Cooking Cheese with Pepper

• I was inspired by homemade cooked cheese. But since a slow cooker is used and I don't own one, something of my own had to be found. As a non-cooked cheese expert, I quickly noticed a few similarities to cheese fondue during further research, in addition to the realization that there are a thousand different recipes and definitions. I always make fondue myself and do without the ready-made products on offer. I like to control the taste and consistency myself. So I prepared cooked cheese like a modified cheese fondue.
• Weigh the cheeses and cut into small cubes. Weigh the milk, white wine and butter. Put the low-fat quark in a bowl and mix with a heaping teaspoon of baking soda. Use a sufficiently large pot - you will still need it (see pictures).
• Rub the pot with a clove of garlic and place on the stove. Set level 2 of 10 possible heat levels. Weigh the wine, add the butter and the cheese cubes to the saucepan and stir. At the beginning there is no need to stir so hard. With its alcohol content and acidity, the white wine makes the cheese liquefy more quickly and, of course, has a noticeable taste. When everything is warm, pour in the milk.
• It is important with this method to warm slowly to prevent the water and fat bound in the cheese from separating from the solid components (proteins). With fondue, that's the declaration of bankruptcy. I did some research for the cooked cheese, if it is heated too quickly, it "becomes too runny and then no longer solidifies". The same effect as with fondue: the cheese curdles.
• When the butter has melted and the cheese is slowly dissolving, you need to stir more. Add the salt (0.25 teaspoons = approx. 8 gr.). Now you can add 2 more finely chopped garlic cloves or, in my case, 2 teaspoons of garlic paste. In addition - also for those who like it: the caraway and the Pepe Valle Maggia. The pepper is a mixture that is available in the Swiss canton of Ticino and I advise against taking a whole teaspoon of black pepper instead - use less!
• When the cheese has dissolved, fold in the quark and baking soda. Increase the heat of the stovetop to 5 out of 10 degrees. From now on it has to be stirred steadily. Stir an 8 in the pot. This will combine the various ingredients and with the fondue it would also help that the mixture does not curdle. The hotter the cheese, the more the mass expands. This is because of the baking soda in the curd. It can now be seen whether the pot was chosen large enough. If not, it is time to clean the stove.
• To bring the cheese to the boil, I increased it from 5 to 8 and then reduced it again when it boiled and then let it cook for 3 minutes while stirring constantly. The cheese is poured into clean glasses. It has to mature for 24 hours before it can be tasted for the first time. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Taste & consistency

• The consistency is semi-solid, but spreadable. The taste is reminiscent of processed cheese at the first bite. In contrast to this, mine does without melting salts and other benefits of the food industry. The pepper goes well. The salt could possibly also stay away completely. Certainly I haven't made the recipe for the last time.