Ingredients
Cheese
- 6 litreswhole milk — yak, cow or a mixture
- ¼ tspcalcium chloride in 2 tbsp water, if using shop milk
- ½ tspliquid rennet in 50 ml cool water, or 200 ml sour milk as coagulant
To serve
- milk tea
- bread or boortsog
Directions
- Warm the milk to 35°C (95°F) and stir in the calcium chloride if using pasteurised shop milk.
- Stir in the rennet — or, in the traditional method, a few ladles of sour milk — and leave undisturbed for 40 minutes until the curd gives a clean break.
- Cut the curd into 2 cm cubes, rest 10 minutes, then stir gently for 15 minutes at 35°C (95°F).
- Drain off the whey and gather the curd into a cloth. Add no salt at all — byaslag is unsalted, which is what makes it mild and what distinguishes it from every neighbouring cheese.
- Shape it into a flat round or square and press it between two boards under a heavy weight for six hours, turning once.
- Pressed between boards is the traditional shape and it matters: a flat cheese dries evenly, and byaslag is made in summer specifically so it can be dried for winter.
- Eat it fresh within a few days, sliced with milk tea.
- To keep it, cut the pressed cheese into slices and dry them on a rack in an airy place for one to two weeks until hard, then store in a cloth bag.
Technique
- Unsalted is the definition. Salt it and you have made a different cheese.
- Press it flat rather than round if you intend to dry it — thickness is what leaves a damp middle.
- Yak milk gives a richer, firmer cheese than cow’s.
Substitutions
- Sour milk or yoghurt as the coagulant in place of rennet, which is the older Mongolian method.
- Vegetarian microbial rennet.
- Cow’s milk, which is what most people will use.
Variations
- Dried hard it keeps through the winter and is nibbled with tea.
- Cut into strips and fried, which is a modern Ulaanbaatar habit.
History
Pressed curd cheese made in the summer dairy season, weighted between boards and dried for winter storage.
Frequently asked questions
What is Byaslag?
Byaslag is a cheese & dairy from Mongolia: mild unsalted cheese pressed from yak or cow milk. Pressed curd cheese made in the summer dairy season, weighted between boards and dried for winter storage.
How long does Byaslag take to make?
Byaslag takes 40 min plus 6 hours pressing of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 700 g. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Byaslag?
Yes, within limits. Sour milk or yoghurt as the coagulant in place of rennet, which is the older Mongolian method. Vegetarian microbial rennet. Cow’s milk, which is what most people will use.
What is the most important thing to get right in Byaslag?
Press it flat rather than round if you intend to dry it — thickness is what leaves a damp middle.
