Cave-Hog Cheese
“Smells like a tunnel full of ghosts. Tastes like victory.”
Cave-Hog Cheese is a hard, salty cheese made from the milk of the Groth'harn — the large, tusked swine domesticated by the Dwarves for meat, muscle, and milk. Cave-hog cheese is dense, oily, and powerfully aromatic, with a rind that sweats in warm tunnels and a center that sharpens with age.
Cave-hog milk is rare, difficult to harvest (Groth’harn are not cooperative milkers), and high in fat, making this cheese a luxury among laborers and a crucial ration for long expeditions into the Bloom.
Flavor Profile:
- Young: Creamy, mild funk, slightly sweet.
- Aged: Dense, nutty, aggressively pungent with notes of ash, smoke, and bacon.
Popular Uses
- Melted into Embercrust Rolls
- Shaved onto Stonelump Stew
- Paired with Lava Jam and Iron Mead
- Used as a non-lethal throwing weapon in tavern brawls
Manufacturing process
Instructions
- Heat the Milk
Warm the Groth’harn milk in a thick stone pot over low heat until it’s just shy of steaming (around 35°C / 95°F). Stir slowly clockwise — Dwarves believe counter-clockwise invites spoilage spirits. - Curdle the Beast
Add the forge-rennet and let the milk sit undisturbed for 45 minutes. A proper curd will be as firm as old boots and slightly yellowed. - Cut and Stir the Curd
Slice the curd into rough cubes with a hot obsidian blade. Stir gently while raising the temperature to 39°C (102°F). This firms the curds and shrinks them down. - Strain and Press
Pour curds into a cloth-lined mold and press with heavy stone weights for 6–12 hours. If liquid still drips, it isn’t ready. - Salt and Dry
Remove the wheel, rub with salt, and place in a drying rack in a warm tunnel. Flip every 8 hours until a firm rind forms (usually 2–3 days). - Age It Right
Move to a cool, damp chamber for at least 4 weeks (young and squeaky) or up to 2 years (hard and sharp enough to cut through shame). Dwarves often brush the rind with ale or black vinegar during aging for added depth.
Significance
Cultural Notes
- Apprentice’s Trial: Many young dwarves are taught to care for a wheel of Cave-Hog Cheese for a year — washing, turning, and guarding it from mold-spirits or hungry uncles.
- Trade Standard: Properly aged wheels are valuable and stamped with guild runes to certify authenticity. Fakes are severely punished.
Item type
Consumable, Food / Drink
Raw materials & Components
Ingredients (Yields one 1.5 kg wheel)
- 6 liters fresh Groth’harn milk (still warm is best)
- ¼ tsp forge-rennet (or thistle rennet in a pinch)
- 2 tsp mined salt (fine cave-salt or smoked brine salt)
- ½ tsp fermented moldstarter (from previous rind or cave cultures)
- Optional: Crushed glowpepper seeds or ash-fennel flakes for spice
Tools
- Heated stone pot or iron cauldron
- Carved wooden stirring stick (tradition forbids metal touching the curd)
- Heavy cheesecloth or fungal fiber straining wrap
- Mold-stone press or carved weight plates
- Cool aging tunnel or deep cellar
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