by Austin Coe Butler
Apricity. The warmth of the sun in the winter. An evocative, if obscure, word, and a feeling we’re all familiar with here in the north. It’s often felt in moments of stillness and clarity. It’s also the name of Alemar’s newest cheese, an aptly named orb of lactic-set cow’s milk cheese with a warm, tangy flavor and glowing rind. Where does this flavor come from, and what is a lactic-set cheese?
When milk is left to its own devices in an ideal, warm environment, (or in the back of your fridge well past its best by date) the bacteria and microbes naturally present in milk begin to consume its component parts. Lactobacillales or lactic acid bacteria (LAB) consume and convert the milk sugar lactose into lactic acid. The increase of lactic acid makes milk more acidic or “sour,” causing the proteins in milk to tangle into curd. The discovery of this was a two-fold revolution, firstly, because most people (still) can’t process and digest lactose after infancy without gastrointestinal distress, and, secondly, curd forms the basis of cheese. Those curds can be drained from the whey and what was once a seasonal, indigestible, bland, and highly perishable liquid that was oftentimes a vector for diseases is transformed and preserved into a delicious, valuable, and safe food that could be enjoyed at any time.
Many of the steps we associate with cheesemaking are absent from lactic cheese making. Making lactic cheese can be as simple as warming milk, allowing the indigenous cultures and lactic bacteria to curdle the milk (or adding lemon juice or vinegar), and then gently ladling the curd to a form or cloth to spontaneously drain. Lactic curds are not cut or stirred like rennet curds. They are also not pressed. Lactic cheeses have a weaker curd as the acid drives off much of the calcium into the whey and the curd has to be handled gently. This weaker curd is why you won’t see larger cheeses that are lactic set–they are usually small crottins or logs–but this weaker curd is also the secret to their delicate, mousse-like texture. Many ripened or aged lactic cheeses have a little rennet added to them, as Apricity does, to assist in forming curd.
You’ve no doubt had lactic-set cheeses before like cottage cheese, cream cheese, and goat’s milk chêvre, all defined by their fresh, bright lactic tang. The world of lactic cheeses is also fascinating and complex, and lactic cheese can be found throughout the cheese eating world like Indian paneer, Italian ricotta, Tyrolean Graukäse, and Georgian dambalkhacho. Lactic cheeses tend to be fresh cheeses like chêvre or cottage cheese, though there are some ripened or aged lactic cheeses like Valençay, Chaoruce, and Apricity, which develop a tantalizing cream line.
Apricity has a gently yeasty tang, reminiscent of cultured yogurt, tart white grapes, or natural, unfiltered white wine. It’s a perfect accompaniment on these cooler nights as fall begin to tinge the tree tops. If you’re a fan of some of our Italian softies like Il Nocciolo, La Tur, or Robiolina, or a Fromagophile who loves fresh chêvre, or you just like to sit down with a bowl of cottage cheese, Apricity is the cheese for you.