[chrissie B]

you will need for 8oz
3 rennet tablets
2 tablespoons of cold water
8 cups of whole milk not the homogenized,
good cooking salt
1 tablespoon dried mint


crush tablets an add to the water dissolve
warm milk to blood heat no more than 38 degrees,
add the rennet stir only a little seconds  with a wire whisk , cover the pot and leave in a warm place 30 mins ,
with the whisk stir the curds to break up , leave to settle ,
ladle the curds into a colander double lined with muslin, collect the whey and keep ,
when well drained place the curds and cloth onto a clean chopping board and shape into a square about 2cm thick , with cloth on the top press down gently and put extra whey in the pot ,leave on the board which is set at an angle for 1  1/2 to 2 hours to drain .
put the whey into a pot and bring to the boil, when the curds are well drained and compact cut into 4 and put into the whey till they float , remove from heat and set aside for 5 mins
put 1/4 cup of salt on a plate with the crumbled mint ,
remove the cheese to the board and dab dry and while hot dip into the salt mix on all sides, reshape the cheese if needed only while it is hot ,
pack cooled cheese into sterile jars , dissolve 2 tablespoons of the salt in some of the whey and fill the jar up ,keep in a cool place ,

i hope some one trys this i will as soon as i can find some rennet , if you know where i can get it form please let me know .
Chrissie b

[gobs]

We love Haloumi, but what are Rennet tablets and could they be substituted?

[chrissie B]

i don't know but checking the recipe it has in brackets junket hope it help , we know a prison guard and at the prison here they produce a lot of there own food and some is sold on as well i will see if he knows what it is that turns the milk to curds
Chrissie b

[mushroom]

Rennet is a collection of enzymes. It is harvested from sheep or cows stomach. There is an artificially-produced form. You need rennet, of either type, to make cheese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet

[mashauk]

you will need for 8oz
3 rennet tablets
2 tablespoons of cold water
8 cups of whole milk not the homogenized,
good cooking salt
1 tablespoon dried mint


crush tablets an add to the water dissolve
warm milk to blood heat no more than 38 degrees,
add the rennet stir only a little seconds  with a wire whisk , cover the pot and leave in a warm place 30 mins ,
with the whisk stir the curds to break up , leave to settle ,
ladle the curds into a colander double lined with muslin, collect the whey and keep ,
when well drained place the curds and cloth onto a clean chopping board and shape into a square about 2cm thick , with cloth on the top press down gently and put extra whey in the pot ,leave on the board which is set at an angle for 1  1/2 to 2 hours to drain .
put the whey into a pot and bring to the boil, when the curds are well drained and compact cut into 4 and put into the whey till they float , remove from heat and set aside for 5 mins
put 1/4 cup of salt on a plate with the crumbled mint ,
remove the cheese to the board and dab dry and while hot dip into the salt mix on all sides, reshape the cheese if needed only while it is hot ,
pack cooled cheese into sterile jars , dissolve 2 tablespoons of the salt in some of the whey and fill the jar up ,keep in a cool place ,

i hope some one trys this i will as soon as i can find some rennet , if you know where i can get it form please let me know .
Chrissie b

I eat loads of Halloumi, but buy it from my local Greek/Turkish/Cypriot shop, it's not expensive if you bulk buy it and it freezes. I'm assuming the rennnet isn't vegetarian though (oops!)

[gobs]

No, but I think, that's what Mushy is referring to there as an artificial substitute to make vegie cheese that is, I'd guess.

[babe]

my mum absolutely loves grilled halloumi, though it does have a bit of a laxative effect on her..... glad she doesnt read this, ,,sorry mum x

[mashauk]

It doesn't do that to me, but does make my teeth squeak.  I must admit to being a complete hypocrite, because I always buy vegetarian cheese if I can, but I never thought about Halloumi (perhaps because I didn't want to know!) - may try making it though, when I saw it on a cooking programme, it was made from sheep's milk and was much softer than the stuff we buy, and they were using it to stuff ravioli.  I think Halloumi is the main reason I've never managed to go vegan :oops:

[gobs]

We love it fried too. Makes a yummy warm salad with broad beans and bacon(veggies could leave out). Are you growing any broad beans, Babe?

[WG.]

I made paneer cheese using lemon juice as the curdling agent so that would have been vegetarian.  No reason you couldn't add mint to that.

[mashauk]

So are you saying lemon juice is a veggie alternative to rennet, that's interesting, why can't they use it in all cheeses then and make them all veggie, eh, eh

My favourite halloumi dish is a pitta sandwich with halloumi (I've given this recipe before, works for tofu etc too) sweet chilli sauce, garlic sauce, rosemary & thyme marinated for a while then all fried up together.  I use this mix for halloumi kebabs too.

[WG.]

There are already veggy alternatives to rennet

[mashauk]

But not all cheeses use it, that's what I'm saying.  I don't think you can get proper vegetarian Parmesan can you, you can get that awful vegan parmesan that's like wood shavings or something, why can't all cheeses use non-animal rennet, I guess there's some reason as wouldn't it be cheaper, or maybe not?

[WG.]

Probably economic reasons.

I got very little paneer from my 1.5 litres of whole milk.  Perhaps real rennet improves the yield?  Mind you, I did use homogenised supermarket milk.

[Selkie]

I think 'real' rennet is better for hard cheeses, like parmasan (which I never liked anyway); not sure about halloumi, you'd have to look on the pack or contact whoever makes it