Ingredients
Cheese
- 5 litressheep’s milk, or whole cow’s milk
- ¼ tspcalcium chloride in 2 tbsp water, if using shop milk
- ½ tspliquid rennet in 50 ml cool water
Brine
- 1 litrewater
- 80 gcoarse non-iodised salt
- 2 tbspof the whey
Equipment
- a woven basket or a perforated mould with a visible weave
Directions
- Warm the milk to 32°C (90°F) and stir in the calcium chloride if using pasteurised shop milk.
- Stir in the diluted rennet with a few slow strokes, stop the milk moving, and leave undisturbed for 45 minutes until it gives a clean break.
- Cut the curd into 2 cm cubes, rest 10 minutes, then stir gently for 15 minutes while holding the temperature.
- Ladle the curd straight into a woven basket set over a bowl — no pressing at all. The basket is the signature of this cheese: the curd drains under its own weight and takes the print of the weave on its surface, which is how a real Tzfat cheese is recognised.
- Let it drain at room temperature for two hours, turning it once in the basket so both faces take the pattern, then refrigerate and drain a further four hours.
- Dissolve the salt in the water, stir in the reserved whey, and cool it completely. Whey in the brine stops the surface going slimy as calcium leaches out.
- Submerge the cheese in the cold brine and refrigerate for 24 hours for a mild cheese, or up to a week for a saltier keeping version.
- Eat within a week. Serve crumbled into salad, sliced with bread and za’atar, or grilled — it holds its shape over heat.
Technique
- No pressing. The basket and gravity do all the draining, and pressing gives a dense cheese with no pattern.
- Turn it in the basket so both sides mark. This is cosmetic and it is also the whole identity of the cheese.
- Longer in the brine gives a saltier, firmer cheese that keeps longer — a day is mild, a week is a different product.
Substitutions
- Vegetarian microbial rennet, which works well.
- Cow’s milk, which is what most commercial Tzfat cheese now uses.
- A plastic colander with a coarse weave in place of a basket.
Variations
- Aged in brine for months it becomes hard and very salty, closer to a Balkan brined cheese.
- Rolled in za’atar or nigella after brining.
History
Made by the Kadosh family dairy in Safed since the nineteenth century and drained in woven baskets.
Frequently asked questions
What is Tzfat cheese?
Tzfat cheese is a cheese & dairy from Israel: salty semi-soft sheep cheese marked by its draining basket, grilled or crumbled. Made by the Kadosh family dairy in Safed since the nineteenth century and drained in woven baskets.
How long does Tzfat cheese take to make?
Tzfat cheese takes 40 min plus 6 hours draining and 24 hours brining of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 600 g. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Tzfat cheese?
Yes, within limits. Vegetarian microbial rennet, which works well. Cow’s milk, which is what most commercial Tzfat cheese now uses. A plastic colander with a coarse weave in place of a basket.
What is the most important thing to get right in Tzfat cheese?
Turn it in the basket so both sides mark. This is cosmetic and it is also the whole identity of the cheese.
