PRACTICE 1 The farming
PRACTICE 1 The farming family Sponagel is one of 16 suppliers to Hüttenthal dairy. 2 For thickening, the milk is curdled by adding rennet. Subsequent slicing separates curds and whey. 3 Cheese curds are prepared for filling into forms. 1 2 3 points out Kurt Kohlhage. “All the parameters such as temperature, or length of curdling period, must be followed absolutely accurately. On top of this, the milk fat level can fluctuate dramatically. At the beginning of lactation the constituent levels are very high, then they drop markedly. Towards the end of the lactation they shoot up again. Naturally, we have to consider all this in the processing.” ROLLED BUTTER But back to cow milk….this is collected from the farmer after the evening milking and directly processed the next morning. First, it goes into the centrifugal separator for skimming. The resultant skim milk and cream are carefully pasteurised for 20 seconds at 74°-76°C and 102°C respectively. An immediate product hereby is market-ready double cream. This is filled in various containers: 250 g for private use and large containers of 5 or 10 kg for the catering sector. Around two-thirds of the cream is churned. This doesn’t take place in a classic churn but instead via a continuous process. “The fat globules in the milk have a mantle of protein”, explains Kurt Kohlhage. “This mantle is ruptured in processing, the butterfat escapes and is then kneaded. Thus, butter and buttermilk are produced.” A real Hüttenthal speciality is rolled butter. We were convinced on the spot that this product tastes much better than proprietary packed butter. Unsurprisingly, it’s already a sales hit on farmers’ markets and an optical highlight on the stands there. Hüttenthal butter is naturally soured through living lactic bacteria. Mildly soured butter in the retail trade is sweet cream butter with lactic acid concentrate subsequently added. “Our customers are very fond of our buttermilk too”, informs Britta Kohlhage.“It sours overnight, turns creamy, and can be filled as a drink the following day. Or it is available fresh from the tap in our shop. Buttermilk contains only 0.8% fat, however lots of lecithin. It is an absolute nerve tonic.” Further fresh dairy products from Hüttenthal include quark with various fat levels, quark cheese, sour cream, stirred yoghurt and thickened sour milk. With the exception of quark, none of our products feature added fruit preparation. “This wouldn’t fit with us. And our fruit quark with fruit preparation from controlled organic production is in our range only because I couldn’t bring myself to buy “Fruchtzwerge” (proprietary fruit quark for children from Danone) from another processor for my children”, smiles Britta Kohlhage. From cream cheese (quarks and quark cheese) production comes sour whey, a high-value livestock feed containing protein, lactose, minerals and trace elements. This is delivered to a pig feeder in the region. REGIONAL SPECIALITIES The range of cheeses produced by Hüttenthal covers seven different sorts, the best-known of which is “Odenwälder Frühstückskäse” (breakfast cheese), locally simply referred to as “handkäse”. As a young cheese this has a mild aromatic taste, becoming savoury and piquant with age. It has only 10% fat in dry matter and is produced from unpasteurised milk with red mould and rennet added. Maturing is natural and over 14 days at 16°C and 96% relative humidity, during which time it has to be washed daily, a task nowadays carried out semi-automatically. Handkäse matures from the outer surface inwards with the inner core initially white. Since 1997 this cheese bears, as one of a very few German sorts, the certificate: “Protected designation of origin” meaning it is a recognised traditional regional speciality. Under certification rules, the handkäse may only be produced in the Odenwald region of Germany with Odenwald milk. In the past, this speciality was produced in several of the region’s dairies, nowadays only in Hüttenthal. It can be enjoyed as “handkäse with music”, a dish where the cheese is marinated in vinegar and vegetable oil and served with fresh sliced onion. According to them, Britta and Kurt Kohlhage’s recipe for success is really quite simple: fresh, regional milk produced from animals farmed under high-welfare husbandry systems, the milk processed with traditional craftsmanship without binding agents, preservatives, colouring or flavourings as well as no gene modified cheese cultures, short transport journeys and experienced dairy staff members. Honest products are the result of all this input. Their success validates the route the couple have taken. Around 60% of turnover comes from private customers and selected retailers, the remainder from catering and other food sectors, mainly bakeries. And those who find themselves travelling through the Odenwald should not miss making a direct visit to this dairy which includes a retail outlet open Monday to Saturday. There, all products are available fresh from the dairy, some drinks, such as non-homogenised fresh milk, direct from the tap. Where else can you find that nowadays? Or the rolled butter that tastes best spread pure on a slice of crusty bread? With so much regionality there are, however, two exceptions: a large-scale delicatessen in Stuttgart buys-in the Hüttenthal fresh dairy products and in Manufactum’s “Brot & Butter“ chain of quality food warehouses butter from the Odenwald dairy is on offer. After all, it would be really unfair if so tasty and high-quality products were all reserved exclusively for the inhabitants of the Odenwald! « 22 23
