Ingredients
Cheese
- 6 litreswhole cow’s milk
- ¼ tspcalcium chloride in 2 tbsp water, if using shop milk
- ½ tspliquid rennet in 50 ml cool water
Brine
- 500 mlwater
- 50 gcoarse non-iodised salt
- 2 tbspof the whey
To serve
- khachapuri dough
- or bread and tomatoes
Directions
- Warm the milk to 35°C (95°F) and stir in the calcium chloride if using pasteurised shop milk.
- Stir in the diluted rennet, stop the milk moving, and leave undisturbed for 40 minutes until it 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, keeping a couple of tablespoons for the brine, and gather the curd into a ball in a muslin-lined colander.
- Press under a 3 kg weight for two hours, turning once. It should come out firm but still springy — Imeruli is a young cheese and should not be dried out.
- Dissolve the salt in the water, stir in the reserved whey, cool completely, and submerge the cheese in it. The whey stops the brine leaching calcium out of the surface, which otherwise leaves a slimy softening rind.
- Brine for 12 to 24 hours in the fridge, then eat within a week. Grate or crumble it into khachapuri dough, or eat it with bread and tomatoes.
Technique
- Do not over-press. Imeruli should give under the thumb; pressed hard it turns into a keeping cheese and will not melt properly in khachapuri.
- A short brine only. Left in brine for days it turns into something closer to a Balkan sirene.
- Whey in the brine, always. It is a small detail with a very visible effect on the rind.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian microbial rennet.
- A blend with buffalo or sheep milk, both of which are used in Georgia.
Variations
- Aged longer in a stronger brine it becomes a salty keeping cheese.
- Mixed half and half with sulguni for the classic Adjarian khachapuri filling.
History
Young brined cheese eaten within days of making; mixed with sulguni it fills the boat-shaped Adjarian khachapuri.
Frequently asked questions
What is Imeruli cheese?
Imeruli cheese is a cheese & dairy from Georgia: fresh salty cow’s cheese from Imereti; the standard khachapuri filling. Young brined cheese eaten within days of making; mixed with sulguni it fills the boat-shaped Adjarian khachapuri.
How long does Imeruli cheese take to make?
Imeruli cheese takes 40 min plus 2 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 Imeruli cheese?
Yes, within limits. Vegetarian microbial rennet. A blend with buffalo or sheep milk, both of which are used in Georgia.
What is the most important thing to get right in Imeruli cheese?
Dissolve the salt in the water, stir in the reserved whey, cool completely, and submerge the cheese in it. The whey stops the brine leaching calcium out of the surface, which otherwise leaves a slimy softening rind.
