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I am absolutely astonished of next quote: While Western cheeses also utilize the process, makers of Parmesan, brie and Camembert all rely on fungi and rennet—

I am absolutely astonished of next quote: While Western cheeses also utilize the process, makers of Parmesan, brie and Camembert all rely on fungi and rennet— an enzyme from the stomachs of calves—to get the right texture and taste. Mongolians, on the other hand, maintain microbial cultures called starters, saving a little from each batch to inoculate the next. Ethnographic evidence suggests that these preparations have been around a very, very long time. In Mongolian, they’re called khöröngö, a word that’s derived from the term for wealth or inheritance. They are living heirlooms, typically passed from mother to daughter. And they require regular care and feeding. “Starter cultures get constant attention over weeks, months, years, generations,” says Björn Reichhardt, a Mongolian- speaking ethnographer at Max Planck and member of Warinner’s team responsible for collecting most of the samples in the Jena freezers. “Mongolians tend to dairy products the way they would an infant.” As with a child, the environment in which they’re nurtured is deeply influential. The microbial makeup of each family’s starters seems to be subtly different.

samarthr1 4y ago
It is also a common practice to preserve a bit of sourdough no? We indians also have the habit of preserving yogurt to make the next days yogurt.
BenjiWiebe 4y ago
Brie, Camembert, and Parmesan also use starters. Like 99% or more of cheese uses bacterial starter cultures. Sources: live on a dairy farm that produces cheese, Wikipedia.
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  > Brie, Camembert, and Parmesan also use starters. Like 99% or more of cheese uses bacterial starter cultures. So does Pecorino, and if you're on top of your game you can get ricotta so rich that you'd think it was just the curds from the first pass instead of a secondary product from making Pecorino. The 'fermenti' was a family secret and we weren't allowed to be around when it was made unless you were willing to apprentice for the 5-7 years it took to replace the current shepherd--all I know is that it used the calves stomach for the rennet as I helped slaughter a few, but the way to get the exact pH from the other solutions remains a mystery that likely died with him since he was A creative genius but aN INTOLERABLE manic depressant. I'm lactose intolerant, but the way this man made his cheeses... it was worth mild suffering and I ate ricotta and fruit for almost everyday and put at least 2-3 different dishes with his Pecorino every day on the changing menu. Source: I worked and lived on a very well renown farm to table concept and ran the kitchen for a few seasons with an award winning Shepard/Pecorino maker in Italy.

samarthr1 4y ago

It is also a common practice to preserve a bit of sourdough no? We indians also have the habit of preserving yogurt to make the next days yogurt.

BenjiWiebe 4y ago

Brie, Camembert, and Parmesan also use starters. Like 99% or more of cheese uses bacterial starter cultures. Sources: live on a dairy farm that produces cheese, Wikipedia.

Melting_Harps 4y ago
> Brie, Camembert, and Parmesan also use starters. Like 99% or more of cheese uses bacterial starter cultures. So does Pecorino, and if you're on top of your game you can get ricotta so rich that you'd think it was just the curds from the first pass instead of a secondary product from making Pecorino. The 'fermenti' was a family secret and we weren't allowed to be around when it was made unless you were willing to apprentice for the 5-7 years it took to replace the current shepherd--all I know is that it used the calves stomach for the rennet as I helped slaughter a few, but the way to get the exact pH from the other solutions remains a mystery that likely died with him since he was A creative genius but aN INTOLERABLE manic depressant. I'm lactose intolerant, but the way this man made his cheeses... it was worth mild suffering and I ate ricotta and fruit for almost everyday and put at least 2-3 different dishes with his Pecorino every day on the changing menu. Source: I worked and lived on a very well renown farm to table concept and ran the kitchen for a few seasons with an award winning Shepard/Pecorino maker in Italy.