear what you think!
Fermented vegetable inspiration
Fermented foods are good, this we know. Our gut microbiome loves to get a good dose of probiotic bacteria so it can keep itself nice and balanced. But what’s even better than just fermented foods? Fermented vegetables! Not only are you feeding your gut all the good stuff, you’re getting some of your 5 plus a day too. Now when most people think of fermented vegetables they instantly revert to cabbage which becomes tasty, tasty sauerkraut. Surprisingly lots of people have tried sauerkraut and turned their noses up at it or find that their stomach doesn’t cope with that much cabbage. Well we’ve got good news for you, there are SO many vegetables that can be fermented. Any vegetable that is relatively firm can be popped into your Mad Millie Fermenting Crock and away you go. The firmness level is required to make sure it can hold its shape throughout the 2 – 3 weeks of fermenting time. We don’t recommend lettuce or tomatoes, but most other things will work! There’s no need to cook any of the vegetables before putting them in, just give them a good wash, cut into bite sized pieces to allow a faster fermentation and get started! If you have some handy, the Mad Millie Fermented Vegetable Culture can make a big difference. With a mixture of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis and Leuconostoc, it’s the perfect combination of good bacteria to get you started. Below are a few ideas for different combinations of vegetables you can use. Don’t be scared to mix lots of different vegetables together for your ferment, this will give delicious flavour and texture combinations to add to a salad or eat on its own. Follow the Mad Millie Fermenting Crock instructions for details on sealing your crock, fermenting times and temperatures. For all of these options we recommend using a brine solution of 3 Tbsp salt/1L water to cover the vegetables in your crock. If using Mad Millie Fermented Vegetable Culture mix this into your brine solution. Fermented Asparagus with Chilli Cut the ends off your asparagus stalks and stand them all upright in the crock. Pop some chopped chillies in there with the stalks and cover with your brine solution. Fermented Carrots, Garlic and Pickles We recommend finding the little cucumbers so you can make whole pickles, but if you can’t find those then chop your cucumber into 10cm pieces to get the similar effect. Cut both ends off your carrots and peel them as the skin can create a bitter flavour. No need to peel the cucumbers, just give them a good wash. Peel the garlic and throw the cloves in whole, as many as you dare knowing they’ll flavour the carrots and pickles. Pour over the brine solution and let the fermentation begin! Fermented Broccoli and Cauliflower These little trees are the perfect snack to grab on the run. They hold their shape really well and are easy to pick out and crunch on. Fermented Capsicum and Courgette/Zucchini This combination is delicious thrown into a salad for flavour, colour and texture. Make sure you core the capsicum and remove the seeds before beginning.
Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Mother’s Day is one of those days that can so easily creep up on you and while we tend to shy away from the commercialisation of it all, it is so nice to recognise Mum for just doing what she does. We think it’s the thought that counts and whether you choose to give her a gift, make her something or just put aside some time to spend together, she’ll appreciate the thought. Here are a few ideas that we’re planning to use for our Mum’s this year: 1. Make her some personalised gin Gin used to be thought of as a bit of an old ladies’ drink; my mum’s memories of Friday nights growing up often featured a request from my grandma for a gin and tonic with an extra squeeze of lemon. Nowadays with the resurgence in popularity and creativity that is being put into gin by distillers, there are hundreds of different varieties to choose from. Why not make your mum her own personalised version? Choose a variety of flavours she likes for the infusion step or use a Mad Millie botanical combination and we guarantee she’ll be impressed. 2. Get her a Mad Millie Kombucha Kit and make it together I’m not sure about you, but my mum doesn’t really know what kombucha is. She leads a healthy lifestyle and has seen the name around a few times but has no idea about the health benefits or that it could really help her gut with all the probiotics. Our Mad Millie Kombucha Kits won’t break the bank and are a great activity to do together, then you can also talk her through the importance of sanitation and how to do a second ferment. She’ll appreciate the time with you as well as her bubbly brew! 3. Create some tasty treats with the additional Mad Millie recipes Getting really into your kits and finding you have Mad Millie creations coming out of your ears? Gift them, or better yet gift them in a different form. We have a ton of recipes on our Mad Millie website that you can use to take your Mad Millie creations one step further. Fresh labneh from your Greek yoghurt or a vegan ricotta go so well with some homemade sourdough flatbread. 4. Make her some marinated feta One of our favourite things to gift people and equally delicious if it’s dairy or vegan! Marinated feta is the best kind of surprise as your mum will be able to see the love and care that has gone into creating it just for her. You can get creative and include different things that she enjoys so it’s personalised, olives, roasted peppers and aubergine, garlic, preserved lemons, artichoke, the options are endless. 5. Gift her one of your best aged cheeses, specialty or hard If you’re making aged cheeses regularly then this one is for you, gift your mum a hard or specialty cheese that is just about ready to enjoy. She’ll love getting something that took some time, care and effort. If you’re not quite that organised invite her round for a cheese making day and do it together. She’ll love getting to spend time with you doing a fun activity, and you can send her away with a treat to be enjoyed in 6 weeks’ time, that will really test her patience!
ANZAC day thoughts
Every year on the 25th of April, Australia and New Zealand stand still for a moment and commemorate our fallen soldiers. Whether it’s through attending a dawn service and hearing the bag pipes play into the sunrise or taking a moment to eat an ANZAC cookie and think about why we have them; most people will pause for thought. This year while doing this, we encourage you to stop a little longer and think about how often you do just that, stop. Most people’s lives are busy, trying to keep up with work, friends, families and any number of other things you can fit into each day. It’s not often that you slow down enough to think about if you’re doing anything for yourself. Now we unfortunately can’t magic up a few extra hours in each day for you all, and we’re not sure we would want to. Instead we encourage you to look at how you’re doing things and if you could be making little changes here and there to steal a moment to yourself. Whether you choose to spend that moment (or hopefully multiple moments) reading a good book, going for a walk or a run, doing some baking for friends or even making some cheese, it’s up to you. The most important thing is that you’re using that moment to just be present and appreciate what you have. With technology being a huge part of our lives, we are needing to make more of a conscious effort to step away from the screens. Give ourselves the space for our thoughts to start meandering into different things that are going on, daydreaming up solutions to all manner of problems. It really does make a difference to our everyday health. We are obviously a little bit biased in our preferences, but we find that relaxing through ‘doing’ can be one of the most cathartic experiences. With the constant stimulation we get in everyday life it can often be quite hard to just be still. We like to wind down into this by getting a little creative and making something useful in the process. Get the music going, pull out all your ingredients and get stuck in, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve and how good you feel choosing this over another tv session. Plus, then you have some delicious kombucha fermenting or some halloumi ready to go for brunch after the dawn service. Go on, you won’t regret it!
Easter eating - Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne
Easter is upon us and with it a delicious long weekend of relaxing, eating copious amounts of chocolate, chatting over a glass of wine and having an all-round good time. This pumpkin, spinach, and ricotta lasagne will have everyone scrambling back for more, plus it can easily be prepared a few days in advance, so it just needs a re-heat in the oven. The other great thing about this one? It can be made gluten-free by picking up some gluten-free pasta sheets so caters to all taste buds. With a few minor alterations, it can cater to all your vegan buddies too! If your children are around, take the time to show them how to make their own ricotta. Whether it’s dairy or vegan ricotta, teaching them about where food comes from is an important thing, particularly as we become more disconnected and focused on convenience. Let them take charge, ricotta is almost no-fail, what could possibly go wrong? Pumpkin, Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Ingredients ½ medium Pumpkin, peeled and diced 375 g Mad Millie Ricotta, dairy or vegan 300 g frozen Spinach, thawed 4 Spring onions, sliced 2 cloves Garlic, minced or sliced very finely 800 g Tomato pasta sauce 250 g Lasagne sheets Salt and pepper to taste A handful of fresh basil to serve Dairy version only ¼ cup Parmesan, grated 1 cup grated cheddar Vegan version only 200 g Mad Millie Vegan Soft Mozzarella Method Preheat oven on fan bake to 180oC (356oF). Put the diced pumpkin into a pot filled with water and boil until soft. Drain the water and mash the pumpkin, add some salt and pepper to taste. In a bowl combine the ricotta, parmesan (dairy only), spinach, spring onions, garlic and salt and pepper, stir until well combined. Grease your lasagne dish and place a layer of lasagne sheets on the bottom. Spoon over half of the cheesy spinach followed a layer of half of the mashed pumpkin. Top with another layer of lasagne sheets, add half of the tomato sauce and spread it around evenly. Add another layer of the rest of the cheesy spinach and then a layer of the rest of the mashed pumpkin. Top with the final layer of lasagne sheets and pour over the remainder of the pasta sauce. Spread the pasta sauce around and top with either the grated cheddar (dairy only) or the soft mozzarella (vegan) spread evenly over top. Bake at 180oC (356oF) for 45 – 50 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Stand for 10 minutes before tossing the basil leaves on top and serving. Bon Appetit!
Cheese making with raw, goat's or sheep's milk
Using different types of milk to make cheese is a great way to experiment with flavours and textures. If you’re lucky enough to have a supply of raw milk or want to try goat or sheep’s milk instead of cow, then you’re in the right place. Below are a few of the questions we commonly hear regarding moving away from the conventional supermarket refrigerator. Raw milk – is it safe? Yes, raw milk is generally safe to use for cheese making. The biggest concern with raw milk is the bacteria present in it. This bacteria can come from the cow or be picked up throughout the process of milking. It doesn’t mean it’s all bad bacteria, it’s just an unknown which you need to be aware of. If you are comfortable with your milk source, then it is your choice. Raw milk does make deliciously creamy cheese! One watch out is that the bacteria already present in the milk might compete with your cheese culture. If this happens you might not see a curd forming as the milk bacteria are more likely to win the battle. Raw milk (cow, goat or sheep) is also best to be used within 3 days of milking for the best results, the fresher the better. If you’re not 100% sure, then we recommend you pasteurise your milk before getting into cheese making. You will still have delicious cheese but also peace of mind that you’re not going to have issues down the line. How do I pasteurise my milk? There are two methods to pasteurise your milk, both will achieve the same results but make sure your temperature remains consistent. Heat milk to 68°C or 154°F and hold for 2 mins. Heat milk to 63°C or 146°F and hold for 30 mins If the milk temperature goes higher that is ok but you are likely to get some flavour change and more caramelised notes in your milk. Do I still need to use calcium chloride with raw milk? Absolutely! In fact, it is even more important with raw milk. The addition of calcium chloride helps to standardise the level of calcium in the milk, which is needed for consistency in the cheese making process. With seasonal changes the composition of the milk will change slightly, this is natural. Normally this would be standardised in a factory but if you’re using raw milk the calcium chloride will help with this. What is the difference between cow, sheep and goat’s milk, other than the animal it comes from? The diet and digestion of the animal has a big impact on the final composition of the milk. Cow’s milk has bigger fat molecules which means your homemade cows cheese has a heavier feeling in your mouth. It has a similar level of protein to goat’s milk but has very little flavour profile, other than what is generally known as milky. Goat’s milk picks up the acrid flavours of their diet, which equates to anything they can get their mouth on including brambles and thorny grasses. This come through in goat’s cheese as the ‘goaty’ flavour that can be quite polarising. The fat molecules in goat’s milk are small which means it has a smaller and softer curd, which can sometimes be difficult to handle when making cheese. Sheep’s milk is significantly higher in fat and protein than either cow or goat’s milk. This means the solid content is much higher in the milk and it makes the best buttery, rich cheese. Some nutty flavours might be picked up from sheep’s cheese but less so than with goat milk flavours. Can I use sheep’s milk in all Mad Millie cheese recipes? Almost, mozzarella won’t work particularly well so we recommend you sticking with cow’s milk for that one. For everything else definitely give it a try! Some tips below: Sheep's milk is very high in butterfat - you will need to stir the top layer into the milk before adding the rennet. Using sheep's milk, you might find that you will need increase the rennet, add the advised amount first and if a curd is not forming then add the same amount again. When cutting the curds, make larger cubes to avoid losing butterfat. Reduce the pressing weight if making hard cheese as the curd is more fragile. You may need to lower the ripening temperature of hard and specialty cheese to 3-5°C (37-41°F). Can I use goat’s milk in all Mad Millie cheese recipes? Yes, goat’s milk can be used in any of our recipes. With the composition of goat’s milk, it has a more delicate curd and may take a while to form. If you’re having trouble, try doubling the amount of rennet added and then be a little bit patient!
Sourdough starter vs sourdough culture
We sometimes get questions about the difference between a sourdough starter and a sourdough culture. It can be a bit confusing, especially if you’re just getting into this whole breadmaking business. Is one better than the other? Will they make different types of sourdough? How do I know where to start? Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered with an explanation of the differences and a few different terms, so you’ll feel like a professional sourdough maker in no time. Let’s start with the starter. A sourdough starter can be referred to by a lot of different names a Levain, Starter sponge, Mother sponge, Chef, Biga or Poolish. Each of these names have their own origin but are all ultimately the same thing, a preferment. A preferment is exactly what it sounds like, a concoction that is made up before fermentation and consists of flour, water, a leavening agent (yeast) and culture (lactic acid bacteria). All four parts work together and as the water hydrates the flour it makes an available source of nutrients for the yeast and bacteria. The fermentation process starts and creates all the delicious sourdough flavours we know and love. Your preferment is then used like a culture, take a little bit and add it to your sourdough recipe to start the fermentation of your loaves. There are a few different ways to introduce the yeast and bacteria to your preferment. Traditionally a mixture of water and flour would have been left out on the bench to be cultivated by wild yeast and bacteria that are naturally in the air. This can work very successfully but may take a few attempts before you start achieving the right flavours, unfortunately we don’t all have the best wild yeast and bacteria in our homes! Commercial mixtures of yeast and bacteria are available that can be added to flour and water to get exactly the right type of yeast and bacteria present in your preferment. This is a great option if you are wanting a specific type of sourdough or aren’t confident with knowing when your preferment is done. Now comes the main difference between a sourdough starter and a sourdough culture, a preferment is a living thing and requires maintenance. Depending on how diligent you are, your sourdough starter will require feeding once or twice a day to keep it healthy. This is great if you are regularly making bread and will use the starter every day or so. If you’re more of the casual sourdough baker then a sourdough culture is probably right up your alley. The sourdough culture sachet contains all the right yeast and bacteria that are needed for your fermented flavours, but without the preferment required. Instead you can add them directly to your other ingredients and let them work their magic overnight. When trying to decide between a sourdough starter and sourdough culture the main thing that swings it for us is time. Yes, a sourdough starter can create amazingly complex flavours and will change and evolve over time. It also requires upkeep and becomes the ‘kitchen baby’ of the household. Yes, a sourdough culture is very convenient and within 24 hours you can have a loaf of fresh steaming sourdough. It is also a one hit wonder as you use the whole sachet in your two loaves. The choice is yours, whatever you decide we wish you luck on your breadmaking journey and are always here to help!
St Patrick's Day Guinness and Cheese Dip
Make sure you’ve got your green dress or shirt ready, Saint Patrick’s Day is nearly here! Held to commemorate the patron saint of Ireland, this cultural and religious festival is celebrated with fervour. We all love the Irish, with their great sense of humour and ‘tree tree’s’ (that’s three three’s for those that aren’t used to an Irish accent) they make the world a better place. We’re not the only ones that think this with Saint Patrick’s Day being celebrated in more countries around the world than any other national festival. We thought it was only appropriate to come up with a little something to show off your Mad Millie creations, while still having the Irish influence being the hero of the dish. Guinness is synonymous with Ireland and having been started way back in 1759 in Dublin, it’s no wonder we always picture the Irish with a Guinness in hand. Whip up this creation in no time and get your friends around for a pint or two! Guinness and Cheese Dip Servings: 4 cups, or about 8 friends Ingredients 100 mL/3.3 fl oz Guinness 2.5 cups (320 g/10 oz) Mad Millie Cheddar Cheese, grated 250 g/8.8 oz Mad Millie Cream Cheese 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 Onion, finely chopped 2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped ½ tsp Paprika 2 Tbsp Parsley, fresh and chopped Salt and Pepper to taste Method Pour the Guinness into a bowl and give it a stir to remove some of the carbonation, this will help if you have a smaller blender too! Add the cheddar, cream cheese, Guinness and mustard into a blender, blend until smooth. Add the onion, garlic, paprika and parsley into the blender and mix until thoroughly mixed through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Put your Guinness and Cheese Dip into a bowl and chill for an hour prior to serving, this can also be made a few days in advance to save time. Serve with crackers or left over, toasted sourdough pieces. Enjoy!
Why we love chocolate
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner our craving for all thing’s chocolate has been piqued. Whether you’re a believer in the day of love or not, it’s certainly a great excuse to enjoy a tasty bar (or in our case box) of chocolate. As we got stuck into making some homemade Mad Millie Raw Cacao Chocolate, we were curious about where the association of chocolate and love came from. As it turns out there is a very valid reason that chocolate is sometimes known as the ‘love’ or ‘happiness’ drug. The various different ingredients and compounds that are in chocolate may actually have an impact on our brain and body, causing us to feel pleasurable and positive feelings. Let’s check out what the love drug contains that has us reaching for more. Theobromine Theobromine is found in tea, coffee and chocolate, with chocolate being known as the richest ingestible source. It’s a naturally occurring, organic compound that comes from the cacao tree, Theobroma and can have stimulant effects on the human brain. Much like caffeine the stimulant effect makes your feel better, more alert and ready to face the world. Various studies have shown that if you eat enough chocolate it can have a similar impact on the brain as cannabis, which explains the chocolate high people experience. We recommend a moderate amount of chocolate, a feel good high plus not feeling physically sick after eating kilograms of the good stuff. Anandamide Small quantities of anandamide are found in chocolate as well as being naturally occurring in the human brain. It’s a cannabinoid and has some of the same effects as THC in cannabis, with clinical trials showing a reduction in anxiety with its use. This is in such small amounts in chocolate that its impact is negligible but interesting all the same! Phenylethylamine (PEA) This little chemical is what our brain naturally releases when we fall in love, you know where else you can find it? In chocolate. The brains pleasure centres are stimulated by phenylethylamine to prompt feelings of happiness, excitement and giddiness. This one is mostly metabolised before it can make us fall in love with our chocolate, but you get the gist. Tryptophan Found in small quantities in chocolate, tryptophan is an amino acid that is used by the brain to make serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of happiness. Sugar One of the most addictive parts of all, sugar is found in most types of chocolate to help reduce the bitterness of cacao. As soon as those little sugar molecules hit your taste buds your brain gets a signal to let it know you’ve eaten something sweet and delicious, and dopamine is released. This is one of the big contributors to the feelings of pleasure and satisfaction that comes with that very first bite. Now just a disclaimer, these naturally occurring chemical compounds are indeed present in chocolate, but they are likely to be in small enough quantities that the positive impact doesn’t actually come from them. Instead our bodies crave a delicious chocolate morsel and when we satisfy that craving, endorphins are released, and we feel happy and content. Either way we know that chocolate gives us a satisfaction like no other, but as always, keep it in moderation.
Hard Cheese tips and tricks
Slicing into the wax covering your homemade hard cheese is a great feeling. After a tedious few weeks or months while you wait to taste your success, that first peek of delicious, flavoursome cheese is a glorious sight. We have heard a few murmurings that the thought of making hard cheese can seem a bit overwhelming for the budding cheese maker. Not wanting you to miss out on the satisfaction of your own cheddar, gouda or Havarti we’ve put together some tips to get you started. 1. Sanitise your work area and equipment really well. We cannot say it enough, sanitise, sanitise, sanitise! With hard cheeses this is particularly important as you’re leaving them out at room temperature for a prolonged period of time. If any microorganisms have even the slightest chance of getting into your milk through equipment or the general work area, they will do their damnedest to survive. By making sure everything is clean, sanitised and ready to go before you start pouring your milk into the pot, you’re already doing well. One tip that people don’t often think about is making sure there aren’t any open windows or doors around the area that your hard cheese is draining or drying. With moving air you’re more likely to have microorganisms swirling around the place and landing on your cheese, which is the perfect environment for them to grow. 2. Use good quality milk The quality of your milk will have a significant impact on the cheese making process and the final cheese flavour. For hard cheeses it must always be full fat, unhomogenised milk and fresh is best. If you can, try and use more organic brands or local suppliers to increase the likelihood of getting a full, creamy, rich flavour at the end. 3. Make sure you follow the recipe Hard cheeses are a bit less forgiving to make, this is why it’s so important to follow the recipe closely. Whichever recipe you are following it will have specific amounts of milk, calcium chloride, rennet and culture and will follow a set time and temperature process. This has all been defined by cheese makers and found to work, unless you are an experienced cheese maker and are ready to start experimenting, we recommend following the recipe. We do encourage as much experimentation as possible, but we also want you to succeed! With each deviation you make there is a chance of ending up with hard, dry, cracked or crumbly cheese. Make sure you’ve had a few successful goes at the specific cheese you’re making before making any changes. 4. Cheese pressing tips Pressing pushes the whey out of the curd to give a smooth, uniform texture to your cheese. The amount of pressure that is applied and the time depends on the cheese and the desired moisture content at the end. Some tips to help get the best results: - Use a slightly damp cheesecloth to line your mould as this will help it stay in place as you spoon in the curd. - When transferring your curds to the press make sure you distribute them in an even manner and bang the mould of the press firmly on the bench every so often. This will help move the curd around so it’s more tightly fitted into the mould. - As each spoonful of curd is added gently pull on the cheesecloth lining to get rid of any little bunches or folds that may have snuck in. - Always put the disc on top of the cheese, then fold down the cheesecloth lining before pressing, this will ensure an even surface that is being pressed into the curd. - Be very careful when flipping the curds, they will be delicate and may come apart during the first few turns. Utilise your cheesecloth lining to help with this. 5. Store in the right conditions or as close as you can get Hard cheeses need to be properly dried and aged to develop the full flavour you’re after. Specific temperatures and humidity levels will be given in the recipe, however for the average cheese maker achieving this can be the hardest part. If you’re lucky enough to have a cheese refrigerator, a cool basement/cellar or a cold storage shed then that’s great! If you’re like the rest of us and aren’t so set up the below could be a good start. - Store your cheese in a maturation box in the coolest place you can find. Line the bottom of the container (can just be a sealed plastic container, make sure it’s clean!) with wet paper towels or put in a glass of water for humidity. Sit your cheese on the cheese mat and put the sealed container in the back of a cupboard or wardrobe where it is likely to stay relatively cool. This method needs to be checked every few days to allow a bit of airflow. - Use a drawer in your refrigerator, make sure you give it a really good clean first. Line the drawer with paper towels to gain a little bit of insulation and put a glass of water alongside the cheese to give some humidity. If you’re comfortable turning your refrigerator temperature up then put it on the highest setting, but not at the expense of your other food and drinks! The maturing step will take longer as it is probably colder than the recommended temperature. - If you’re serious about cheese making have a look for a small wine or drinks refrigerator. These can be found second hand relatively cheaply and make the perfect controlled environment for storing your cheese. If it’s not temperature controlled, using a Mad Millie thermometer will work so you know what temperature your cheese is sitting at. Additionally, for humidity putting a bowl or glass of cool water inside will be enough to ensure your cheese doesn’t dry out. 6. Trouble shooting tips Some issues that you might come across and their solutions are below, with cheese making every batch will have slight variations due to the type of milk, temperature of storage or you might have been distracted and left the curds too long. It’s best just to embrace these variations of the creative process, fix what you can and make notes for next time. - Cracking in the surface of your cheese – multiple possible causes Your storage area isn’t humid enough, causing drying to happen too quickly and the cheese to shrink and crack. To help with this wrap your cheese in a damp cheesecloth. It won’t make the cracks go away but will stop them getting worse. Also place a wet paper towel in the bottom of your maturing box to help increase the humidity. The curds were too cold when put into the press, if they’re not warm enough they won’t knit together properly. It may be too late for this little cheese to be crack-less but remember to follow all time and temperature instructions in the recipe next time. The pressure in the press wasn’t high enough, this has led to the curds not moulding together completely and squashing out any air gaps. Next time make sure you check the press regularly as it will need to be tightened as the size of the cheese reduces under pressure. - Oil is coming up onto your cheeses surface Your storage temperature is too high, the oil is the fat in the cheese rising to the surface. Find a cooler spot for it and expect a slightly harder cheese once you get to the eating step. - Mould has formed on the surface or in the cracks. Scrape/cut off the unwanted mould and use a salt solution (ideally around 6%) to thoroughly rub the area and the entirety of the hard cheese to avoid further growth. Let the cheese dry completely and then continue ageing it. If you’re concerned, rub with a salt solution every 3 days for a week to reduce the risk. For more info on why this has happened refer to our blogs and FAQs. - Your cheese is excessively dry This is due to either insufficient rennet which can happen if you are using liquid rennet; it may also be due to the curds being cut too small or stirred too much causing too much whey to be released. This can’t be fixed now but crumbly hard cheese goes great on a salad!