Gebna Beida
It’s the kind of cheese which you can’t stop eating. It is made with rennet, which contains rennin, from the stomach of the calf. This coagulates the milk proteins, and activates the curd. Use at least 2 1/2 quarts of milk, as the amount of cheese produced even from this quantity is really quite small.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour the milk into a saucepan and heat gently. Add the salt and liquid rennet, and continue to heat the milk slowly until you can just bear to keep your little finger in without feeling any sting. Do not cover the pan, as condensed steam would spoil the process, and do not allow the milk to become too hot, as this will cause failure. Boiling would ruin it.
Step 2
Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a cloth. The milk will separate into curds and whey. Leave undisturbed for at least 6 hours.
Step 3
Pour the mixture into a colander or large sieve lined with thin damp cheesecloth or muslin, and let it drain overnight. The following day, a soft cheese will have formed. Turn it out into a small round plastic basket or mold with little holes. This will allow the cheese to dry out and to firm, and it will give it the shape and texture of the basket. Leave for a whole day before turning the beautiful, porcelain-white cheese out onto a plate.
Step 4
Serve as an appetizer with olives.
Variations
Step 5
When the cheese is a few days old and quite firm, it is delicious sliced and fried with eggs.
Step 6
The same cheese, made with little or no salt, is excellent eaten with jam.
