Kachkéis

Ingredients

Curd

• 500 gdry curd cheese or well-drained quark
• 1 tspbicarbonate of soda
• 1 tspsalt

To cook

• 60 gbutter
• 100 mlmilk or cream
• 1egg yolk, optional, for richness
• 1 tspcaraway seed, optional

To serve

• buttered bread
• strong mustard

Directions

1. Crumble the curd into a bowl, work in the bicarbonate of soda and salt, cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature for three to five days, stirring once a day.
2. The bicarbonate is not optional. It raises the pH just enough for the curd to ripen and, crucially, for it to melt smoothly later — without it the cheese stays chalky and separates into grains and liquid in the pan.
3. It is ready when it has turned from white and crumbly to yellowish and translucent at the edges and smells strongly. The smell is considerable and it is meant to be.
4. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over low heat, add the ripened curd and stir constantly as it softens.
5. Add the milk gradually, stirring, until the cheese melts into a smooth glossy liquid. This takes 10 to 15 minutes and it must not boil — a boil breaks the emulsion and it splits.
6. Beat in the egg yolk and caraway if using, off the heat.
7. Pour into a bowl or a jar and cool. It sets to a soft spreadable consistency in the fridge.
8. Serve at room temperature, spread thickly on buttered bread with a good deal of mustard.

Technique

• The bicarbonate and the ripening days are the whole recipe. Melt fresh curd without them and it will not come smooth however long you stir.
• Low heat, constant stirring, never a boil.
• The smell during ripening is strong. Keep it somewhere that does not matter.

Substitutions

• Harzer or another sour-milk cheese, ripened and melted the same way.
• Cream in place of milk for a richer spread.

Variations

• The German Kochkäse and Swiss version are close relatives.
• Served hot over boiled potatoes rather than cold on bread.

History

Cooked cheese spread made by melting matured curd; it turned surplus soured milk into a keepable spread and is eaten on bread with mustard.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kachkéis?

Kachkéis is a cheese & dairy from Luxembourg: runny cooked-cheese spread on buttered bread with mustard. Cooked cheese spread made by melting matured curd; it turned surplus soured milk into a keepable spread and is eaten on bread with mustard.

How long does Kachkéis take to make?

Kachkéis takes 20 min plus 3 to 5 days ripening of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 400 g. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kachkéis?

Yes, within limits. Harzer or another sour-milk cheese, ripened and melted the same way. Cream in place of milk for a richer spread.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kachkéis?

The bicarbonate is not optional. It raises the pH just enough for the curd to ripen and, crucially, for it to melt smoothly later — without it the cheese stays chalky and separates into grains and liquid in the pan.