Motal

Ingredients

Milk and coagulant

• 16 litresraw sheep milk, or a mix of sheep and goat milk
• 3.5 mlsingle-strength liquid rennet, diluted in 60 ml cool unchlorinated water (use microbial rennet for a vegetarian cheese)
• ⅛ tspmesophilic starter culture, or 200 ml live matsun

Salting and herbs

• coarse salt, about 4 to 5 per cent of the drained curd weight
• 40 gdried mountain herbs: urts (ziziphora), wild thyme, savory and a little dried mint, crumbled

The vessel

• a cured sheep or goat skin (the motal itself), or a large glazed clay pot with a tight lid and a wooden follower
• a weight of 4 to 5 kg

Directions

1. Warm the milk to 32°C (90°F), add the starter and ripen 45 minutes, then stir in the diluted rennet and leave still for 45 minutes until the curd gives a clean break.
2. Cut the curd into 1.5 cm cubes and rest 10 minutes, then stir gently for 20 minutes while the grains firm and shrink and the whey turns yellow-green.
3. Drain the curd in cloth and hang it for 6 to 8 hours, or press it lightly under 2 kg, until it is firm and no longer dripping.
4. Crumble the drained curd by hand into pieces the size of a hazelnut, weigh it, and mix through 4 to 5 per cent of its weight in coarse salt and half the crumbled dried herbs. This dry salting, rather than brining, is what defines the style.
5. Leave the salted crumb in a cool place for 24 hours to draw out more whey, then drain it again.
6. Pack the crumb into the skin or the clay pot in layers, hammering each layer down hard with a wooden pestle to drive out every air pocket and scattering the remaining herbs between layers. Air is what lets unwanted mould in.
7. Seal the skin by tying it, or press the clay pot’s contents under a wooden follower and a 4 to 5 kg weight, cover, and store at 10 to 14°C (55°F).
8. Age for 3 to 4 months, pouring off any whey that collects in the first weeks. The cheese is ready when it is crumbly, sharply salty and lactic, shot through with the smell of the mountain herbs, and it is scooped out rather than sliced.

Technique

• Motal takes its name from the vessel, not the curd: motal is the skin bag, sewn and cured, in which the cheese matures on the summer pastures. Clay pot versions are made in villages that no longer use skins and give a very similar cheese.
• Raw sheep milk carries real risk. Most countries require a minimum of 60 days ageing before sale, which this comfortably exceeds, but the milk must come from healthy, tested animals and every surface must be scrupulously clean. Pasteurising at 63°C (145°F) for 30 minutes and adding calcium chloride is the safe route at home.
• The salt is the preservative, and 4 to 5 per cent is not negotiable for a cheese aged without a rind in an anaerobic vessel. Under-salt it and it will spoil rather than mature.
• Herb choice varies by valley and is the local signature. Urts, the Ziziphora of the Armenian highlands, is the most characteristic and has a scent between thyme and pennyroyal.
• Traditional motal is set with animal rennet; a microbial rennet gives the same result and keeps the cheese vegetarian.

Substitutions

• No sheep milk: use whole cow milk with 200 ml of double cream per 5 litres to bring the fat up, though the cheese will be milder and less tangy.
• No skin or clay pot: pack the salted curd into sterilised wide-mouth glass jars, pressing hard to exclude air, and seal.

Variations

• Similar herbed skin-aged cheeses are made across the region, from Georgian guda to Azerbaijani motal panir; the Armenian version leans hardest on urts.
• A version from Syunik packs the curd with a layer of walnut leaves as well as herbs, giving a darker, more astringent finish.

History

Ripened in a sheepskin or clay pot with thyme and wild herbs, a technique shared with Azerbaijan and Iran.

Frequently asked questions

What is Motal?

Motal is a cheese & dairy from Armenia: sharp sheep cheese aged with mountain herbs inside a skin. Ripened in a sheepskin or clay pot with thyme and wild herbs, a technique shared with Azerbaijan and Iran.

How long does Motal take to make?

Motal takes 2 hr active of preparation and 3 to 4 months ageing of cooking. The recipe makes about 2 kg of cheese, from 16 litres of milk. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Motal?

Yes, within limits. No sheep milk: use whole cow milk with 200 ml of double cream per 5 litres to bring the fat up, though the cheese will be milder and less tangy. No skin or clay pot: pack the salted curd into sterilised wide-mouth glass jars, pressing hard to exclude air, and seal.

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

Crumble the drained curd by hand into pieces the size of a hazelnut, weigh it, and mix through 4 to 5 per cent of its weight in coarse salt and half the crumbled dried herbs. This dry salting, rather than brining, is what defines the style.