Asiago Cheese Recipe (2024)

Asiago Cheese Recipe (1)

Save Recipe Print Recipe

This recipe for fresh Asiago dolce or fresco, also known as Pressato is milder in flavor than a long aged Asiago. It has an aroma slightly reminiscent of yogurt and butter. Its supple texture and pale color reflect its shorter aging period. The flavor is sweet, with a bright, youthful quality.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (2)

    Yield

    6 Pounds

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (3)

    Aging Time

    ~2 Months

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (4)

    Skill Level

    Intermediate

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (5)

    Author

    Jim Wallace

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 6 Gallons Whole Milk (Not UltraPasteurized)
  • 3/4-1 Packet C201 Thermophilic Culture or 1/8 Tsp TA61 Culture
  • 1/16 Tsp LH100 Culture
  • 5 ml Single Strength Liquid Rennet
  • 2 Lbs Salt for a Brine
Equipment

  • Large Stainless Steel Pot
  • Good Thermometer
  • Curd Knife
  • Slotted Spoon or Ladle to Stir Curds
  • Draining Pan or Large Colander
  • Large Hard Cheese Mold
  • Butter Muslin
  • Cheese Press (or 25 lbs weight)
  • Cheese Mat

Total price for selected items: Total price:

Find Good Milk Near You

Instructions

Before you Start

The batch size is 6 gallons but can be increased or decreased by altering the ingredients proportionately.

The milk for this recipe can be from either a pasteurized whole milk or a rich fresh farm milk. I have used an unpasteurized Jersey/ Normand mix with the fat% running close to 5%. If using pasteurized milk adding a little more cream could be an option for a richer cheese. This cheese will also use 2 cultures:

  • A Thermophilic culture such as our C201 or TA061 will acidify the cheese by converting lactose to lactic acid.
  • The second culture will be a Helveticus culture (LH100) which is characterized by it's ability to convert only part of the milk sugar and leave a sweet note in the final cheese. This is also a component in most of the Alpine style Swiss cheeses.There are many options for making Cottage Cheese. For this recipe I have decided to use the shorter set time to make it a little more practical for the home cheese maker. Enjoy!
  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (8)

    Heat & Acidify Milk

    Begin by heating the milk to 95-97¡F (warmer during the colder months and with higher fat%).

    Once the milk is at the target temperature the following two cultures can be added:

    1. 3/4 to 1 pack of C201 Thermophilic Culture or 1/8 tsp of TA061 Culture
    2. 1/16 tsp LH100 Culture

    This may seem like a small amount of culture because Asiago depends on a very slow acid development and much of this will take place on the second day while the cheese rests in the mold before salting.

    The milk should then be allowed to ripen for 30 minutes before adding rennet.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (9)

    Coagulate with Rennet

    Add 5 ml of a single strength calf rennet once the milk has ripened. Enough rennet is added to form a good curd in about 25 minutes.

    Stir the rennet into the milk in an up and down manner so that the milk quickly comes to rest.

    Once the curd begins to set you will notice a thickening as the surface tension increases. It is still too soft to cut at this point.

    When the full coagulation develops the curd will split cleanly.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (10)

    Cut Curds & Release Whey

    Once the curd has firmed it can be cut into about 3/8-1/2 inch pieces. The curds should then be slowly stirred for about 15-20 minutes until they become firmer. The temperature should be adjusted to the original culture temp.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (11)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (12)

    Cook Curds

    Once the curds are firm, the heating of the curd begins by heating to 106¡F in 20 minutes. It is then held at this temp while stirring slowly for 15 min.

    During the next 10 minutes, the heat is increased to 118F (during cool weather or with high fat % milk it may need to go as high as 123¡F).

    At this point the curd should be dry enough but will need to produce more acid before draining. This can be accomplished by allowing the curd to settle to the bottom for another 20 minutes. They should be stirred lightly to keep from matting every 3-5 minutes.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (13)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (14)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (15)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (16)

    Drain Curds

    Asiago needs to be drained well while keeping the curds separate. This will allow for the somewhat open texture of this cheese.

    The curds need to be cooked to their final moisture then a cloth and draining pan are sanitized in hot water in preparation for the curd transfer and whey drainage.

    The whey is then removed to the curd level and the curd is transferred to the draining pan.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (17)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (18)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (19)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (20)

    Mold Curds

    The curds can now be transferred into a cloth lined cheese mold.

    I use a mold diameter of about 7.5 inches for this cheese. The cloth should be folded over and a follower placed on top.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (21)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (22)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (23)

    Press Curds

    12 lbs of weight can be applied to the cheese mold for 30 minutes, then removed. After 30 minutes, flip the curds in the cloth and press with 25 lbs of weight for the 2 hours. After 2 hours, turn, re-wrapped and press with 25 lbs for another 2 hours.

    At this point the cheese should be well consolidated. The weight can be removed and the cheese replaced in the mold.

    The mold should be kept warm overnight at 75-85¡F while the bacteria continues to work producing more acid in the cheese. No salt should be added on the second day and again it is held overnight.

  • Asiago Cheese Recipe (24)

    Asiago Cheese Recipe (25)

    Salt & Age

    On the third morning the cheese will be brined in a saturated brine at a rate of 3 hrs per lb. of cheese.

    The cheese is now ready to be aged for 30-40 days.

    The aging temperature is 54-58¡F and humidity of 85-87% should be maintained. Any surface mold should be wiped away with a saturated brine solution.

Cheese Making Supplies

Popular Products

Cheese Making Recipes

Recommended Recipes

View all

Beginner

30 Minute Mozzarella Recipe

3.2

Stretchy and mild, perfect for pizzas and salads.

Beginner

30 Minute Mozzarella Recipe (no microwave)

3.6

Love our 30 minute mozzarella recipe but want to make it without the mic...

Advanced

Alpine Style Cheese Making Recipe

This recipe balances cheese making tradition with the most recent scient...

Intermediate

Alpine Tomme Recipe

4.8

This recipe is ideal for beginners wanting to try a higher temperature c...

Advanced

Alpine Washed Rind Cheese Making Recipe

5.0

The five star reviews say it all. This recipe is fun to make and tastes ...

Advanced

Appenzeller Cheese Making Recipe

5.0

Appenzeller has been made for 700+ years in Switzerland. While your Appe...

Intermediate

Asiago Cheese Recipe

4.7

A recipe for fresh Asiago dolce or fresco. The flavor is sweet, with a y...

Advanced

Beaufort Cheese Making Recipe

Beaufort Cheese is one of the great mountain cheeses of France. This fir...

Intermediate

Beer Infused Cheese Recipe

4.9

This cheese making recipe combines beer and cheese together. The result...

Intermediate

Bel Paese Recipe

5.0

Bel Paese is a very fresh cheese that goes well with everything. It is t...

Aging

How to Make a Cheese Cave

Learn how to make a cheese cave right at home. If you want your cheese to ripen properly you have to make them a good home and take care of them like little bambinos.

Join the Cheese Making Club!

Sign up and be the first to know about new recipes, products, and lots of other fun updates.

Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy Over 10k 5-star reviews    365 Day guarnatee    Community of cheese makers    Family owned and operated    Helping cheese makers since 1978    100+ Free recipes    365 Day guarantee    Cheese making made easy 

Asiago Cheese Recipe (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Rob Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 6360

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (48 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rob Wisoky

Birthday: 1994-09-30

Address: 5789 Michel Vista, West Domenic, OR 80464-9452

Phone: +97313824072371

Job: Education Orchestrator

Hobby: Lockpicking, Crocheting, Baton twirling, Video gaming, Jogging, Whittling, Model building

Introduction: My name is Rob Wisoky, I am a smiling, helpful, encouraging, zealous, energetic, faithful, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.