Cheese

Widely produced in the highlands of Asuria, cheese has become cornerstone of the Asurian diet at almost every level of society. Indeed, many consider the presence of cheese a requirement for any proper meal, deeming a meal without cheese to be mere survival rations.   Asuria is, of course, far from the only region to make cheese. Cheese can be found in any area where domestic animals are milked, and even far off cultures that don't rely so heavily on domesticated animals produce similar products out of soy, or various tree nuts. Such products are relatively rare in Asuria, but have come to be a popular substitute in coastal cities among those who do not consume dairy products, or avoid animal products more generally.  

Traditional recipes

Asurian cheeses are made from fresh milk collected from cows, goats and occasionally sheep. The milk is warmed over a fire, stirring to avoid burning it, and adding a curdling agent. Traditionally, one uses rennet scrapings, harvested from an animal's stomach as part of butchering, but vinegar or citrus juice are both used for some cheeses. Once the solid curd forms, it is stirred to break up into tiny pieces, and then is separated from the curd. Traditionally this is done by gently pushing the curd to the bottom of the mixing container (very carefully so as to not re-mix the curd into the whey), but some larger farms have begun using sieves instead. This results in cheese curds forming within the whey (the liquid left behind after this process). Once scooped out, the cheese is traditionally packed tightly into cylindrical forms made from cutting a wooden cask in half, and then aged for several months, sometimes as long as a year. Fortunately the cheese wheels solidify in their forms relatively quickly, allowing them to be used repeatedly for new batches.   Once this is complete, while workers continue pressing the cheese curds into the forms so as to squeeze out all of the whey, the remaining whey in the pot is heated, along with some salt and a small reserve amount of whole milk. As it heats, ricotta rises from the whey. Traditionally, this was primarily consumed on the farm as a cheap, easily made food for the labourers, but a growing demand for salted, smoked or baked ricotta has begun to develop in the cities, largely driven by farm workers moving to the cities in search of better pay.