Kefalotyri made into moretum By: Leonarda Delchiaro, Kingdom of Atlantia, Shire of Roxbury Mill

Kefalotyri is a Greek historically produced across the mainlands and islands of , and is considered the ancestor of many hard Greek . It is composed of sheep or milk, is lightly pressed and aged, and quite salty. The flavor is mild and milky, with a bit of the piquance of hard cheeses like parmesan, and is used in a variety of traditional greek dishes.

Though the cheese I made had different milk (cow) and went through a somewhat different aging process, but nevertheless, I have been assured by those who know their kefalotyri that the flavor and texture are both very similar.

Ingredients: 1.5 gallons raw, full-fat cow’s milk (obtained during an incidental trip out of state where the purchase of raw milk is legal) 1/16 tsp geotrichium candidum 1/16 tsp pennicilum candidum 1/2 c active-culture dairy kefir from personal stock 1/4 rennet tablet Non-iodized salt

(Because I used raw milk, I didn’t add any CaCl, though I would have if it had been pasteurized.)

Materials: 16 qt pot Slotted spoon Purpose-made reed draining baskets Reed mats Wine fridge for warm (56 deg F) aging

Methods: Milk was brought to a little below blood temperature (~90 deg F) and cultures were added Milk was left alone for an hour to ripen Milk was brought back to below blood temperature and rennet was added Milk was left alone an hour to solidify Curd was cut into large cubes (2-3 inches), warmed to 130, and gently stirred for 5 minutes Cubes were ladled off into two baskets to drain over 16 hours and flipped several times Cheeses were turned out on mats and salted so all surfaces of the cheeses were covered Cheeses were ripened/salted for a day uncovered at room temperature (60-70 deg F) Cheeses were moved to wine/cheese fridge with temperature at 56 deg F, and humidity at ~50% (guessed, based on how the cheese dried out - I don’t have measurement tools) Cheeses were aged for two months at 56 deg F, then wrapped in wax paper and moved to the cheese drawer of a fridge (~36 deg F) for two months Process notes: This cheese was initially envisioned as a camembert-style mold-ripened, soft cheese, however several things happened which likely hindered its development and resulted in my kefalotyri-like harder dryer cheese. Though a thin white-mold surface formed, it was never the lush fluff I had hoped for most likely due to a lower than ideal humidity within the wine/cheese fridge. This dried the cheese more than was ideal.

For the second aging in the cheese drawer, wax paper did not provide the moisture barrier I had hoped for, and the cheese dried even further resulting in a dense, hard cheese with a very thin rind.

Flavor notes: Cheese has a buttery, milky flavor with a slight undercurrent of aged pungency, and moderate saltiness. The rind is hard and not significantly different in flavor from the paste, though its texture is crumblier. The cheese is pleasant by itself but not by any means overwhelming in flavor, and would be good fortifying bechamel (the other use this cheese was put to in our household) or other cooked applications where a mild parmesan would be called for.

Moretum - a spread/dip of , cheese, and herbs, prepared with a flat bread

This recipe is described in Virgil’s Moretum - a poetic description of a farmer preparing his morning meal of bread and moretum. The recipe is described in some detail (see appendix excerpt from a translation of the poem) along with his method of making the dish.

The historic method involves grinding garlic, salt, cheese, and herbs (in that order) within a large mortar. The mortar would have had a rough surface (much like a molcajete) to facilitate breaking down the ingredients. This mixture was finally tempered with oil and wine vinegar and gathered into a ball for serving. The cheese is noted to be both salty and hard, indicating something like a kefalotyri is used. The recipe is notable for a huge amount of garlic (four heads) for what seems to be only a modest breakfast, and contains a variety of fresh and pungent herbs. It is possible that the wild or semi-domesticated variety of garlic were smaller, but the text indicates they were still quite pungent. Even details like the color of the finished dish is described in the poem as being a non-homogeneous green with flecks of herb and cheese.

The method I use involves a food processor as the nearest method to obtain a fine paste of garlic, herb, and cheese. The cheese is stripped of its thin rind and pre-grated to avoid large chunks of cheese, but otherwise the same order of ingredients and method are used as described in the text. Due to the toxicity and difficulty in finding rue, it was omitted from the herb mixture, and parsley, fresh cilantro and coriander seed, and celery leaf are used. Softneck garlic is used as it is adapted to mediterannean climates, and einkorn was used as the “ancient” wheat grain variety available to me at the moment. Moretum: 4 oz Kefalotyri 1 Garlic head 2 TBSP fresh parsley 2 TBSP cilantro 2 TBSP Celery leaf 1/4 c packed mixed salad leaves 1/4 tsp Coriander seed 1/2 tsp Salt 2 tsp 1/2 tsp home-made red wine vinegar

Bread: 1 3/4 c einkorn flour 2/3-3/4 c water A pinch of salt and yeast each

Bread dough was made by combining einkorn, water, and a trace of yeast and salt on the basis that a designated dough-mixing bowl with traces of both would likely have been used, and I have only had unsatisfyingly bland tasting bread without a pinch of salt in it. Dough was mixed and kneaded, allowed to rest for 20 minutes, and pressed out into a flat disk. The disk was scored into quarters and put in a 300 deg F oven for 30 minutes. The original poem indicates a longer baking time however the bread was cooked and we were hungry at the 30 minute mark.

Tasting Notes:

In spite of the salt added to the bread, it was only okay. If it had had some olive oil, more salt, or perhaps if it was leavened it might have been tastier, but by itself, I can see why the poem’s subject was concerned that a meal of just that would be boring.

That said, the moretum accomplishes its goal of spicing up the meal by being a hammer strike of flavor directly to the face. The first impression on eating moretum on bread is simply that of PAIN, which the brain interprets as spicyness. Upon reflection, it becomes clear that it is a burning pain, but also somehow a garlicky pleasing pain. When the pain subsides, garlic, bitter herbs, and a bit of cheesiness is discernible. That said, it was pleasant and we ate half the bread and perhaps a quarter of the moretum in one sitting. One could imagine it would go nicely as a topping for fish or meat, accompanying slices of vegetables, or with and fresher cheese if made and eaten in several incarnations throughout the day.

This would likely make more sense to the modern palate drowned in olive oil and used to flavor the olive oil in small smears as the oil is sopped up with bread. Would I make it again? Not unless it was for other people interested in a historic oddity and willing to brave the burn and after-effects of garlic. Was it interesting and worth doing once? Yes. Appendix: He then the garden entered, first when there With fingers having lightly dug the earth Away, he garlic roots with fibres thick, And four of them doth pull; he after that Desires the parsley's graceful foliage, And stiffness-causing rue,' and, trembling on Their slender thread, the coriander seeds, And when he has collected these he comes And sits him down beside the cheerful fire And loudly for the mortar asks his wench. Then singly each o' th' garlic heads be strips From knotty body, and of outer coats Deprives them, these rejected doth he throw Away and strews at random on the ground. The bulb preserved from th' plant in water doth He rinse, and throw it into th' hollow stone. On these he sprinkles grains of salt, and cheese Is added, hard from taking up the salt. Th' aforesaid herbs he now doth introduce And with his left hand 'neath his hairy groin Supports his garment;' with his right he first The reeking garlic with the pestle breaks, Then everything he equally doth rub I' th' mingled juice. His hand in circles move: Till by degrees they one by one do lose Their proper powers, and out of many comes A single colour, not entirely green Because the milky fragments this forbid, Nor showing white as from the milk because That colour's altered by so many herbs. The vapour keen doth oft assail the man's Uncovered nostrils, and with face and nose Retracted doth he curse his early meal; With back of hand his weeping eyes he oft Doth wipe, and raging, heaps reviling on The undeserving smoke. The work advanced: No longer full of jottings as before, But steadily the pestle circles smooth Described. Some drops of olive oil he now Instils, and pours upon its strength besides A little of his scanty vinegar, And mixes once again his handiwork, And mixed withdraws it: then with fingers twain Round all the mortar doth he go at last And into one coherent ball doth bring The diff'rent portions, that it may the name And likeness of a finished salad fit.

(http://virgil.org/appendix/moretum.htm)